Millennial Attitudes Toward Online and Traditional Training Methods: The Role of Training Utility and Satisfaction

Abstract

Because the millennial generation is the largest generation in the U.S. labor force and is the most computer-literate generation, many organizations are investing in online methods for their training. From a recruitment perspective, applicants can use training information to form attitudes about an organization, such as their attraction. Yet, research has not examined whether organizational attraction is influenced by the type of training method an organization offers. Using two experiments, the purpose of the current article was to examine organizational attraction as a function of whether a training program is described as online or on-the-job, and pretraining satisfaction and perceived utility as mediators of this relationship. Study 1 used a two-group (online and on-the-job) between-subjects experimental design. Study 2 used a three-group (online, on-the-job, and combined online and on-the-job training) between-subjects experimental design to replicate Study 1 and add an additional condition: combining online and on-the-job methods. Participants were instructed to read a hotel’s recruitment information for a front office position and evaluate the hotel assuming the role of an applicant. Participants had higher organizational attraction when training was described as on-the-job training than as online training. The effect of training method on organizational attraction was mediated by training satisfaction and utility. The most important theoretical contribution of the current studies is that the results contradict the general stereotypes and expectations of millennials. The results contribute to understanding how prospective applicants use organizational characteristics, such as the type of training they offer, to form attitudes, such as organizational attraction.