By Christopher Pappas /  @cpappas 

Millennials make up a large percentage of your workforce. Are you offering them the online training experiences they need to live up to their tech-savvy potential? In this article, I’ll highlight 6 must-haves that you should include in your millennial online training courses.

Millennial Online Training Courses: 6 Must-Haves To Consider

Millennials were born between 1980 and 2000. They were raised at the dawn of the digital era, which means that they feel right at home in online training environments. This also presents a unique challenge for eLearning professionals, as Millennials won’t settle for anything less than interactive, immersive, dynamic, and collaborative online training content. Here are the 6 essential components that no millennial online training courses should be without.

1. Multiplatform-Friendly Online Training Materials

Millennials don't want to be stuck at the computer screen. They want to be able to take their online training with them wherever they go. As such, you need to make your online training courses multiplatform-friendly. A responsive design eLearning authoring tool gives you the ability to create a single online training course that is accessible on all devices and browsers. Millennials have the power to quickly view an online video tutorial, participate in a bite-size scenario, or indulge in a bit of serious gaming without having to step foot in the training room. To make your online training even more convenient, create microlearning materials that last five minutes or less. eLearning infographics, online demos, and targeted online training simulations are perfect examples of micro online training activities.

2. Personalized Online Training Paths

Millennials are go-getters, and that's an understatement. They seize every opportunity to explore new ideas and develop new skills, especially when they know that it will help them achieve their professional goals. Millennials aren't willing to settle for the status quo and do the bare minimum. As a matter of fact, many of them stay with their current employers because they know that they'll get the online training they need to reach their potential.

Create personalized online training paths that feature customized goals, online training activities, and assessments based on your employees' experience and job responsibilities. An employee from your sales department isn't looking for the same skills or information as your IT staff. Thus, you have to conduct audience research to figure out what they expect, and how you can fulfill those expectations without making it seem like a "one size fits all" online training course.

3. Ongoing Feedback

Your millennial employees love feedback and individualized praise. While other generations may be fiercely independent or hesitant to accept advice, millennials often look for guidance from their mentors, peers, and instructors. That's not to say that they aren't self-sufficient, but that they know the value of outside feedback. Create a social media group where employees can leave their comments and opinions. Encourage them to participate in forums and group collaboration online projects. Ask them to develop their own training materials and then post them online for their peers to review. Most importantly, offer them timely feedback and constructive criticism as often as you can. Don't wait until the end of the online training course to let them know what they did incorrectly or how they can improve their performance behaviors. Mention it at the end of each online training activity, or even during, so that they can correct the issue before moving on. This also allows them to remedy problems before they escalate in the workplace and compromise their productivity.

4. Interactive Branching Scenarios And Serious Games

Everybody enjoys a good game, but millennials crave interactive games and branching scenarios that combine entertainment with educational value. In fact, they won't settle for anything less than media-rich online training activities that are immersive and engaging. Realism is the key, which includes true-to-life images, sounds, and situations. Ideally, the interactive online training exercises should also fall into the category of microlearning. Remember, they don't have an abundance of spare time, so you need to give them the information as quickly as possible. Branching scenarios and serious games also give them the ability to apply what they've learned. Instead of dealing with a steep learning curve on the job, they can practice tasks and skills in a risk-free setting.

5. Clear Goals And Expectations

The millennials on your staff are focused, determined, and dedicated. They also happen to be pragmatic, which means that they don't want to waste time on online training courses that aren't of any value to them. Clearly specify your goals, expectations, evaluation criteria, and learning objectives before the online training course. As a matter of fact, you should also reiterate periodically during the online training course to refresh their motivation.

Ultimately, millennials want to know how the online training is going to help them in the workplace and what they'll be able to do with the skills they've learned. Encourage them to ask questions in advance and bring up any concerns they may have. Provide them support online resources, such as email addresses, forums, and FAQs in case they have any issues along the way. Make sure that your millennial employees know what to expect throughout the training process and why ongoing online training is so important.

6. Links To Additional Online Resources

I would be remiss to omit resource link lists from this article. Millennials like to go at their own pace, primarily because they have individual goals and objectives they are striving toward. Resource link lists can include anything from articles and YouTube videos to webinars and podcasts. Break it into categories based on job duties, skills, tasks, or topics so that employees can quickly get the information they require. Employees who excel can use these online resources to broaden their professional knowledge, while those who are struggling can use them to catch up and improve their performance.

One of the primary reasons why it’s so important to develop Millennial online training courses is because they are the future of your organization. As Baby Boomers retire, Millennial and Gen X, Y, Z employees will take control of the helm. Don’t you want them to be prepared for the challenge that lies ahead? Read the article 7 Tips To Develop Online Training Courses For Generation Z Workforce to discover how to give your Generation Z workforce the tech-forward, pragmatic, and purpose-driven online training they require.

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