Training Millennials

Training Millennials isn't as hard as people think, although it will be different from what has happened before. An example is that because they are digital natives, they can quickly understand new technology. They are also able to come up with solutions to company problems by utilising technology not often seen within the corporate workspace.

This does not necessarily mean that elearning is the answer. After all, Millennials will learn better when discussion with their colleagues is an important part of their training. For example, the leadership (and facets off) training that I deliver is varied and incorporates discussion with the group. This allows them to debate what they are learning and demonstrate their understanding. It also allows them to embed essential leadership concepts without even realising that's what they are doing.

Millennials are becoming Maverick Behaviourists in large numbers

In the articles 'Are Millennials the new Mavericks?' and 'Millennials at work', we explored the fact that Millennials through environment and personality, are becoming Maverick Behaviourists. Fully understanding this has a significant impact on how an organisation chooses to develop and nurture them. Gone are the days when they went on a mandatory training course every couple of years. These individuals need and demand constant fine tuning to become the peak performer that is within them.

Millennials want developing, although, not the shallow dip training that has become common in workplaces. Companies believe that in times of austerity they should cut their development budget. This is a false economy. By 2020 50% of the workforce will be Millennials, is it prudent to have such a large proportion of your workforce essentially untrained?

With Baby Boomers retiring in large numbers, there isn't enough Generation X employees around to fill the leadership gap. This means that Millennials, Maverick Behaviourists will need to take charge at an increasingly younger age. The question for organisations today, is 'how can we make this possible?'

How to train Millennials

• Treat them in the same way that you would treat Socialised Mavericks
• Ensure that what you offer includes visuals that aid learning
• Learning must be deep and not shallow. Do not shy from complicated concepts
• The training should be challenging, all Mavericks including Maverick Behaviourists demand it
• Millennials need coaching and mentoring to get ahead
• Learning should be fun and embeds learning that is actionable.

What does this mean?

Millennials are not entitled and stupid. They see the world differently and the ones that will become movers and shakers will ask uncomfortable questions. These questions need answering and the corporate equivalent of 'because I said so' will not cut any ice!

Training Millennials isn't as hard as people think, although it will be different from what has happened before. An example is that because they are digital natives, they can quickly understand new technology. They are also able to come up with solutions to company problems by utilising technology not often seen within the corporate workspace.

This does not necessarily mean that elearning is the answer. After all, Millennials will learn better when discussion with their colleagues is an important part of their training. For example, the leadership (and facets off) training that I deliver is varied and incorporates discussion with the group. This allows them to debate what they are learning and demonstrate their understanding. It also allows them to embed essential leadership concepts without even realising that's what they are doing.

Their development is different

Socialised Mavericks take care of their own development and as such expect their organisations to support this. They are more likely to approach their manager with a list of skills or even training courses that they want to attend. Companies can facilitate this need for control that Maverick Behaviourists will also demonstrate by approaching a provider that can design an inhouse course that covers the additional skills that the Millennial wants and the skills that the company wants their employees/mangers to have. The solution might not be a training course at all, a good consultant trainer should be able to design something that works.

A maverick solution for your budding mavericks!

Millennials are cleverer than you think

They were taught in visual classrooms and often will reach for their phone to quickly learn something from YouTube. This is an excellent idea to learn some foundational information. I often produce short videos to aid learning on the bespoke training interventions that I design. It's an excellent way to ensure that a difficult complex concept is introduced in an appealing and insightful way.

In a mere 1-5 minutes, learners through video, can be enticed to begin learning something difficult. It can provide the building block for more detailed learning. This has often been appreciated, as a different way to access material.

I have found that organisations often assume that difficult concepts cannot be learnt lower down the organisation. By shying away from this development need the organisation reaps the reward of misinformed employees and disengaged ones. Millennials will not stand for this and will move to another company that will provide the information that they need.

A large company approached me to design a leadership programme for their junior managers. Having spent some time discovering what the company really needed, I determined that the management team had very little strategic thinking ability. When I discussed this with them and my plan to deliver a module on strategic thinking there were concerned that their managers would be able to understand the content.

Even though they knew their managers needed to acquire strategic thinking. My belief is that you can teach anyone anything, you just need to adjust your methods. The content of the module included strategic thinking models, videos, quizzes etc. As expected this difficult content was easily assimilated by the managers.

Millennials, like mavericks shouldn't be underestimated.

Millennials like Mavericks expect to have autonomy and be able to have meaningful roles that impact on the organisation. They do not have the self-confidence that Mavericks have, however, so they will need coaching and mentoring to develop to peak performance. It is worth considering an external coach or mentor, especially if there is a need to accelerate their learning.

Training Millennials isn't as difficult as it can seem. It is important to remember that they have maverick tendencies and if you want the best from them, then you must take this into consideration.

The reason Millennials are perplexing the organisations that they work in is because they are really Mavericks in disguise.