Your baby boomers and your Generation Y and Generation X employees are all on board with mobile learning initiatives. Now, everyone is talking about another generation.

Who is Generation C?

Generation C stands for the connected generation, and it cuts a wide swatch through your employee pool, covering employees of all ages.

Members of Generation C are exceptionally tech-savvy because they love technology. This generation could include the 64-year-old secretary who has more than 5,000 Facebook friends, posts her crafts on Instagram, designs and builds websites for her friends, and uses every possible communication technology to keep in touch with her 17 grandchildren living in seven different countries. It could also include the summer intern who can find virtually any statistic you are seeking in under two minutes, has tried every known app on the market and many unknown ones, and is planning to earn his MBA totally online.

A Google/IPSOS/NowWhat study recently tried to pinpoint the characteristics of Generation C. The researchers found:

• The Generation C employee is connected to more than 100 people through social media and uses the internet as their main source of entertainment. They visit YouTube every week and often click through ads posted there. They share pictures and content online at least monthly.

• When they are faced with a challenge or they want to learn something new, they automatically turn to the internet. They believe that given a little bit of time, they can find everything they need to know there.

• As employees, they adapt very quickly to online training programs and may even make suggestions on how courses could be improved or expanded. In most cases, it is worth listening to these web-savvy employees.

• They are often natural marketers, having trained their minds to quickly assemble patterns and connect the unexpected. Their content creation includes “mashing.”

• They are a major player in online communities and are likely more aware than your management of what people are saying about your company online.

• They appreciate the control of their own lives that technology brings them, whether it is sourcing a health solution for a symptom or creating a personal finance plan. They will expect to receive and access training materials online. If they can’t, they will be incredulous and a little put-off about how your company operates.

If you have obvious Generation C members in your employee pool, make sure that you include them on your committees to plan new learning technology initiatives. They may express interest in systems that are too complex for the average employee, but they may also make you aware in the same breath of a simple mobile app solution to a problem.

Challenge them to come up with a variety online learning options. Ask for their opinions on your current programs and their suggestions of other ways you can create new content and keep it up to date. In fact, a dream team of advisers for any company to adapt their entire education and training efforts to mobile learning would consist of one Generation C member from each department.

Other mobile learning initiatives for Generation C employees include apps or tools that allow them to easily collaborate or find information using mobile devices. Many companies are starting to create internal forum pages where employees can share insights, have discussions and ask questions. There are several tools, such as BoostHQ, Evernote for Business, DropMark and Dapulse, that quench the thirst of Generation C employees to connect, curate and share with their community. These Generation C employees use the power of the internet to become experts on specific topics and then share their expertise with people on their team.

Since mobile learning is still an emerging trend, many companies are hesitant because of the lack of control over what their employees will be sharing. Fortunately, many apps offer vetting and permission functionality to ensure that inappropriate content is not shared.

The goal is to understand what your employees want and to allow them to get what they want in a way that benefits the company as well. Empowering employees to share and create is something that will greatly improve your company culture as a whole.

Roz Bahrami is a regular blogger for https://boosthq.com.