Westpac

CURIOUS & WISE INTERGENERATIONAL MENTORING PROGRAMME

Westpac, an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Sydney, launched Curious & Wise, an intergenerational mentoring programme in 2023.

Background

Westpac’s two generational Employee Action Groups, The Youth Network for employees under 35 years old and 50PLUS, established the Curious & Wise programme.

The aim of the intergenerational mentoring programme is to bridge the generation gap within the organisation by fostering meaningful connections and knowledge exchange between employees of different age groups. The initiative recognises the diverse perspectives and experiences that each generation brings to the workplace and seeks to leverage these differences to create a more inclusive and collaborative environment.

Approach

The informal mentoring programme is open to employees of any age to encourage mutual learning. The initial survey at the start of the programme demonstrated that employees in the 50PLUS group were actually drawn to the role of mentee, with 73% of all those expressing interest wanting to be a mentee, challenging the assumption that older people would only want to be mentors.

The programme consisted of eight sessions held very fortnight. They kept the process for mentoring matching fairly informal, for example looking at participants’ top three interests. They also ensured they paired people up from somewhere different in the business, which created a safe environment where people felt they could be open.

Participants are provided with a guide which includes conversation starters and probing questions, focussing on practical skills, as well as considering general workplace trends, such as the rise of AI. This structure supported the participants while also allowing for a more relaxed, informal genuinely two-way conversation with participants feeling empowered to make the programme work for them.

Impact

The programme helped to bridge divides in multicultures across teams. For example, one of the mentoring guide conversation prompts asks ‘how are you using ChatGPT during your everyday?’ with the Youth Network talking about how they used generative AI  to support their work on activities such as research and copy drafting whereas the 50PLUS group were more adverse to using it. Talking to their younger colleagues, helped employees in the 50PLUS group understand ChatGPT further and start using it more in their day-to-day tasks. The conversation also helped them to challenge the assumptions they were hearing in the media and reduce fear that AI was going to replace their jobs.

The intergenerational mentoring program has been well received with 166 Westpac employees taking part in the first round of the scheme. General feedback on the scheme has been really positive and the willingness of employees to participate reflects a shared recognition of the importance of navigating change and challenges together, regardless of age or experience level. Many of the relationships have continued outside of the programme.

“Enjoyed meeting someone within the company who I would not have otherwise crossed paths with. It was interesting learning from someone in a different point in life to where I am, gives me a broader perspective on what corporate life can look like. Fun experience, would definitely join next year.” 
 
 “I've had a great experience. I was grouped with 2 mentees and we have enjoyed very rich, honest conversations.”
 
 “Had a great experience as a mentor to a mentee who is navigating the graduate program. I feel that both of us were able to learn from each other and the session guides were an excellent way to help us kick off each session.”

The Curious & Wise team have been able to feedback to the executive team that employees over 50 would like more support and coaching and the scheme has helped to boost connection in the workplace and provoke ‘digital watercooler moments’, something that is being lost as people work from home more.

The mentoring programme has demonstrated the importance of connections and collaboration across generations in the workplace. What started out as a typical mentor/mentee programme, quickly developed into a much more dynamic two-way relationship, living up to the tagline of:

You can be both curious and wise.