In business, as in life, change is inevitable – from culture adaptations to technological advancements to the mediums that incubate and stimulate learning. With the fluidity of societal issues, political undercurrents and the demands of the marketplace, knowledge (hence learning) is emerging as a company’s greatest competitive asset. Still the question confronting many leaders today is: After wading through the media hysteria surrounding the convergence of three generational cohorts in the workplace, what’s the naked truth about how to promote effective learning and business impact?

Today, there are largely three generational cohorts that make up the workforce: baby boomers, Generation-Xers and millennials. And it is widely known that generational cohort identity has a significant influence on how we view our lives, workplace and work, as well as on our learning and development as individuals.

Across generations, there have been many influences that impinge on learning in life and the workplace. Two of the most influential are culture and technology. 1) Culture is a hidden energy and social phenomena that surrounds us all the time through its artifacts, espoused values and underlying assumptions. 2) Technology advancements are moving at a rapid pace rendering geographic borders seemingly invisible. And the swell of views that claim only a certain generational cohort’s learning is affected by this is simply false.

Much like Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs based on a theory of human motivation, adult learning is based on fundamental psychological needs. The organizational ecosystem must be centered on real human needs, fostering social existence and learning. There are five generation agnostic hallmarks that have proven to reliably promote effective learning.

1. Self-direction. Adults desire to take the initiative and responsibility for diagnosing their own learning needs, creating learning goals and selecting the learning that best meets their needs. This contributes to business impact by driving an on-demand learning strategy that enables an individual to access knowledge content at the point of need 24/7.

2. Autonomy. Adults want learner autonomy – when individuals take charge and responsibility for decisions regarding their learning outcomes. This is an excellent approach for learning and development organizations to design and maintain learning ecosystems that foster learner autonomy along with the demands of the business.

3. Relevance. Adults are very interested in learning about subjects that have an emotional connection and have direct relevance to their job or personal life. It is important to acknowledge prior knowledge and experiences of learners, including their ability to recognize their own skills as lifelong learners

4. Collaboration. Adults want to share experiences and exchange constructive feedback to fuel learning. Within matrixed business structures this is a sound approach to boost team building, interactive and experiential learning. It empowers them to drive the change they desire to see.

5. Reflection. The brain is designed to forget; therefore, it needs time between learning interactions to reflect. This is a sure technique to build in time to influence self-exploration.

Let’s face it; the change in generational demographics, prevailing societal issues, political undertows, and marketplace demands are a phenomenon that repeats itself. Today, training professionals can be encouraged that learning is a powerful force that transcends all generations. The naked truth is there are generation agnostic hallmarks that have proven to reliably promote effective learning and business impact.