The Leak in the Talent Pool

Millennials/Digital Natives: A lot of Effort and Money is Lost

It remains to be seen whether the studies predict that the millennial generation will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. What is clear, however, is that this will happen sooner rather than later.

Many organizations invest an enormous amount of time and effort in the so-called "war for talent" and end up losing a lot of the talents. There are many studies on this, such as the one by CareerAddict, which revealed that career promotion opportunities are a decisive factor for 82% of millennials and the lack of training and development opportunities would lead them to start searching for another job.

We all know the cliché: people don't quit their jobs, they leave their managers. Poor management, such as micromanagement and insufficient leadership, leads to frustration and disengagement. It has been shown in a study by McKinsey in 2022 that uninspiring leaders who are not committed to people's development are a major reason for people quitting their jobs, along with a lack of career development.

Another study by McKensey in 2022 showed that 58% of respondents prefer to learn at their own pace and "on demand", which considers their individual needs and preferences. Contemporary employees want contextualized and personalized learning that is easily accessible in consumable formats, integrated into daily work routines and supported by timely nudges.

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When learning formats demotivate

As digital natives, millennials are more than familiar with digital, interactive and social tools. They are experts in multitasking - the dynamics and parallelism of digital worlds and technologies are part of life and work for this generation. They can often complete several tasks in parallel on different devices and via different media. 1

Everything in life has its price, including these talents and strengths. The price is a shorter concentration span and, as a result, increased diversion/distraction. Millennials/digital natives are often less attentive in face-to-face training sessions. 2

In the area of training and further development, it has been shown that millennials/digital natives are best reached with the concept of digital learning strategies. More than half of those surveyed stated that they prefer online tools to physical classroom training. 3

Millennials have grown into a world of opportunities where they are in control. For them, there is no absolute right or wrong for everything, but rather various chances to achieve different things.

It is important for millennials to be able to determine not only when and where, but also their own learning journey. This means they want to notice that their thoughts and actions influence the learning process. They are not consumers, but co-creators. For them, learning is interaction in which they aim to apply new skills immediately, and they do not necessarily require complete concepts to do so. They only need a part of it, a rough understanding which they want to test and try out immediately, and they see mistakes as part of learning. Direct, objective feedback is therefore essential for them. Millennials aim to face realistic scenarios with relevant "on the job" information and problem-centered solutions. The orientation towards action-oriented learning shifts the focus to situational learning with and from others. Learning is implemented in action; socially as well as cognitively. It is concrete rather than abstract and is linked to judgment and exploration. Millennials were the initiators who produced and consumed tutorial videos on YouTube, which is a preferred form of learning. The visual presentation of the content is very appealing to them. 4, 5, 6

For all these aspects, powerful and future-oriented e-learning can form a vital basis for successful learning. Millennials learned early on that learning is interactive and playful or gamified for them, and that they can expand their knowledge with just a few clicks. There are various multimedia e-learning formats, such as simulations, gamification or social learning etc., which can be used specifically for the interests and usage preferences of millennials to ensure successful learning.

Millennials are drawn to visual and multimedia learning materials like no other generation before, such as interactive simulations, videos, animations, and gamified learning platforms. They appreciate content that is visually appealing and easy to digest, presenting information in a dynamic and interactive format.

Millennials/digital natives also want tangible information, such as facts, that they can build on. They prefer tools and platforms that offer immediate performance feedback and progress monitoring to track their learning progress in real time. They are eager to learn more about themselves and their skills and how they can develop them further. As highly educated individuals, they rely on scientifically validated assessments.

Millennials/digital natives prefer learning experiences that are relevant and applicable to real-world contexts and challenges. They are seeking opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills in practical scenarios, simulations, case studies and hands-on projects that mimic real-life situations.

According to Michael Polanyi, knowledge can be divided into two dimensions: explicit and tacit/implicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is recorded in the form of concepts and facts in books and relates to “knowing what”. Tacit or implicit knowledge is “know-how”, which is best manifested in work practices and skills. Tacit knowledge is found in practice, most often in working with others. Learning by doing in context provides learners with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a specific practice where one learns to be a physicist, social scientist, leader, etc., in contrast to just learning about such professions or jobs. Enculturation is critical to learning soft skills because relatively little of the complex web of practice can be made the subject of explicit instruction. Much of the knowledge inevitably remains implicit in practice and must be acquired through learning by doing. Soft skills, which form a large part of leadership skills, are tacit/implicit knowledge. 6

Understanding this and knowing how millennials learn best, simulations are the ideal form for successful leadership development in the context of blended learning. In such a blended learning program learners have opportunities to interact, share and reflect with others. A program that ensures personal guidance and support through 1:1 coaching and where learners get timely nudges to ensure the repetition of knowledge, knowhow, and best practice, and where they get new insights to ensure a continuous learning.

1 Millennials’ way of e-learning and communicate in the digital era, Tatjana Mamula Nikoli?, 2015

2 Meet the Modern Learner, Bersin by Deloitte, 2014/15

3 5 Killer Examples Of Learning Strategies To Design Corporate Training For Millennials, Asha Pandey, 2017

4 The Digital Mindset as an Approach to Education for the Millennial Generation, Sonny Eli Zaluchu, 2023

5 Learner and Learning in digital era: Some issues and challenges, Rajvir Singh, 2016

6 Learning in the Digital Age, John Seely Brown, 2002