The Top 3 Ways Technology Transforms Training Across Generations

How many generations are you managing at your work? Are you one of the lucky ones that have — for one of the first times in history — five generations of workers on your team? It’s not a stretch to think that you could have a 74-year old member of the Silent Generation, who was born into a world without television, sitting next to a 20-year old Gen Z employee that has never known a world without the Internet or iPhones. 

But, even if you only have two or three generations of employees reporting to you, a key part of your job as their manager is to find skill training programs that cater to everyone’s preferred learning method. And that includes the type of content within the training as well as the way your employee consumes it. Luckily, training and content delivery technology is advancing so quickly that learners in 2020 get more than the “one size fits all” training that workers were stuck with just a decade ago.

Isn’t the generation thing a little overblown?

 Look around your office, and you’ll likely find a broad spectrum of people and personalities as young team members enter the workplace and older employees push back their retirement years. This trend has resulted in gradual, yet consistent, growth in the workforce, and by the year 2024, roughly 25% of workers will be over the age of 55.

This poses a unique challenge for small to medium-sized businesses, who must stretch their learning and development (L&D) resources with onboarding, training and mentoring new talent across all age categories. In addition, technological advances are changing the work itself and many current employees need to be upskilled through training to remain relevant at work. And, whether some people want to admit it or not, L&D professionals know that each generation responds differently to learning modalities and styles.

For instance, Gen Xers tend to be pragmatic and independent thinkers that prefer to learn through direct communication and practical exercises. Alternatively, Millennials prefer guided self-assessment and teamwork environments to improve their skills. And no… this does NOT apply to every single member of those generations as there are always exceptions to every rule.

Use technology effectively for learning, development, and training

Although public perception imagines older employees as tech-phobic and younger workers as tech-savvy, research around generational tech usage paints a much different picture. In truth, today’s multi-generational workforce is mostly aligned on the benefits of better technology integrations in the workplace (even if how they use technology differs).

By employing the right technology in the right ways, you can better unify your work teams and training programs for continued success down the line.

Here are the three best ways:

1. Bridge communication gaps

It’s evident that effective communication is a key aspect of any training program. However, as a leader in your company, you should equally consider the different communication channels that businesses have at their disposal, and how each generation may differently react to them.

An article by Notre Dame of Maryland University aptly outlines the core distinctions in the ways that each generation prefers to communicate. When you hire post-Millennial employees, they bring their personal experience and proficiency with technology. Accordingly, 65% of Generation Z communicates online versus in person. When not speaking face-to-face, Generation X and the Baby Boomers are more accustomed to traditional communication technology, such as telephones and email, as these tools were integrated as they transitioned to adulthood and the workplace. An overwhelming majority (93%) of Baby Boomers use email every day.

Leaders who want to converse with their teams on the platforms that they are most comfortable using should consider communication technology designed to unite cross-generational dialogue. That’s why many businesses have migrated to a multi-channel Unified Communications service. Unified Communications platforms offer a multitude of communication options—video meetings, phone calls and chat messages. This allows you to keep all of your business communication on the same platform, even as individuals across generations use their tool of choice. 

If you are tasked with training or mentoring your new hires, you’ll want to have a comprehensive understanding of communication preferences and adapt your communication style to match the individual. Gen X’ers likely will be more engaged by an in-person training seminar with a formal delivery of information. By hosting the same seminar online, through a video meeting or conference call, you can ensure that younger and remote employees are just as responsive.

2. Giving feedback

Another key aspect of the training process where each generation will diverge is their reception to performance evaluations, both formal and informal. Constructive feedback is vital to any training process, and as a trainer, it is your responsibility to share your insights on the best ways for those under your guidance to improve. With that in mind, many are sensitive to the delivery of your feedback, and to further complicate the issue, each generation may interpret the same information differently.

The secret to giving great feedback is to identify the primary motivators of the person you are evaluating to give them actionable advice that plays to their workplace instincts. Leaders have to learn how to provide cross-generational feedback because they also need to understand the intrinsic motivators in every generational bucket.

Generation X’s independent disposition and their self-sufficiency make them particularly barbed to micromanagement. Providing feedback to these employees, therefore, should convey big-picture concepts, allowing Gen X’ers to improvise on the small details as they see fit. Millennials, who are often motivated by personal and career development, look for insights that will help them not only excel at their job but in soft business skills as well. This means that Millennials will better respond when you offer praise for noteworthy achievements and connect core components of their position to lifelong skills to sharpen.

Coupling your efforts to improve feedback culture with a designated feedback software is another technique you can use to empower employees across generations. Many feedback platforms deliver features like mobile device accessibility and team recognition systems, which the younger generations are sure to enjoy. For Generation X and Baby Boomers, a digital platform for sending and receiving feedback can encourage employees who would otherwise prefer to keep to themselves and their work to share their insights and recommendations, which can have a monumental impact on the direction of your department and company at large.

3. Enabling mobility

Business technology has created an on-the-go workforce. Tools that facilitate remote and flexible work opportunities give employees the ability to work in the hours and locations that work best for them. In an age where businesses are relying on the aid of full-time remote staff, your business should prepare to train its new hires from both the office and from afar. This means using tools and technology that operate on mobile-friendly devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. With 94% of mobile workers using a smartphone to accomplish their work, it’s imperative that your company works with tools and services that are mobile-compatible.

But how is each generation adapting to the trend toward mobility? According to the Pew Research Center, the difference between Millennial and Boomer smartphone ownership is not as distinguished as one might think. In 2019, 96% of young Americans (age 18-29) have a smartphone, and that number only drops by 17% when polling smartphone ownership for those in the age 50-64 bracket. When it comes to the frequency at which we use our devices, the generations are more similar than they are different.

To fully support your mobile workforce, you can start by mobilizing your training programs with digital alternatives to in-person sessions. That’s where a tool like a mobile-friendly intranet application comes into play. Intranets operate like a central hub of information for your business.

Important employee documents, training videos, workspaces, and digital tools are stored securely through your intranet subscription. And by hosting this information on the cloud, these digital platforms ensure that your new hires have access to the training programs and procedures they need through an internet connection—regardless of whether they’re using their work computer, personal tablet or smartphone.