The youngest millennials were born between about 1990 and 1995 – they’re the workers who are between 20 and 25 who are often applying for their first “real” post-college jobs. They’re also the first generation that didn’t know life without cellphones, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and other technology. If you’re a generation or two older than they are, chances are that you’ve hit some frustrating challenges while trying to get them up to speed in your workforce.

Key Traits of Younger Millennials

While generalizations ALWAYS have exceptions, here are some common traits among this group:

• 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 and willing to help their employers take risks.
• A love of speed – They tend to be highly mobile and like to access information instantaneously and easily on all types of devices.
• Social consciousness – The group has a global perspective and mindset that lends to a fondness for organizations that are socially involved and want to “do good” in the world.
• Openness – They are more welcoming of what were previously considered alternative lifestyles. The social norms of earlier generations are often not part of their reality.
• Career mobility – They are often loyal to their career paths, personal development and life goals – and not necessarily to the organization.

Critical Steps to Take when Training Millennials

Because knowing your audience is 80% of every battle, here are some simple steps you can take to make your learning work better with this cohort:

• Keep it short – Deliver learning lessons in small “digestible” chunks that can be absorbed quickly. Think 10 minutes or less on eLearning sessions, two minutes or less on video, and less than 140 characters on alerts and announcements . . . with a link to READ MORE.
• Use good visuals – They work better than words or text to convey big concepts to millennials, so consider all visual media, including JPEGs, GIFs and MP4 files.
• Leverage multiple platforms – This is a technology-friendly generation that prefers using smartphones and tablets.
• Get their input and ideas – Because millennials think like entrepreneurs, value autonomy, and like to shape the content of their jobs, getting their ideas is a big part of getting buy-in.
• Help them understand the “why” – Whether it’s in training or other communications, the younger millennials have an especially large appetite for context and knowledge. Understanding the WHY of processes and procedures is a natural part of their learning process.

Want to Learn More?

Download a copy of our free eBook, Bridging the Generation Gap or call Tortal Training at (704) 323-8953 to email the author at Dan.Black@Tortal.net

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