Training Millennials by guest blogger Austin Dressman
What are the common reactions to corporate training courses?
They are boring, long-winded, already common sense, old, out of touch, and/or straight out the early 90s. That’s what most millennials said about the corporate training courses they have sat through over the years.
We recently surveyed a group of millennials about their corporate training experiences and the answers were unanimous. This new generation of employee responds much differently to media and learning techniques than their predecessors. Respondents had negative feelings towards the typical training they had been through. One millennial pointed out that they “just want corporate training to be fast and short, yet fun and engaging.”
In order to communicate effectively with your millennial employees, close attention should be placed on their learning style. We are in an age of fast and concise information. The effectiveness of training does not have to take a cut because of this. There is a great value to short continuous training. By breaking up training into manageable portions, more information is absorbed and put into practice.
The most common of all responses was the preference of using social media tools and progressive styles to carry out training. “I think if our employers expect us to perform on a level consistent with modern industry standards, even the cutting edge, they should also communicate and inspire us using the same tools,” one respondent commented. Why waste time on something that will not refine and inspire your employees? By customizing training, employee attendance, enthusiasm, and engagement will increase.
When asked about training techniques, many respondents agreed, “visuals help me to retain and learn the most.” A visually intriguing training program will not only be interesting and entertaining for your employees, but it will also create a distinct brand for training. Branding will aid in creating a successful training campaign. A recognized brand can be achieved through a variety of visual aids. Resources like email reminders, posters around the office, and social/new media posts motivate your audience to participate.
There is an old and new school of corporate training. The old school corporate training reminds us of that weird uncle or aunt who can’t quite get out of the past. You know the one; they are completely oblivious that the world has moved on from 1995. The world of new media is something they let the younger generation worry about. And yet, by 2025, three out of every four workers globally will be millennials (Time).
The new school of corporate training puts your company in direct communication with your young audience. Making use of new media and trending visual learning styles are the future of training in the work place.
What is your training mix and how does it involve your millennial audience?