While you are developing a training program, keep in mind that each generation has its own preferred learning style and has specific motivations for engaging in the learning process. These motivations result from your employees experiences in the educational system; the way their parents worked; learning approaches that were widespread when they were in school and earlier in their career; and the technologies they are accustomed to. Personalized training takes into account these cognitive features and helps to get rid of each trainees knowledge gap.

There are ten strategies that encompass learning preferences of all generations and help to bridge the generation gap at the workplace:

1. Introduce micro learning. Micro learning provides trainees with short, simple, and concise bits of material for better acquisition of information.
2. Focus on employee performance. We retain information better when it's essential for us. So, if employees encounter difficulties in performing their job, overcome them with training.
3. Define knowledge/skills gaps in a timely manner. Never force your employees to learn. Instead, provide tasks, projects, or situations that would require them to expand their knowledge and acquire new skills. Ensure you eliminate any gaps that prevent your employees from being productive to maintain a smooth workflow.
4. Keep generations engaged with each other. Keep generations engaged with each other. Dont let stereotypes run the process. Neutralize judgments and miscommunication. Assign projects to multigenerational teams. Make sure that when you create the teams you set clear goals, familiarize all team members with each individuals skills that will contribute to a successful project, and give on-demand feedback. Include mentoring as a way to rally your employees, encourage them to share their experiences, and develop new ideas.
5. Welcome your employees diversity of thoughts. Recognize their ideas to make them feel valued and listened to. Get to know their aspirations and professional development goals and align them with your business objectives. Allow your employees to make mistakes. Not all ideas can lead to success, but they are a crucial part of learning, experience enrichment, and innovation.
6. Provide flexibility where possible. Flexibility is not only about time. Let your employees choose their preferred style of learning by offering them suitable training options.
7. Set clear objectives. Every time you assign a new task to your employees, make sure they understand what they have to do, what steps to follow, what are the deadlines, and explain how this task will contribute to the bigger company goals. The same clarity should be incorporated in your training program as well.
8. Give on-demand feedback. Different generations prefer different types of feedback. While Millennials and Generation X are up for immediate and continuous feedback, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists need it less frequently. Keep balance and use different means of communication to provide feedback (face-to-face, video-conferencing, team collaboration tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, etc.)
9. Incorporate rewards and recognition programs. Everybody wants to be acknowledged for the work they do.
10. Choose the right learning platform. All the above-mentioned tips can be easily implemented when youve got a smart learning platform that serves as a facilitator for talent development. We know from experience that these features are a must when it comes to developing in-house talent: mobile learning, that allows your employees to access the necessary training content anytime, anywhere, and through any device; interactivity and social functionality that enable seamless collaboration around communities and activities; ability to track your employees progress and more. But, the most important feature to help you automatically deliver personalized training to any of your employees is machine-learning capabilities that make training truly smart.

Overall, to manage your employees well, you should understand their backgrounds. To train your employees effectively, take into account their learning styles and cognitive preferences.

Based on the discussion above, What does it look like in your organization? What works and what doesn't?