If you’re lucky enough to have energetic millennials in your sales department, you may need to adjust your training programs to get the best performance from these professionals. Millennials came of age at the same time that technology became ubiquitous. These employees expect to use technology to excel in their careers, too. Bhaswati Bhattacharyya, in a post for Talent Development, highlights how to develop training programs that will help your millennial workforce succeed.

Flexibility

Salespeople frequently struggle with schedules which are controlled by clients. Either the client is running late, or she suddenly changes the meeting time. These situations leave salespeople with unexpected gaps in their schedules. Your millennial team members can make the most of these gaps by filling them with a little training.

Gone are the days when training meant sitting in a classroom learning at an instructor-​led pace. Millennials, and salespeople of all ages, can be more productive when you provide training materials that can be accessed on demand through a variety of devices. Learners also appreciate the ability to work with smaller modules of training materials so they can easily pick up a point or two in a 5‑minute session.

Soft Skills

Your millennial employees also need training on soft skills. They might be tech whizzes, but they might also be falling short on important interpersonal skills when they come face to face with clients. Be sure to develop training modules to help them develop this important aspect of their skill sets.

Goals

Whether they’re working through training materials or striving to reach this month’s quotas, your millennial team members need feedback. You can establish a feedback system by setting goals for them to reach. Once they finish a challenging training module or convince a key prospect to sign a contract, recognize that the goal has been achieved. Invite your team member to coffee or lunch and praise his success. If the achievement is significant enough, share the news with the rest of the team.

Check out the rest of Bhattacharyya's post for ideas on how to effectively train your younger staff members.