By: Jesi Tassava, Executive Assistant (and member of the Millennial generation)

Training is a key component of any workplace. Without efficient and effective training, new employees are less likely to become committed to working for you. Training is also very important because it allows new employees to do their job to the best of their ability. When training is catered to the incoming employee, that employee is likely to be much more receptive to the new information and will be eager to learn and grow. In a previous blog post, I discussed the benefits of using technology to train Millennials. However, training Millennials and helping them adapt to their new working environment requires a lot more than just updated technological training tools. The following are several more important considerations for your new Millennial employees.

Flexibility

Millennials like flexibility. As an employer, you can incorporate felixibility into the training program in order to appeal to new Millennial employees. If you have video training modules that can only be accessed on a work computer and you tell a new employee that they need to complete module 1 and 2 by the end of today, 3 and 4 by the end of the tomorrow, and so on, that employee is most likely going to be turned off. Millennials don’t want you to confine them to one area, on one device. A better approach would be to let them know when to have the online training completed and allow them to complete it on their own time.

Keep Training Short and Sweet

Millennials are a generation of people who quickly scroll through social media in their down time, tweet in 140 characters or less, and text short messages to their friends all day long. You can play to these attributes by keeping new information short and sweet. Providing them with a 50-page training manual to read is not the way to go. Instead, try using eLearning platforms and providing informational videos that are only about 5 minutes long. New employees will be less likely to get distracted and more likely to take in the necessary information.

Use a Gamified Approach

Millennials have grown up during a time of rapid technological changes. They have also grown up during a time when gaming devices have become extremely popular. From Game Boys and PlayStations to iPhone Apps, Millennials have played them all. Using a gamified approach caters towards this generations’ interests. It can also be a great way for visual and hands-on learners to do part of their training in a unique and interesting way. Let’s say that your veterinary hospital is beginning the transition to electronic medical records. Most of your staff will now need to be proficient is typing in order to keep the client cycle of service running smoothly. Websites such as keybr.com provide training tools for typing skills in a fun way that will keep your employees learning. Another example of gamified training would be using BINGO cards. You can have new employees do an activity for each BINGO square. Once they fill up their BINGO card, they can win some sort of small prize. Using techniques like these will keep your training program from becoming mundane and losing the interests of your employees.

Coaching and Feedback

Employers must not forget to provide feedback during the training process. Millennials want to know how they are doing. There is nothing worse than someone being told how to do something one time, leading to the individual forgetting how to do it or doing it wrong, but never being corrected. How is their training going? Are they adapting well within the workplace? These are the questions that new employees would like answers to. Millennials would also love to have coaching along the way, especially once their training is over. If you provide coaching to your employees or provide them with additional resources, they will likely feel as though they are continuing to grow, learn and develop. This contributes to an employees’ sense of purpose, which is extremely important for having loyal and committed employees.

Catering a training program towards the growing Millennial generation can be very beneficial and effective. When Millennials use updated technology that is not drawn out, they are less likely to get distracted, allowing them to learn to the best of their ability. Using a gamified approach and providing feedback along the way will ensure that you have excellent employees who are there to stay.