Artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies were not designed solely to be used by younger people, but young employees can be instrumental in the tech upskilling process.
From racism and sexism, to bullying and microaggressions, there are unfortunately too many examples of unfair treatment in the workplace. Ageism is one such issue that can rear its ugly head, but for some reason is often regarded as less insidious than other forms of office misconduct.
Jokes about age, being a burden and being resistant to change are common and lend themselves to the hurtful and incorrect narrative that older employees are incapable of utilising modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models.
But while young people are not the only ones ready and able to wield advanced tech to their advantage, there is a benefit to having such an age-diverse and young working population, when it comes to in-house training.
That is to say that there is a prime opportunity for younger employees to develop their leadership and mentoring skills, by teaching older, interested employees how to use advanced technologies. So, how can an organisation ensure that the benefits of technology are felt across the board?
Reverse mentorship
Reverse mentorship, a method in which younger employees contribute to overall workplace training by mentoring more senior team members, is a great way to combine the workforce and build upon existing skills.
It ensures that training becomes less siloed as people across the entirety of an organisation are encouraged to share, contribute and engage. It also means that a company can greatly expand its knowledge base by making sure that no one’s skills are disregarded due to irrelevant details such as age, or the amount of time you have been at an organisation.
Older employees can learn about new and modern trends or tech that have emerged since they were college graduates or early-career starters, and younger employees have the opportunity to develop the soft skills that will stand to them for the rest of their working lives and even impact how they handle situations outside of the job.
Keep it simple
Every generation seems to invent their own lingo and while one might make sense to one group, it also has the potential to alienate others, as often, the language used may not be indicative of its true meaning. The same concept can be applied to the technologies, processes and methods being taught.
Young people or HR professionals aiming to teach older employees about modern systems should be cognisant of the manner in which they choose to relay information. Regardless of skillset, simplicity is always the best tool to use when cutting through the complexity of a topic.
Additionally, if the language is ‘a little out there’ and hard to make sense of, then it will likely deter others from asking questions, as they may feel foolish for not understanding something that everyone else seems to.
The best advice is, never try to explain something that you yourself don’t fully understand, as it will only serve to confuse you and everyone else and when you do start to explain it, do so in a way that is broadly user-friendly.
Be equipped
As a society, when it comes to effective learning, we have moved beyond standardised teaching methods where one person or a group speaks and everyone else listens.
While this has its merits, in the workforce, particularly in the STEM space, seeing is believing and it often takes a mixture of in-person, hybrid and visual learning to fully understand something.
Organisations who have tasked younger employees with teaching older members of the workforce should ensure that everyone, mentor or mentee has access to all of the resources that they might need. Be it texts, online archives, presentation equipment, AV equipment and tools, among others.
Zero tolerance
The best way to ensure that someone quits something or is actively disengaged, is to knock them publicly, bully or ridicule them. Organisations, with training models where younger employees are teaching older ones, should be aware that there may be a sense of discomfort on the part of the older person, who could feel awkward that a much younger co-worker is taking a leadership role.
Companies have a responsibility to implement a zero tolerance policy when it comes to bullying or harassment and therefore ageist behaviour, nasty comments, or dismissive treatment, from anyone, should be acknowledged and dealt with.
Everyone in the learning process should feel supported by the organisation and ideally, the experience should instil a love for continuous learning and a commitment to personal upskilling.
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