人們對(duì)新科技的接納程度真的取決于年齡?
認(rèn)為千禧一代比歲數(shù)大的同事對(duì)新科技的接受速度快得多,這種想法司空見(jiàn)慣,已經(jīng)成為一種難以破除的刻板印象。 我們看看大型IT貿(mào)易協(xié)會(huì)美國(guó)計(jì)算機(jī)行業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)(CompTIA)對(duì)1000名員工進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)新研究,這些研究對(duì)象的年齡跨度超過(guò)40歲。千禧一代中,略高于一半(51%)的受訪者稱(chēng)自己會(huì)使用基于云端的工具,嬰兒潮一代的比率僅為33%。研究還表明,千禧一代使用協(xié)同軟件的比率更高,而且他們更看重能夠?qū)⑿录夹g(shù)迅速用于工作,年紀(jì)更大的受訪者卻“更在乎提升現(xiàn)有技術(shù)的用戶體驗(yàn)?!? 但是,你是否愿意接受新技術(shù)真的取決于你的年齡么?還是說(shuō),更重要的其實(shí)是你受到了什么樣的培訓(xùn)教你使用這種新技術(shù)? 安永會(huì)計(jì)師事務(wù)所(EY)過(guò)去兩三年一直在探索這個(gè)問(wèn)題,他們每年花5億美元用于提升公司世界各地26萬(wàn)稅務(wù)、審計(jì)、咨詢?nèi)藛T的技能。根據(jù)安永9月中旬報(bào)告,公司2018財(cái)年利潤(rùn)達(dá)到歷史新高,而該公司不斷在運(yùn)營(yíng)中大規(guī)模加入新技術(shù),其中包括用700個(gè)機(jī)器人取代部分人力,每年完成210萬(wàn)小時(shí)的人工操作。僅2018年一年,安永進(jìn)行的收購(gòu)中有21起都是為了拓展公司在人工智能和數(shù)據(jù)分析等領(lǐng)域的專(zhuān)業(yè)知識(shí)。 對(duì)于馬丁·菲奧雷而言,最大的挑戰(zhàn)在于如何設(shè)計(jì)好培訓(xùn),教會(huì)所有人如何將大量不斷變化的新技術(shù)用于實(shí)際工作。菲奧雷是安永美國(guó)稅務(wù)實(shí)務(wù)部門(mén)的一名業(yè)務(wù)主管,他設(shè)計(jì)了一系列的培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目,他注意到,人們對(duì)于新技術(shù)的接受程度和使用意愿或許在部分程度上與年齡有關(guān),但更重要的是他們的學(xué)習(xí)方式是否最適合自己。 因此安永的培訓(xùn)形式豐富多樣,從視頻到電子書(shū)到課堂學(xué)習(xí)到MP3,只要你能想到的應(yīng)有盡有。 “現(xiàn)在安永員工有五個(gè)年齡層,他們的學(xué)習(xí)方式確實(shí)各不相同?!狈茒W雷說(shuō)。比如說(shuō)千禧一代更適應(yīng)互動(dòng)式課堂教學(xué),而菲奧雷所說(shuō)的“終身職位”(年紀(jì)更大,通常級(jí)別更高)員工一對(duì)一培訓(xùn)的學(xué)習(xí)效果更好。 但是,哪怕年紀(jì)相仿、級(jí)別相似,不同人的喜好可能大相徑庭。已在安永工作30多年的稅務(wù)部門(mén)合伙人莎達(dá)·奇爾伍(Sharda Cherwoo)說(shuō):“每個(gè)人的學(xué)習(xí)方式不同,所以我們想讓他們有不同選擇?!逼鏍栁楸硎荆退约憾?,在線看視頻能讓她更好地吸收技術(shù)。比起在教室里一坐好幾天,“我喜歡分段式的學(xué)習(xí),也就是每次針對(duì)能夠立刻實(shí)際應(yīng)用的主題密集學(xué)習(xí)一兩個(gè)小時(shí)?!? 對(duì)于安永這種公司而言,靈活性至關(guān)重要,因?yàn)樵S多員工把大量時(shí)間花在旅途中,他們?cè)谝粋€(gè)地方停留的時(shí)間甚至不夠參加傳統(tǒng)課程。安永的稅務(wù)合伙人兼國(guó)際轉(zhuǎn)移業(yè)務(wù)主管馬修·山姆布魯克說(shuō)自己主要在飛機(jī)上和酒店里利用網(wǎng)絡(luò)和音頻課程參加培訓(xùn),但他同樣偏愛(ài)“對(duì)新技術(shù)的實(shí)操演示,因?yàn)槟憧吹靡?jiàn)摸得著,而且能試著操作?!? 山姆布魯克今年43歲,屬于X世代,他在工作中和各類(lèi)年齡群都有接觸,下到所謂的“數(shù)字原住民”Z世代,上到嬰兒潮時(shí)期出生的資深管理層。“很難通過(guò)年齡看出不同年齡層使用或?qū)W習(xí)技術(shù)時(shí)的明顯區(qū)別?!彼f(shuō)。但是,哪怕這種區(qū)別確實(shí)存在,“對(duì)于任何一個(gè)年齡層而言,有機(jī)會(huì)用自己學(xué)習(xí)效果最好的方式參加[科技培訓(xùn)]能讓每一個(gè)人受益?!? 每次看到刻板印象被打破,都讓人耳目一新。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:龐洋 |
The idea that millennials are far quicker to welcome new technology than their older colleagues is so familiar by now that it’s become one of those stereotypes that just won’t go away. Consider, for instance, a new study of 1,000 employees, whose ages span more than 40 years, by giant IT trade Association CompTIA. A little over half (51%) of millennials report using cloud-based tools, versus 33% of baby boomers. millennials are more likely to use collaboration software, the survey says; and, while millennials say they want faster implementation of new technologies at work, their older colleagues “want more of a focus on making existing technologies more user-friendly.” But does