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App Innovation Critical in Engaging Millennial Workforce

Appian Contributor
November 29, 2016

Millennials are gaining a stronghold in today's enterprise. As individuals who grew up with access to internet-connected technologies become part of the workforce, organizations are facing mounting pressure to ramp up their app capabilities. Application development platforms can enable businesses to keep up with a demanding generation of tech-savvy workers, especially as these individuals demand excellence from their apps.

"Millennials will quickly hop between apps if those solutions aren't meeting their needs."

New app demands a growing challenge

Millennials aren't just comfortable using cutting-edge technology, they expect excellent solutions and have a difficult time settling for less. A recent ITProPortal report explained that millennials will quicklyhop between apps if those solutions aren't meeting their needs, and enterprise apps that want to get ahead must be of a high enough quality that users are able to accomplish what they need to do, when they need to do it. A few vital considerations include:

    • Design for flexibility: Business requirements can change quickly, and rigid app architectures that limit end-user flexibility can undermine an app's effectiveness

    • Get the user experience right, every time: ITProPortal explained that as millennials have a proclivity toward app hopping, solutions that have glitches, slow load times or similar problems won't get a second look. Enterprise apps that want to stick need to offer an excellent experience

    • Ensure apps work well on any device: A good smartphone app is useful, but its effectiveness is limited if users have to hop on a different interface on a tablet or laptop. According to ITProPortal, ensuring apps work equally well and with similar core functions on any device type is essential in keeping millennials happy

Keeping pace with millennials

There are plenty of stereotypes out there about millennials in the workplace, but one theme is clear across many generalizations -individuals of the generation tend to disengage when using technology that doesn't meet their standards.

According to Pew Research, millennials are the largest generational group in America's workforce. For the purposes of that study, the generation was defined as individuals aged between 18 and 35.Businesses that want to keep up with the demands presented by millennials need powerful, well-designed apps to get ahead. Enterprise app platforms give organizations an edge here by streamlining the development process using low-code tools. Furthermore, app platforms that are built into business process management (BPM) software make it easier to align app functionality with operationalneeds, adding another layer of value to the end-user experience.

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