Depending on whom you believe, the term “Millennial” is broader than you might think.

In fact, someone born anywhere from the early 1980s to the early 2000s could be considered a Millennial. But regardless of where you draw that cutoff line, Millennials are still a large portion of the United States population, with figures averaging around 75 million.

When you hear that number, consider that the Baby Boomers, one of the largest populations surges in recent history, was estimated to be just over 74 million.

So how do you manage this emerging workforce? It stands to reason that every generation needs to be trained according to their own standards, and the Millennials are the most tech-savvy group of new employees you could hope to have.

Here are some tips for getting the most success from a Millennial employee or staff.

Offer hands-on training

Unlike Generation X and the generations before them, Millennials are less impressed with simulated situations than they are on-the-job training. Giving them some of the real-world scenarios that your contact center experiences can be a great way to get them up to speed quickly.

And make sure to give them enough time to fully master your specific software solution before letting them handle customers.

Take advantage of this generation’s comfort with technology

Yes, you need to make sure your new Millennial employees have mastered your call center’s software, but one of the advantages of this generation is that they’ve had more exposure to various types of technology than ever before.

Whether it’s through school or their casual use of tablets, smartphones and e-readers, Millennials have probably seen some version of your technology before they even walk in the door. This means they may require less training time than you expect.

Make the experience positive, even before your employees are officially hired

When you’re advertising open positions at your contact center, make sure to include the most positive aspects of the job. Emphasize the flexible hours, the casual dress code, or the level of open communication in your office.

Offer incentives to aid in employee retention

Now that you’ve attracted your Millennial employees, how do you retain them? What can you do to reduce turnover, keeping them on your staff as they grow in their positions and learn more skills?

One of the keys to keeping them will be incentives. This is a generation that lives a lot more on credit than generations past, which means they will most likely have more debt.

Offering compensation packages that are slightly higher than average is one obvious way to boost your retention, but why stop with salary? Add some production-based bonuses to inspire top-level work and more loyalty.

Ask them about their goals

Once you’ve taken those immediate steps to improve retention, why not improve those retention rates further by delving into what your Millennial employees are looking for in the long term?

Speak to them about their long-term goals, not just in terms of employment, but in their lives. Where do they see themselves in 5 or 10 years? How can your contact center be part of that plan?

In an era during which Millennials typically expect to change jobs and even careers fairly frequently, you could make yourself stand out from the crowd by being the employer that offers them a more permanent home.

Listen to their ideas

Don’t turn a deaf ear to young voices. What ideas do your employees have that could improve your contact center? This is a generation with ideas, and Millennials could bring a fresh perspective to your business.

What innovations or changes have they thought about that could make your company more efficient or more effective? It’s important in an ever-changing marketplace to keep track of what’s changing, and a fresh pair of eyes could bring a fresh perspective to your contact center.

Encourage innovation from your Millennial employees and foster a free exchange of ideas between your employees and management.

Ultimately, whether or not you make changes in your training and management styles, it’s inevitable that Millennials will at some point become a large part of your workforce.

It’s up to you to make sure your business model works for them. For more information on training your employees effectively, read our post “5 Ways to Make Your Contact Center Training More Efficient and Effective.”