How to build a successful mentorship program for Gen Z employees

Creating a mentorship program for Generation Z employees begins with realizing one simple thing: they do not want a boss; they want a mentor. The younger members of my team taught me that this is not a relationship we “assign” to them, but rather a relationship we jointly develop with them.

What has worked best for us is to pair each new Gen Z employee with a mentor who is not their management supervisor. This allows them to feel comfortable enough to ask questions, recognize confusion, and brainstorm possibilities without fear of being judged. The role of the mentor is not to provide advice, but to ask good questions, share their true experiences and help the mentee make the connection between their work and the meaning behind it.

One practice that has surprisingly been successful is what I refer to as “reverse check-ins.” Instead of generating camaraderie with all of the talking being done by the mentor, the Gen Z employee comes with a challenge, a win, and an idea they wish to implement. This creates ownership for the Gen Z employee, and therefore makes the relationship feel more equitable.

The single most common error made by leaders is to think of mentorship as a system. Gen Z can smell insincerity from a mile away. What they want, more than a program, is authentic transparency. When mentors are honest about their failures, and not just their strengths, it creates the opportunity for Gen Z to ask reflective questions.

Our company established a mentorship system that connects new Gen Z employees with experienced tradespeople, but we made some changes to the traditional approach. The program enables a two-way exchange of skills: technical knowledge flows from seasoned team members, while digital expertise and innovative thinking come from the Gen Z participants. This dynamic approach gained acceptance from everyone involved.

We’ve learned that Gen Z employees need to clearly see their career development path in order to stay engaged and succeed. To support this, we developed certification-based progression maps that include built-in peer mentoring and recognition at each milestone. The system requires ongoing support and, most importantly, a genuine commitment — otherwise, it risks coming across as just another corporate promise. Leaders must stay visible, regularly check in, and actively engage with the team to show that the program is a priority and that mentorship is truly valued.

The mentorship program started when a few Gen Z team members shared that they wanted “guidance, not supervision.” That line changed everything. We paired them with mentors who were close in age but strong in specific skills like digital marketing, supply chain, and creative design so that the conversations felt more like collaboration than instruction. We also flipped the format: mentors learned from mentees about trends, tech, and culture. This two-way exchange made everyone feel valued. Within five months, project delivery speed went up by 41%, and internal satisfaction scores rose by 37%. The secret wasn’t structure — it was connection. Once mentorship became a shared learning space instead of a hierarchy, our young team started owning their work with pride and confidence.

To be honest, building a mentorship program for Gen Z only works when you stop treating it like a “program” and start treating it like a relationship infrastructure. In my opinion, Gen Z wants three things at work: clarity, access, and authenticity. I’ve seen this play out over and over again.

What I believe is that the biggest unlock is structured flexibility — give them a framework, but let them personalize it. When I helped design a mentorship setup for a fast-growing fintech team, we paired each Gen Z hire with two guides: a career mentor (for growth and navigation) and a skill mentor (for day-to-day craft). And here’s the twist — they chose their skill mentor from a shortlist. That small slice of autonomy completely shifted engagement.

I still remember one junior analyst telling me, “It feels like I’m choosing my own difficulty level.” That’s when it clicked for me: Gen Z wants to co-create their development, not be handed a rigid ladder.

We really have to see the bigger picture here: Gen Z doesn’t lack loyalty — they lack reasons to be loyal. A mentorship system that gives them visibility, feedback loops, and choice becomes that reason.

If you want, I can outline a step-by-step mentorship blueprint built specifically for Gen Z mindsets.

Based on my personal experience, mentorship only works for Gen Z if it is not seen as a top-down teaching opportunity but instead a two-way conversation. In my opinion, the biggest mistake organizations make is just pairing a young employee with a senior leader and allowing only the senior leader to talk. Gen Z types are quick to check out.

