Learning through the generations - are you ready for the new normal?

Generation Z have arrived and will soon surpass Millennials as the most heavily populated generation on the planet, plus with the recent COVID challenges, how are we adapting our learning and talent landscape to match this? We can no longer be in denial that change needs to happen and happen now.  We know that many businesses and industries will rise and fall in the lifetime of Gen Z. Yet, it seems that hardly any industries or organisations are ready for it, or may have even thought about it. 

In my parents’ generation a job would be for life, my generation (X) meant starting your career at the bottom of the ladder and working up.  This is no longer the case as technology and automation has now eradicated the repetitive and manual tasks. In addition, jobs have undergone dramatic change and we know that the workforce is reducing and competition for talent will be ferocious. Organisations now need to start thinking in a different way in order to win in the talent market. 

It is also imperative not to listen to or fall for the myths and stereotypes that we may read and hear. Whether you are talking about gender and ethnicity or even the different channels of learning, Gen Z rejects being fitted into an orderly little box. I personally find this challenging and rewarding.  Gen Z are proactive, they like to seek out opportunities to learn to enhance their skills and are happy to learn independently via online platforms, such as webcasts, online tutorials etc (although face to face options should not be discounted). Gen Z are fast in turning out to be the most educated and also debt-laden generation of all time. With that in mind, it would be wise for organisations to focus their investment in learning and skill/capability development, as this is a more desirable proposition to this education-oriented group. 

We know that the Gen Z are fiercely independent, very entrepreneurial and differ from Millennials. Millennials career advancement/development paths seem to be focused toward start-ups and start-ups to scale up organisations. Where Gen Z’s have a preference for career development that provides entrepreneurial and more diverse opportunities, along with the safeguard of more stable and secure employment, in return turn they will offer their loyalty to organisations that offer this.

Organisations need to work towards understanding the behaviours and tendencies of a generation of people that expect much more personalisation in their learning.  Gen Y are used to working independently and collaboratively to solve issues and problems. They are at ease with technology and at times may prefer this solution to face-to-face interaction and communication. Generation X are also pretty technology savvy, they want just in time knowledge, answers to problems as well as openness and will take responsibility. Baby Boomers appreciate, understand and accept the hierarchical and top-down approaches in organisations.  In the market we see a trend towards hierarchical structures being switched with much flatter, more empowering ones and flexible working coming more to the fore. COVID has provided us with a new way of working with our people - are you embracing this, or fighting against it? Maybe this climate is the new normal! How will you embrace it?

One could argue that technical skills and knowledge grow faster as you move forward through the generations. With that in mind, in learning we need pre- and post-collaborative projects that use such tools as Fuse for user generated content. Yammer or Microsoft teams will be more acceptable to Generation X, Millennials and Y, whilst Baby Boomers would rather have personal face to face contact and maybe more guarded with technology that drives virtual teams. You need to consider what your learning eco-system looks like. The learning experience and how you break it down is key, learning needs to be just enough, personal (just for me) and at the right time.

Gen Z believe that dialogue creates change, where Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers think they would have to break rules or the system to change the world. This new generation of self-learners are at ease absorbing new knowledge online than classic/traditional institutions of learning. 

Learning consumption also means having access to various learning products, not necessarily owning them. Gaining access is becoming the new form of learning consumption, unlimited access to learning.  Using 3rd party platforms and integrating this into our LMS/LXP for instance. The new generation of learners are everywhere and are online, the online–offline boundary no longer exists as it did. We are also entering an age where we can use advanced analytics to improve our insights on how and where people learn. Learning functions should have a data strategy that can help them develop business insights by collecting and interpreting information about learners.

Technology has given us an unprecedented degree of connectivity amongst people. That makes generational shifts much more essential and thus speeds up technological trends and development as well.  When designing learning we talk about learning styles, however, what about learning styles across all generations? Make learning as interactive as possible, encouraging collaboration, and don’t teach Millennials and Gen Y what they already know as they don’t like repetition. They want to know what they need to know now right here, right now.  This is where adaptive learning for instance maybe considered.

Millennials and Gen Y are used to being online and have become accustomed to communicating and sharing via social media platforms.  The typical Millennial for example, likes engagement and feedback. Learning needs to be created that provides opportunities for interaction. Millennials and Gen Y are social and mobile. They are always ‘on’ and typically have an expectation to be able to work anywhere at any time from any device. Hence, it’s imperative to give learners access to their learning anywhere at any time.  These learners don't require or need lengthy lectures. Create relevant content and create it fast, provide learning that adds value and helps enhance workplace skills. If you are unable to hook them with meaningful learning content straight away or convince them of the importance and relevance of the learning, be prepared to lose them and understand that they may not come back.

We know that since childhood, Millennials and Gen Y have been acknowledged and praised for their efforts and receive individualised and group attention. Therefore, effective Learning in any form needs to provide feedback to learners regularly about their progress, and what they have become skilled at, and if they have met a selection of goals. Accreditations and badges for learning could also be considered for Millennials and Gen Y to show their progress and skill development. Gen Y and Millennials want to be able to take their progress in development of skills with them throughout their careers, with different companies. How will you enable them to do that? Why should our certificates, learning records and achievements be walled off everywhere we work?  I can imagine, that if people could take these with them and use this to help them grow their careers, people would be much more invested in learning. Are you ready for these challenges?