*Another* article about millennials in the workplace? Even the people jammed into that generational tag are sick of hearing about themselves. However, there is a very real difference between how these "digital natives" expect to learn, compared with previous generations.
Let them provide feedback
Decades ago, corporate culture was very hierarchical, with instructions sent downhill, with the receiving employees expected to carry out the tasks. Today, however, young employees feel that they have the right to be heard - and you would do well to listen. With this in mind, it is necessary to make sure that your corporate learning systems have tools for comments, annotation and sharing feedback. For example, if one of your retail locations works out a better method for counting inventory, employees should be able to record their new system and send back to HQ for evaluation.
Training is valued over other benefits
In 2015, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins included a startling statistic in their Internet Trends report: The top benefit that millennials valued from an employer was training and development, with 22% of the vote. Almost 1/4 of millennials say they would rather have training options available to them, above flex working hours (19%) and cash incentives (14%). With this in mind, it's to your advantage to deliver the training how they most want to receive it: video
Video content
Video as a training tool has only seen widespread adoption in recent years. Previous video training methods might have involved watching staged episodes on a computer's DVD player or - even worse - a VCR. With small cameras recording digital video, it is possible to record actual situations - cooking tutorials, clothes-folding procedures, etc - and make that video available everywhere, instantly. And everywhere is where it will need to be, as everyone has a phone or tablet these days, and will want to learn where they are, not in the back office.
Automatic delivery of content
Which brings us to content delivery. In an always-on, fast-Internet world, your entire workforce (not just millennials) will be expecting delivery of their training content automatically. If they have to reach out for it, you've already lost their attention. By making sure your enterprise content management system can deliver on this promise, you'll have the attention of not only your employees, but your executive team as well.
Millennials aren't some weird, crazy mutation - they're just people who have different expectations from the corporate world. Providing young workers with the materials and opportunity to learn when and where they choose, you'll be meeting them where they live - and they'll respect that.
To learn more download our latest guide on Mobile Content Management for the Enterprise
