Last month, Allison Duke discussed the unique aspects of the Millennial workforce and the benefits of having a traditional mentoring program for these workers. Since Millenials aren’t traditional workers, this month, she explores other ways of structuring your mentoring program, starting with . . .

Reverse Mentoring

With reverse mentoring, Millennials are matched with executives who can benefit from the younger employees’ skills. For example, Millennials have more experience with social media than any other generation, and they can be a tremendous asset to executives who need insight into new ways to reach their customers. read more…

A Q & A with Georgetown University’s Christopher Metzler

In a way, Christopher Metzler is responsible for diversity increasingly being taken seriously as an integral part of any organization’s business strategy. After all, while at Cornell University, he created the nation’s first certification program for diversity professionals. And as associate dean at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies — the position he currently holds — he created the country’s first master’s degree in diversity. On top of that, he’s authored many books on the subject, including The Competencies of the Chief Diversity Officers and The Construction and Rearticulation of Race in a Post-Racial America.

We asked Metzler, who is also director of the Diversity and Inclusion Practice at F&H Solutions Group, an affiliate of Ford & Harrison LLP, to respond to the notion that Barack Obama’s election will force a new definition of organizational diversity (and one less about race).

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We’ve already written about how to attract Gen Y workers — or Millennials, as they prefer to be called — but keeping them is an entirely different story.

“Millennials may be defined by the fact that they will never stop marketing themselves. Their resumes will be constantly updated online at social networking sites,” says Libby Sartain, senior vice president of HR for Yahoo!, which employs a large number of Gen Y professionals. “This poses a real challenge to organizations and HR. Our role will be one of constant re-recruiting of our own employees, while at the same time recruiting new employees.”

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Here’s something you’ve probably never heard (or said): “Man, those kids in the younger generation really have their noses to the grindstone; they work much harder than we ever did.”

Fact is, there always has been a divide between generations. Each generation clashes and reacts to the one before it. Consider this analogy: The Internet is to Generation Y what rock ‘n’ roll was to the Boomers. Both are considered by the older generations to be fast and dangerous and therefore scary. Both shapes attitudes, unifies, and gives identity to those involved. Just like the Boomers’ parents couldn’t understand what all that loud music was about, the Boomers now can have a hard time relating to the global community Generation Y has found on the Web.

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Raised by Boomer parents on a diet of praise and self-esteem, Millennials are the next big thing, and they know it. They show up to work with lots of answers.

Hierarchy? Only if it helps us get the work done.

Need it yesterday? No problem.

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