Intergenerational Mentorship: The Secret to Unlocking Your Benefits ROI

The benefits package that you offer to your organization represents a major investment. But are your employees truly getting the full value from it? And are there other components to the employee experience that your employees may feel they’re missing?

Recent data reveals a striking truth: the same benefit can boost engagement by 156% for some employees while decreasing it by 23% for others.
The difference isn’t the benefit itself, but whether employees feel connected and supported at work.

This is where other workplace programs, including intergenerational mentorship programs become a powerful tool in helping your employees feel engaged and connected at work.

The Hidden Benefits Crisis

Findings from the Generative Care: 2025 Global Culture Report by the O.C. Tanner Institute highlight just how differently employees respond to the same benefit:

• Mental health support boosted engagement by 156% for highly engaged employees yet decreased by 23% for those who felt disconnected.
• Maternity leave drove a 151% increase in engagement in cultures where the benefit was encouraged and valued, but a 31% decrease where support was lacking.

The takeaway: benefits deliver maximum value only when employees feel connected and engaged. Without that foundation, even your most generous programs can have minimal impact.

Why Mentorship Multiplies Your Benefits ROI

Intergenerational mentorship programs create the conditions where benefits thrive.

• Connection Before Benefits: Employees who feel mentored are 3x more likely to see value in company benefits.
• Knowledge Transfer: Experienced employees share wisdom while newer employees introduce fresh perspectives and digital fluency.
• Cultural Cohesion: Cross-generational relationships break down silos, creating a unified culture where work benefits feel like shared investments.

Mentorship Across Generations

With five generations now active in the workplace, each brings different needs and expectations.

Research shows that multigenerational teams thrive when employers create opportunities for connection like mentorship that bridge generational and cultural divides.

Reverse mentoring, for example, empowers younger employees to share digital skills where senior colleagues provide institutional knowledge. These relationships not only strengthen engagement but also help employees recognize the value of their benefits in a more meaningful way.

How To Build Effective Mentorship Programs

To maximize impact, HR leaders should focus on a few core practices when launching intergenerational mentorship programs:

• Start small: Pilot 20-30 participants using cross-generational matching criteria.
• Make It Mutual: Ensure both mentors and mentees have learning goals. Even senior employees benefit from reverse mentoring technology.
• Provide Structure: Offer conversation guides and goal-setting templates.
• Connect the Benefits: Show employees how mentorship supports development, wellness, and benefits utilization.
• Celebrate Success: Recognize milestones and share stories to encourage participation.
• Measure Results: Track engagement, retention, and benefits utilization before and after program launch.

The Case for Mentorship

Your organization already invests heavily in benefits. Intergenerational mentorship programs ensure that investment pays dividends by creating the engagement conditions where benefits truly matter.

When Baby Boomers’ institutional knowledge meets Gen Z’s digital creativity through structured mentorship, innovation happens. Mentorship programs foster collaboration and retention while strengthening overall culture, multiplying the ROI of every benefits dollar you spend.

Ready to Get Started?

Contact the AssuredPartners Employee Benefits team today to start the conversation.