COLUMN - What's Next?
So how do we engage, train and retain a generation that is least motivated by security?
Microsoft’s research discovered that when asked the question, “how do you want to learn?”, 77.3 percent want on the job, in the environment training, 50 percent prefer shadowing others, 40.9 percent reading and research, only 36.4 percent in a classroom with others and a surprising low 31.8 percent online at their own pace. And zero want to practice in a safe environment.
As leaders and trainers, we need to start embracing their communication tools, of which I’m delighted to hear that email is going to become a thing of the past. Millennial preferences remain face-to-face interaction and communication over social media, and they are hungry for frequent feedback.
More than ever, career paths and access to coaches or mentors are essential to engaging with and retaining this talent pool. Regular bite size learning is needed to fuel their constant desire to grow and finally, leaders will require an increased level of patience—Gen Y are quick to share their opinion without boundaries and often have unreasonable expectations for very fast growth.
Setting measurable stretch goals for millennials to prove their capability and earn the right to faster promotions is one way of ensuring they don’t embrace an entitlement mentality, which can be just as dangerous for their personal growth as it is for that of the organisation.
Organizations need to create plans to get maximum returns in two-year cycles. The best people to help you with these plans… the millennials themselves.
Hazel Jackson is CEO of Biz-Group, a leading training and development company based in Dubai. Hazel’s primary role is to scour the globe for the latest training and talent development tools, resources and systems to figure out what is needed in the Middle East. Her nickname in the company and native genius is “What’s Next?”