I have just talked with some of HR professionals in Shanghai, and there is an interesting concern regarding how to balance differences in training needs and expectations for different generations in China.

First I want to say that my experience is local to Shanghai, and I will use generalizations in order to simplify my point. I understand that not all of your experiences will be just like mine, and so I am writing here on the new NHR website to get your feedback-all feedback is welcome.

It seems that Gen Xers are more open to their training needs, and more willing to work under strong leadership in order to develop as a strong employee. Many of the training vendors, including some internal training courses that I have witnessed, are very information heavy. These seem to be better absorbed by Gen Xers.

If we apply these same tactics to the Gen Y recruits, they are less likely to absorb and practice the information they learn in training courses. It seems as if they are incredibly confident compared to their Gen X counterparts. Have others witnessed this?

Final question: How can I approach, or guide vendors to approach Gen Y recruits to get maximum training effectiveness?

I agree that there is a difference with the Generation Y in China. The Chinese refer to this group as 'ba ling hou' (kö), and normally blame single-childhood as the leading factor stubbornness in learning. However, I am also an only child and, in my own defence, believe that blaming a lack of siblings is over simplistic.

Rather, I believe the cause of reduced attention span, and a need for repeated messages in order to retain knowledge is due to the technology-heavy world that today’s ‘ba ling hou’ live in today. Afterall, this is he first generation that takes choice for granted, and is therefore bombarded daily with advertising to influence that choice. Retention is reduced, because information is constantly being ‘pushed out’ of our short term memory. That’s why repetition, and simplifying that repetition, works better for this generation, rather than Generation X.

So, in my opinion, KISS. Keep It Short and Simple.

While I wholeheartedly agree that the generational differences raised by Andy are apt, I am hesitant to attribute Generation Y’s short attention spans and resistance to theoretical information exclusively to China’s economic and social evolution. As we can identify essentially the same conditions in the West, I think this disparity is chiefly a product of intellectual maturity. We would certainly all agree that a thirty-five year old is more patient, prepared, and (most crucially) eager to digest long informative lectures than a twenty-five year old would be, regardless of cultural background, family circumstances, or economic mobility. While choice and affluence certainly inform the personalities behind these generational differences, I believe basic chronological development lies at the heart of this generational difference.

Perhaps part of the problem is the way that kids learn in China.
Throughout 20 or so years of education Chinese are conditioned into 'questions are testing me' thinking. When a teacher asks a question, the teacher knows the answer, and is only testing the student.

When that student graduates and gets a job, those 20 years of conditioning result in similar responses to questions, now not from their teacher, but from their colleagues or superiors. However, this time the 'questioner' doesn't know that answer. It is not a test, they simply want to have a solution.

Consequently, as a corporate trainer, when you ask a question, the instant response to not knowing is "sorry, I don't know." What we have to teach Chinese staff to do is use their human resources around them. Obviously, as a high school student you were not able to say, "That's a great question teacher. Tom do you know that answer?", so this doesn't come natural in the work environment.

The difference with, say, American kids is that many of them have part time jobs as students, so they understand that all questions are not necessary 'tests'.

When you meet older Chinese, they have spent longer in the corporate world, so the 20 years of conditioning has worn off.

What do you think?

I'm not sure about the differences in China, but in the UK there is definitely a difference between generations in their understanding and approach to technology. Generation V and Y seem hard wired to it, as I comment in my blog.

These generational differences have been well documented and are the subject of much discussion in training and education.

The Net Generation process information in a different way to older generations, that's why they're called digital natives sometimes. Vertical, analytical and deductive thought processes give way to horizontal, associative and inductive processes. That is, their cognitive approach is hypertextual rather than textual (analogous to the difference between _link_ed web pages and a page of written text). It's interesting how this trascends cultures and schooling - to some extent, of course.

Traditional teaching/training approaches (hierarchical or conductivist models, say) prove highly inadequate and cause poor responses and performance. In other words, common complaints about students' short attention spans and individualistic attitudes are unfounded because they are _base_d on the application of an inappropriate pedagogical model.

Students have a short attention span when it comes to listening to a person talking, sure... who doesn't??? If information is presented in short bursts, in an appropriate format (mostly visually), and emphasis is on the relationships between concepts rather than on digging deeper into one single concept, we'll see a dramatic increase in attention spans. Learning must be an active process: Net-Geners are just not passive spectators.

In addition, learning is meaningless unless the activity has a meaningful output, and that output is made public for scrutiny by the community - even better if the product is the result of collaborative (not cooperative) work and it serves the community. That is, we must stop thinking of learning as an intellectual process and start thinking of it as a social one. Communities of Practice are a perfect example of how this process works, and they've proved to be the basis of innovation and competitive advantage on numerous occasions.

We need different approaches for different generations - just like we need different approaches for different trainees!