your willingness to welcome new technology really depend on when you were born—or is it more a matter of how you’re trained to use it? EY has been exploring that question for the past couple of years, spending some $500 million annually to “upskill” its 260,000 tax, audit, and advisory people around the world. The firm, which mid-September reported record profits for fiscal 2018, has been steadily adding big chunks of new tech to its own operations, including replacing 2.1 million yearly people-hours of in-house manual operations with an army of 700 bots. In 2018 alone, EY also made 21 acquisitions aimed at expanding its know-how in areas like artificial intelligence and data analytics. For Martin Fiore, the big challenge has been coming up with training to show everyone how to put so much constantly changing new tech wizardry to practical everyday use. A managing principal in EY’s U.S. tax practice, Fiore has designed a series of training programs. One thing he’s noticed so far: How ready people are to welcome and apply new technology may be partly related to their age. But it’s much more connected to how they learn best. So EY delivers training in just about any form you can think of, from videos to e-books to classroom sessions to MP3 files. “We have five generations at EY now, and they do learn differently,” says Fiore. Millennials, for example, tend to thrive in interactive classroom settings, while what Fiore called “tenured” (read: older, and usually more senior) employees often learn better in one-on-one coaching sessions. But even within the same generation and similar rank, individual preferences can differ widely. Notes Sharda Cherwoo, a partner in the tax division who has been at EY for more than 30 years, “People learn in different ways, so we want to give them options.” Cherwoo absorbs new technology best, she says, by watching EY’s videos online. Rather than spending days in a classroom, “I like bite-sized chunks—an hour or two of very focused information that I can apply immediately.” Flexibility is essential in a firm like EY, since many employees spend so much time on the road that they’re never in one place long enough to take traditional classes, anyway. Matthew Sambrook, a tax partner who is also a principal in EY’s international transfer business, relies on web-based and audio training on airplanes and in hotels, but he’s also partial, he says, to “hands-on demos of new tech, where you can see it, play with it, and try out what it can do.” At age 43, Sambrook is a GenXer who rubs elbows with every age group at work, from so-called “digital native” Gen Z recruits, right on up to boomer senior executives. “It’s hard to see distinct differences in how the generations use technology, or learn it,” he says. But, even if such differences are real, “giving people the chance to do [tech training] in the way they retain it best benefits everybody, whatever generation they’re in.” It’s always refreshing to see a stereotype made irrelevant. |