(Middle) Vince Wan, business development director of Columns Asia

To engage today’s millennial workforce in corporate training is always a great challenge for many L&D specialists as well as employers. Born and bred in the modern digital era, millennials live not only with broadband, desktops and laptops, but they also have a natural understanding and strong af nity for Wi-Fi, smartphones, mobile tablets, social network and the latest apps. Fueled by this growing HR technology landscape, a new set of talent development and learning programmes are being applied with many innovative solutions.

Millennial employees are characterised by their desire for a flexible approach toward work and corporate structures, instant access to information as well as constant recognition, feedback and encouragement from their employers. Most have a strong desire to continue learning and quickly move upwards through an organisation. If they find that their career expectations have not been met, they will part from their current jobs. In other words, millennials want a talent development style and culture that is markedly different from previous eras.

The workplace has changed, and so has workplace learning, reflected in the transition from formal to more informal training approaches. According to Jane Hart, founder of the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies, one of the world’s most visited learning websites, there are five stages of workplace learning, from classroom training, e-learning, and blended learning of classroom training and e-learning to social learning and collaborative learning.

Moving from management-driven to employee-driven learning
"As opposed to traditional educational management systems that often impose top-down learning, collaborative learning is a bottom-up approach whereby employees drive their own learning approaches and goals," says Vince Wan, business development director of Columns Asia, a Hong Kong based online learning service provider backed by Braidio, a top-tier US cloud-based online learning platform.

Collaborative learning is a process in which employees obtain information and knowledge in a group setting. This may include the participation of an individual who facilitates the mutual learning process by assigning work, orchestrating discussions and suggesting research, but he or she does not act in the traditional instructor role. "In a collaborative learning environment, employees learn along with others, not from an instructor or expert," explains Wan. "It is more than just the learning process, and also involves networking and other collaborative activities."

The proliferation of information technology and millennials’ ease in using the Internet means that they respond well to a range of digital learning styles and delivery methods. They are innately collaborative and accustomed to learning in teams and by hands-on application and doing. Mobile devices, blogs, wikis, social networks and knowledge repositories make both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration an inviting way for people to share insights and knowledge. They not only can learn from each other, but also experience deeper learning through the exchange of information and the varied perspectives of their peers.

Employees learn more from team-based exercises
A great deal of research has already proved that people learn best by interacting with others in a real world context. Reports also indicate that peer teaching far outperforms e-learning or other forms of instruction. It takes advantage of collaborative activities including dialogues, peer teaching, and team-based problem solving exercises. Given their unique temperaments, millennials generally dont enjoy nor learn well in highly controlled lecture-driven seminars, videotaped presentations or e-learning tutorials. According to Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, learners retain 5% of what they hear, 10% of what they read, and 50% of what they learn through discussion and interaction. In tandem with direct experience, their retention rates can soar up to 75% or more.

Wan points out that collaborative learning can allow employers to build and monitor learning metrics, and achieve the ultimate goal of sustained learning. HR personnel can also access analytics and report on course progress, member engagement, trending topics and other aspects. Common discussion topics across different groups can be thought of as FAQs for future learners.

The popularity of smartphones can also allow employees to engage in collaborative learning during their own convenient fragments of time, like travelling on the MTR, having a cup of coffee at Starbucks or standing in line, instead of designated classrooms where learners have to gather together at a particular point of time. "The training programmes should also be segmented into shorter time frames, like 10 to 20 minutes per session to maintain the attention of trainees". The training content, compiled with animated elements, videos or audio effects in dynamic forms, are shown to members, leading to team-based discussions or a quiz for a more interactive effect.

"This content delivery approach enables employees to organically integrate learning into their daily workflow," adds Wan. "For instance frontline staff working in pharmacies can use their mobile devices to access drug information and advice from groups, or employees from different regions can share their experiences and opinions about the implementation of sales promotion campaigns, etc." Collaborative learning allows employees to learn continuously within the context of their jobs. They are not just the learners but also act as contributors and collaborators for businesses who drive engagement in order to promote talent loyalty and retention.

Motivate employees via O2O coaching
Similar to peer-to-peer learning styles, O2O coaching can also make use of mobile technology to create a partnership between coaches and team members to explore how performance might be taken to a new level via face-to-face and online conversations after setting aside a specific time. "Taking advantage of digital platforms, this training model can provide instant interaction between team members as well as coaches, resulting in greater learning motivation and real time applications," says Roy Fung, managing director of Tricor Consulting. "O2O coaching has already been widely used across the retail industry in boutiques as well as jewelry and other high-end product outlets."

For companies with thousands of branches across various provinces in mainland China or overseas, O2O coaching can set up a unified platform where frontline sales clerks receive new product information on-site instead of travelling to the head office for a task briefing. "Moreover, the online dialogue can be monitored by sales managers to ensure that correct information and marketing mechanisms are being used in order to achieve customer service excellence."

In practice, branch managers can simply log into the system with their mobile phones to review the coaching reports of their branches. After selecting the proper training content to kick start the coaching sessions, branch managers can then present the script or play the audio clip for delivery. The coaching process may include quizzes or peer discussions of skills application, followed by a wrap up session by inputting follow up action plans. The whole training process emphasises a high level of interaction between participants.

Apply beacon devices in mobile learning
"Nowadays more and more HR professionals around the world use beacons, a location-based device that connects with receivers, i.e., smartphones with apps, to develop mobile learning," adds Fung. Beacon is a technology widely used in shops, stadiums, museums, and zoos that empowers contextualisation based on proximity, and connects the physical and digital worlds. Moreover, it has the potential to be applied for educational and training purposes.

Beacon devices can support employees during actual hands-on situations with a resource that gives them the right support at the right time. They can then pull out the proper mobile apps and get training, retrieve a job aid, or connect with an expert in real time. Moreover, they can consult the app after completing the tasks to be sure that they did everything correctly. They can also retrieve the available information again if they need it in the future.

Tricor Consulting is a member of Tricor and Bank of East Asia Group. By creating strategic and management solutions for the clients from both the private and public sectors under a rapidly evolving environment, its areas of service include talent management, training and development, strategic management, organisation structuring, human capital, board governance, business process, and change management.