We are taking on a small number of graduates (approx 6) for the first time this year. Does anyone have any advice on what has worked well/less well for them in the past with regard to the graduate induction process?
Louise Cole
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5 Responses
Graduate induction for a small group
Hi
I have been involved in graduate development for some years and latterly in designing & running a graduate management development programme. I am not involved in the induction but have heard the following:
They want to know what opportunities are open to them
What the systems are for HR & other personnel issues
What the appraisal system is about – and WHY it is relevant to them
They also want to ‘get on with the job’ as fast as they can so keep it short & sweet – although you can always get them back for a short ‘top-up’ session once a month – this has the added benefit of keeping up with their thoughts and feelings about what is happening to them.
From my experience many organisations have a high proportion of turnover of this group – often 20% in the first year – so do what you can to keep them feeling ‘loved’ but not too elite.
Happy to talk off line contact
Sample Graduate Management Development programmes
Mike Morrison
induction
I have worked on some big global induction programmes over the last 10 years. I have found that it is important for new employees -especially graduates – to understand how their new employer works in terms of culture and behaviours that should be adopted. Every company has its own culture and so this is the one opportunity to highlight to new employees how your company works.
Hope that helps!
Stuart
be aware of their eagerness for knowledge
Hi Louise
In my experience, which is at present limited, I would agree with the comments made that the trainees want to ‘get on with the job’ as quickly as possible and also that highlighting the culture of the business is important.
In terms of training, I have found that the trainees want to have as much technical training (to be able to do the job) as possible and don’t readily see the benefits or importance of ‘personal skills’ development. Some presentations from willing respected senior people in the company expressing the importance of individual development in all areas, not just technical skills is invaluable.
Hope this helps…
Paul
Info on Graduate Induction
Hi Louise,
I have been involved in running Graduate programmes for the last four years, and for a number of years have had groups of around 6/7.
From research and experience the elements that we have found to have a big impact at induction are:
Providing information on the company (history, products/services, procedures, culture etc).
An opportunity to speak to previous Graduates, ideally have some sort of Buddy scheme.
I agree with the previous comment regarding providing information on what opportunities are available.
I have found people tend to forget references to Performance Management if they are made early on in their career, so we tend to introduce that after a month or two, and then drip feed it over a period.
Let me know if you’d like to discuss it further, as i’m currently designing a programme for a large number of Graduates, so may have more info for you.
regards,
nick.
Graduate development success fundamentals
Maybe have a read of this: http://www.interaction-ld.com/graduate-programme-principles/