LET'S TAKE THE MYSTERY OUT OF TRAINING MILLENNIALS
By Evan Hackel
“What are the most effective ways to train millennials?” is becoming the most asked question posed to training professionals.
To training professionals who were born before 1980—the year the first millennials were born—the question can seem mysterious and complex. We look at millennials and see a group of young people who seem addicted to texting, who sometimes seem skeptical about the lessons we want to teach them, and prone to changing jobs frequently.
Tat’s what we think we see. But do those rough observations really reflect who millennials are or offer insights on how millennials should be trained?
Te answer is, not really. So let’s strategically decode the millennial mindset and see what we can learn about how to train them effectively.
Key Traits of Younger Millennials Let’s focus on younger working millennials—those born between about 1990 and 1995. Chances are they are the group that is causing you to feel the most uncertainty regarding training. Millennials born between those years are the younger workers who might be applying for their first “real” post-college jobs with your organization right now. Tey’re young and fresh- faced. If you’re a generation or two older than they are, it could be that you’ve hit some roadblocks when creating training programs that work well for them.
Although generalizations tend to be flawed, here are some attitudes that training professionals have found to be shared by significant members of this cohort.
• An entrepreneurial mindset – They want to stake out a business identity and space for themselves, even in larger companies.
• Risk tolerance - Many are self-confident, able to take risks, and willing to help their employers take chances too.
• A love of technology - They tend to be highly mobile and like to access information and training on smartphones and tablets.
• Social consciousness - They tend to be compassionate and respond positively to working for companies that embrace and support social causes and “do good in the world.”
•
Openness - Many welcome being part of diverse workforces. Furthermore, they are more welcoming of alternative lifestyles than preceding generations were.
• Career mobility – Your assumptions that millennials are job- hoppers could be correct. Many do not hesitate to change jobs as a way to achieve personal goals and success.
64
Critical Steps to Take when Training Millennials
Here are some ways to make you and e ec ve
and effective withyou •
chun • at millenni ining seems irrelevant. younger m l en
e your training more comp l n er milllennial workers:
workers:
Deliver lver lessons and modules in short “digest unks that millennials can absorb quickly. They are generally fast-moving and can tune out as soon as training s
estible” so
• Us animation ,, v o d
than wor con
• • • qu kly. They ar
Use animations videos and other moving images to deliver key concepts. They often work better than words or text to convey important take-away oncepts to millenn
im millenniials d already use,
Remem er, millenn Ask f r t
training trainin , b
Express yo ry
ni s..
Deliver training on plat orms that millennials pre er and a rea
platforms
emember, millenniials grew up using mobi sk for their ideas and suggest
ggestions b ues s before a s prefer e, ininc d ng sma tp one and tablets. e and during
, because millennials think like entrepreneurs, value autonomy amy,, and like to shape the content of their jobs.
reneurs, valu
s your company value in yoin your training You can explain, for example, that your organization is trying not just to generate profits, but to support em
ning.. You an explain, f mill s s bjec ve , t inue w r ex
employees and do gd do good in tin the worlld When younger millennials see that their work supports those objectives, they are more likely to believe in company leaders and initiatives—and more likely to experience levels of satisfaction that make them want to continue working for you in the long term.
pp ke y t
ea ers and ini at ve s o
g f r yo Remember that Training
Fundamentals Still Apply Don’t let the fact that you are training millennials worry you. Even though they may differ in some ways from your other trainees, the fundamental principles of all good training still apply. Tat means knowing who your trainees are and what they do, understanding the results that you want to achieve, identifying metrics to measure before and after training and delivering it in empowering and interesting ways. No matter who you are training, those principles still apply. So be brave about training your millennial newcomers, go out, and get the job done.
Evan Hackel is the CEO of Tortal Training, an executive coach, speaker and author of Ingaging Leadership: A New Approach to Leading that Builds Excellence and Organizational Success. Tortal Training specializes in developing interactive eLearning solutions to make effective training easier by specializing in engagement. As CEO, Evan promotes the Ingagement philosophy, which has helped countless organizations create a culture of partnership and common purpose to drive success. For more information on Evan Hackel,, or toor to purchase his book please visit
www.Tortal.net.
Ha
d. When younger eve in c
d more ke y t en
cludiing smartphones and tablets. ing mobile dev ces.evices.
ta t take- mpellliing
TPI Turf News July/August 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76