Since I wrote the book “Engaging Your Millennials” in 2010 there have been many more books written about the “difficult” millennials. They continue to be misunderstood but contrary to popular opinion most of the ones I have met are diligent and successful although they have all clung to their philosophy of work life balance.
Many in the learning industry are publishing new ideas and strategies for training millennials and getting them into the new business environment.
However, what about Generation Z, they are now the ones looking into the future. In America GenZ will account for 20% of working adults by the year 2020. GenZ are individuals born from 1995 to 2010. These people have been involved with social media, internet and screens in general since birth, and are now emerging as the next big challenge for business organisations, big or small. Attracting and training this onslaught of talent is going to be one of the major challenges companies will face in the near future. This means employers should be adapting their workplace to suit the new psyche. It will require a balance between Generation X, Y and Z!
Here are some myths that need to be busted:
Myth 1: They Are No Different
Myth 2: They Are Still Young
Myth 3: Like the Millennials they are Slow and Lazy
Myth 4: They Don’t Care
“Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown”, a quote often made by my mother when she talked about the “sorry state” of the world at that time. It is time to be re-thinking our approach to training strategies for creating the next generation workforce that is adaptive to their learning style. Even our recruiting strategies should be revised rather than expect GenZ to conform to the old styles.
To mis-quote Mr Spock from Star Wars, “It won’t be training as we know it, Jim!”