How to Design Impactful Corporate Training Programs for Gen Zs?

Born between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gen Zers are gradually becoming a prominent part of today’s global workforce. Gen Zs are much different from their preceding generation. Their expectations at the workplace are also quite diverse when compared to the millennials who dominate the current workforce. This calls for organizations to gear up for the shift and devise strategies that best suit the next-gen employees. Naturally, there’s a need to revamp the corporate training approaches as well to groom the Gen Zs and blend them into the company’s culture and workflow. Read the blog to uncover Gen Z traits that you should know as training managers to craft meaningful learning programs for the next-gen lot. Also, get insights on a variety of training methodologies to make an impact on Gen Zs.

What Training Managers Should Know About Gen Zs?

Corporates have seen it all — the baby boomers, Gen Xs, and the millennials. Then what’s all the buzz about the Gen Zs? Well, there are multiple traits that set them apart from their previous generations. And having a hang of them can help you chalk out a high-impact training program for Gen Zs.

Here you go!

They Prefer Speed and are Drawn to Technology

Gen Zs are born in times when access to information is quick and easy. Thanks to the internet! The advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0 has impacted every walk of life and the young generation is embracing technology with open arms. No wonder, speed is what they prefer.

They are Competitive and Focus on Results

For the Gen Zs, it’s all about either “You win or you lose the game”. Gen Zs are highly competitive, unlike millennials who give importance to collaboration. They are DIYers who love to get involved in their task and are result-oriented.

They Love Freedom

Gen Zers love their space and prefer to work at their convenience. The “9 to 5” concept is outdated for them as they believe in the ideology of work-life blend rather work-life balance. Flexibility in work hours or work location is what they look for and restricting them to stringent office rules might hamper their productivity. They focus on delivering results and what matters for them is the outcome or performance.

They Prefer Straight-Forward Communication

When dealing with Gen Zs, don’t beat around the bush. Having short attention spans, Gen Zs prefer direct, straightforward communication. You might find it surprising, but 72% of digital natives prefer face-to-face communication over other means. Also, their definition of face-to-face communication is different. According to Gen Zs, Microsoft Teams or Zoom Call is also face-to-face interaction.

They are Diverse and Love Variety

Mundane tasks bore Gen Zs. They are enthusiastic learners eager to grow and thrive. They love challenges and variety in their work projects. You should make sure to offer them a learning culture and opportunities to learn and grow in their career paths.

→ Download Infographic — Blended Learning: The Go-to Approach to Offer Personalized Learning

5 Training Strategies to Design Impactful Learning Programs for Gen Zers

Getting acquainted with Gen Z traits is just half the job done. Though it provides you with ample insights into your young workforce, crafting a learning framework for them needs serious brainstorming. Considering the traits discussed above, here are a few learning strategies that you can try to train your Gen Z lot.

1. Use Storytelling to Garner Attention

The short attention span of Gen Zs is a major pain point you need to address to keep them glued to your online learning courses. What better than weaving the magic of storytelling into your training content? Storytelling can help you build a deeper connection and enhance learning. You can try making microlearning videos that entail the essence of storytelling. You can even try to blend storytelling into your eLearning modules to portray real-life work scenarios and characters. This approach makes courses interesting and drives learner engagement.

2. Gamify Your Courses

Unlike their previous generations, Gen Zs have grown up playing video games rather than hitting the playground. Naturally, their inclination towards online gaming is obvious. Why not leverage it and gamify your courses? Including gaming elements like points, levels, badges, and leaderboards in eLearning courses instills a competitive spirit within learners and enhances engagement and motivation. Gamifying courses not only leads to an increase in course completion rates but also to a better understanding of the concept delivered due to increased learner involvement. AR/VR-based gaming courses attract Gen Zs and can be used to deliver dry and uninteresting topics such as compliance training.

Watch this video to optimize eLearning experience with gamification.

3. Offer Self-Paced Learning

Gen Zs prefer just-in-time learning over just-in-case learning. So, confining them to classroom setups for long training sessions is not a good idea. Dwindling attention spans of modern learners is also a major concern and training them on multiple topics at a go could be overwhelming.

Allow them the freedom of self-paced learning to boost their performance and productivity. You can offer them microlearning videos, short eLearning modules, interactive PDFs, podcasts, eBooks, and more to learn various topics at their convenience. Make sure to host your resources on your learning management system (LMS) for easy access to your learners. Your learners can grab them on the go, during work breaks, or at their leisure.

4. Go for a Mobile-Friendly Approach

Gen Zers are true digital natives and finding their heads buried in their mobile phones is not a rare scene. Unlike their previous generations, they use mobile phones for every possible stuff — be it playing games, socializing, making payments, or learning new things. Hence, it is crucial to ensure your online courses follow a responsive design. When your courses are mobile-compatible, modern learners enjoy the luxury of taking up training at their convenience on the device of their choice. They don’t mind starting a course on their laptops, continuing a few modules on their mobile phones on their way back home, and finally finishing off the course on a smart television while relaxing on the couch.

5. Offer Immersive and Personalized Learning Experience

Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm and corporate training is not left unimpacted. The use of AR and VR has taken corporate training to another level. Learner engagement is a major pain point when it comes to garnering the attention of learners in online training, especially for Gen Zs. AR/VR-based learning modules mimic real-life work scenarios and transport learners to a virtual world that offers immersive learning experiences. AI algorithms provide insights into learner behaviors allowing you the scope to craft personalized learning pathways for your learners to satiate unique learner needs, styles, and preferences. These algorithms also help you analyze the performance of your courses and offer you the opportunity to modify and align them with changing learning needs and industry trends.

It's a Wrap!

Whether you are a budding training manager or a seasoned L&D professional, you need to pull up your socks when it comes to crafting impactful training programs for Gen Zs. Keep the traits discussed in the blog and align them with the training strategy that best suits the case. You can, in fact, try them all through a blended learning approach and wow your young workforce with personalized learning experiences.

Here’s a bonus!

Grab this detailed infographic to explore why blended learning is the go-to approach to offer personalized learning and craft impactful learning pathways for your Gen Z learners. Download now!