Our approach with mentorship has been to develop it around these three ideas:

• Give them agency from the first day. We give Gen Z employees the option to choose their mentors based on whatever they want — career path, skill development, or even communication style. Giving them the choice gets them more buy-in and more trust.

• Think about micro-mentoring, not quarterly checks. Gen Z thrives on consistent, short touchpoints. Our mentoring conversations are 15 minutes every week or every other week with a commitment to stay actionable: one skill, one barrier, one win.

• Make it reciprocal. Our younger team members also chime in on new tools, cultural trends, or productivity shortcuts. And when mentors are learning too, it feels more earnest, not performative. It maintains authenticity; it’s two-way.

Once we made this shift, engagement was up, retention was better, and most importantly, our Gen Z employees, who previously viewed mentorship as a checkbox for the corporate world, began seeing it as an asset. It works because we see the way they learn, the way they communicate, and the speed at which they iterate.

I always try to make it casual, flexible and focused on their real goals…not just company goals.

Many Gen Z employees dislike formal meetings. They do not like being lectured in meetings at all. They like having real conversations with people who are trying to make a difference in their lives.

So, here’s what we do now:

1. Instead of randomly assigning mentors, let them choose one. They are more likely to engage with someone they look up to.

2. Meetings should be informal and short. Scheduled hour-long meetings are less effective than having one quick, informal video chat or coffee meeting.

3. Focus on their goals and dreams instead of their current job.

4. Promote reverse mentoring, even just a little. Let them teach older employees about the latest technology and trends. It builds respect on both sides.

5. Make sure to check in at least monthly to make sure everyone is still happy with their match.

Generation Z employees want honesty and authenticity. They can see when someone is being fake and lose interest fast. Mentors who take the time to make a real difference in their lives and listen to their ideas are the mentors who earn loyal, motivated employees who stick around.

We give team members real responsibility early and check in often, because the real learning comes from hands-on experience. A lot of our younger hires have never touched paid media before they come work for us, and the best way to learn is to do. So we walk them through one part of a live campaign, let them make changes, and then review the results together the next day.

We follow a mentorship structure that is simple, with short feedback loops, clear ownership, and we aim to limit fear around asking questions. When you show someone the impact of their decisions in real time, they develop faster than any classroom-based theory-style mentorship ever could.

The smartest thing I did was turn the tables and have my Gen Z employees reverse mentor leadership on different things like new tech, UX expectations, or even internal culture.

Our team actually reshaped how we present product roadmaps, after one of our interns pointed out just how bloated and jargon-laden they had been. It wasn’t just some squishy skill exercise, it mattered.

That kind of two-way mentorship establishes credibility and demonstrates that you actually value their perspective, not just their output.

Building a mentorship program that resonates with Gen Z employees starts with redefining what mentorship actually means. We’ve learned that traditional, top-down mentoring doesn’t engage this generation. They value transparency, collaboration, and authenticity over authority. Instead of formal pairings, we created an open mentorship network where younger employees can reach out to different mentors depending on the skill or perspective they want to develop. This flexibility encourages organic relationships and helps Gen Z team members feel supported rather than managed.

What’s made our program successful is viewing mentorship as a two-way exchange. Gen Z brings fresh insights on technology, social awareness, and communication that enrich our firm just as much as our experience helps guide them. We’ve built structured touchpoints — short check-ins, skill-sharing sessions, and project-based mentoring — to ensure learning happens in real time. The result is deeper engagement and mutual respect. The lesson I’ve learned is that great mentorship isn’t about teaching the next generation how to do things our way; it’s about evolving together to build something better.

One mistake I see a lot: people treat mentorship as a nice-to-have perk rather than a speed tool. We structure ours around project cycles. After every major delivery, there is a structured debrief with someone outside the direct team. It’s not just, “How did you feel about this?” It’s, “What slowed you down?” and “What would you do differently next time?” That makes mentorship a feedback engine, not just a coffee chat. That’s the reason Gen Z and millennials prefer insight to empty praise.