Chicago Tribune: Younger employees help senior executives unlock social media mystery
Both groups benefit in reverse-mentoring programs.
Janet Cabot couldn't wait to show Ashley Spohn her latest accomplishment.
"I am so all over this Delish thing," Cabot bubbled, punching up delish.com on her computer in her office at Edelman, a Chicago-based public relations firm.
"Oh, you're doing so well!" Spohn said delightedly, counting the recipes Cabot had collected on the food lovers' Web site. "Look, you've got so much!"
Her pride was as evident as the exchange was notable. Though Cabot, 56, is Edelman's central region president with more than 30 years in the business, she is the student. Spohn, a 23-year-old account executive on the firm's digital team, is the teacher.
Many organizations eager to strengthen their presence in the online world have discovered that they have the perfect consultants on their staffs: 20-somethings who live in that world.
"We grew up with social media," said Matthew Clay, 23, a media executive at Edelman. "We spent eight hours every day on AOL IM."
The baby boomer executives who might have scolded these young people for that if they had been their parents are now turning to them for help. A survey for the Center for Work-Life Policy found that 40 percent of respondents had asked younger colleagues for help with text messaging, social networking and using iTunes.
In formal programs or informal sit-downs, companies are assigning junior staff members to serve as social media guides for their senior ones. …
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