Promoting intergenerational understanding, then, can be very profitable. Making connections between employees of ­different ages, though, can be tricky. Mentoring is one way to do it, but when it's forced and regimented, it can be awkward and unproductive. At Deloitte & Touche, they're taking the basic concept of mentoring and giving it a slightly different spin, one they hope will boost intergenerational ties. With some 35,000 employees across the United States, Deloitte has workers that represent four generations: Most of its staff-level people are Generation Y, managers and senior managers are Generation X, and partners are primarily Baby Boomers, with a few Traditionalists still in the mix.

Paul Silverglate says Deloitte is developing what he calls a "mentor exchange" as a way to connect younger workers - who he believes crave a relationship with the people who impact their careers - with more senior partners. Rather than just picking names of partners and staff out of a hat and forcing them to meet for a half hour each month, Silverglate says the company wanted to instead facilitate more organic connections, ones that are actually based on mutual interests. "It works when it's natural, when both mentor and mentee get benefits from the relationship," he says.

To ensure that's the case, Deloitte has developed a database where staff members list their skills and interests, which vary widely - everything from the ability to program an iPod to cycling to photography to knowledge of the best places to visit in Italy. Partners search the database and seek out staff members they think can help them do something. "Partners reach out to staff and say, 'Hey, I want to learn about cycling, and I understand that you're a cycling specialist,' " says Silverglate. There is a quid pro quo involved. "The staff person goes back to the partner and says, 'Okay, I would like to learn about navigating through the firm.' Or, 'I'd like to learn what career struggles you had and how you got around them,' " he says.