Executives Ask Younger Employees For Social Media Mentoring

By Brad Segall

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -A trend called reverse mentoring is starting to take off at companies in the Delaware Valley and it's fueling excitement among their younger employees.

The explosion of social media has prompted more companies to start using reverse mentoring, which is pairing up younger employees with senior management to teach them the ins and outs of the latest technology. Social media expert Jennifer Sherlock of Jenna Communications says it's a way to bridge the generation gap in companies and give younger workers a sense of being needed.

"Yes. I see excitement from them and spunk and energy because they feel that they have an edge on someone who's older than them because the older person doesn't know anything about Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn -- how to use, how to even start a fan page to build a company."

She calls it a win-win for the company because it also gives the younger worker a glimpse into the world of the top-level executives where they can start to learn about the inner workings of the company.