Accelerate Millennial learning and development by avoiding these six training pitfalls.
The 2016 North American external spend on training courses was $28.1 billion, according to Training Industry. Yet 80 percent of managers who change behavior after training maintain the training six months or less before going back to their old ways.
The way in which training is developed and delivered for the modern workplace must change, especially if you are trying to train the 60 percent of Millennials who want workplace training to develop their leadership skills.
As someone who has spoken to thousands of professionals on the topic of leading and developing Millennials, is a Millennial myself, and has built a Millennial training company called 21Mill.com, I have identified the top mistakes employers make when training Millennials. I'll use 21Mill.com as a real-life example to provide proper context.
6 Problems That Will Bankrupt Your Millennial Training
1. Inaccessible Training Content
The reason the Nintendo Switch video game console has been a huge success is because it allows players to effortless switch between television and mobile gameplay. The modern Millennial learner expects content to be mobile, micro, and on-demand.
21Mill.com delivers training content that has been optimized for mobile consumption, microlearning modules that are bite-size (only 10 to 15 minutes in length), and available 24/7.
2. Limited Learning Modalities
According to Training Industry, 52 percent of learners use three to six modalities in a training program. Modalities are the various approaches through which learning can be delivered, such as audio, visual, kinesthetic, instructor-led, e-learning, etc. Multiple modalities ensure the modern Millennial learner will be engaged and the learning will be retained.
21Mill.com effortlessly blends visuals, audio, text, video, and offline (real-world assignments, collaboration, on-site live training, and coaching) together to ensure every Millennial learner is engaged.
3. Zero Coaching
Growing up, Millennials were the first generation to not consider parents or teachers as the authority--rather they considered the internet the new authority. Millennials have been turning to the internet for answers and training as far back as they can remember. They don't need a teacher or trainer instructing them because they have the world's information curated into a black search box. Instead, they need a guide on the side...someone who can help them clarify, crystallize, and carry out their learning.
21Mill.com enables Millennial learners to receive coaching from professionals via virtual feedback around each module's real-world assignments.
4. Broad, Sweeping Training
The average training class size has been steadily decreasing since 2000. The average training class size of the future will be one. This means training content must be more and more specific to the generation, role, career stage, and individual. Training content that is for everyone is for no one.
21Mill.com is built to help Millennials succeed in the workplace at distinct stages of their careers. Every module centers around Millennial-specific training topics such as Putting Down the Device, Receiving Workplace Feedback, and Overcoming Entitlement.
5. More Training = More Learning
A long-held training belief is more is better. However, more training courses does not equal more learning. In fact, 74 percent of managers agree that large volumes of information presented in most training makes it hard to remember and apply. Course overload causes the learner to frantically and blindly click their way through the training in order to feel a small sense of progress against the looming mountain of modules. The most transformational training for Millennials is training that is stripped of fluff, irrelevant graphics, slow slide builds, and drawn-out narrators and instead gets straight to the point.
21Mill.com tackles the most pressing Millennial topics and intentionally shaves down the learning content to its most transformational core. As the famous saying goes, "I would have written a shorter letter, if I had the time."
6. Training Inconsistency
Training content with various designs, changing navigations, and shifting processes across different modules won't be tolerated by the modern Millennial learner. Millennials won't tolerate different design or navigation every time they swipe to a different page or tab in their favorite mobile application or website. Consistent training design, navigation, and processes breed learner confidence and streamline comprehension.
21Mill.com achieves training consistency by using the same designs, font, navigation, voice, and process throughout every module.
(Full disclosure: I am a partner of 21Mill. 21Mill is ideal for organizations with a growing number of Millennial employees who seek learning solutions that are catered to their learning style so that they can perform better at work. Contact us for your free demo.)
Consider Ryan Jenkins to be your next Millennial or Generation Z keynote speaker by clicking here...
This article was originally posted on Ryan's Inc.com column, Next Generation Insights.
