5 Training Tips Aimed at Millennials

Millennials. You’ve heard the term and chances are you have a handful of them working in your office. They are known for their love of technology, shorter attention spans and an uncanny ability to multitask. One thing is for sure: Old training methods need a serious makeover if you are trying to cater to millennials. The days of PowerPoint presentations and text-heavy employee handbooks are long gone. Millennials crave interaction, engaging content and a variety of platforms. Let’s take a look at a few ways organizations can improve current training materials with millennials in mind.

Switch Up the Platforms

It’s no secret that millennials love their technology. They were the first generation exposed to constant digital advancements. They know how to navigate the Internet and all the wonderful tools it provides – take advantage of that. Of course, there is still value in having a printed copy of key training points for reference, so switch up the platforms for your millennial audience. Provide them with a digestible print training manual but offer up the access code for the online version. A variety will keep them engaged and allow them to access this critical information 24/7, through a truly blended solution.

Make It Bite-Size

According to Bridge, millennials tend to move between tasks as much as 27 times every hour. Training creators should keep this in mind when producing new content. Try to get your main message across as soon as possible. Videos are also great options to include in your training materials as they can be easily referenced and are usually more engaging than strictly text-based options.

Provide Visuals

Millennials have been constantly exposed to engaging visuals, and training material should incorporate plenty of stimulating visual aids. This will not only help grab your audience’s attention but can help viewers better process and retain the information. According to Buffer, visual images are processed by the brain 60,000 times faster than text. Not to mention the fact that 90 percent of all data transmitted to the brain is visual. When creating training material try to include as many visual components as possible.

Utilize eLearning Options

eLearning activities provide millennials with the technology they embrace and the collaboration they crave. Utilizing these technologically advanced materials will be much more appealing than a long and potentially boring conference room training session, noted eLearning Industry. Try out gamification in your next round of training, as this type of training allows your audience to stay engaged while still learning critical information.

Keep the Training Coming

Ongoing training options are a major motivator for the millennial workforce. Bridge reported that two-thirds of workers from this generation expect their employers to provide them with continuous opportunities for professional development. While millennials do require different types of training material, it is promising that they are a group of employees thirsting for more knowledge on company trends and developments. Leaders who provide these opportunities for knowledge are making an investment not only in these millennials but the future growth of the company as a whole.

Millennials are a crucial component of today’s workforce and the formulation of your training materials should cater to their learning preferences. Implement a blended learning strategy to boost your training content’s effectiveness.