Inspired induction
The position
This is induction but not as you know it. Our client is a national utilities company. They take on around 30 graduates each year and put them through an intensive 23-day modular programme over their first 18 months. The induction is key to their future success; it has to provide them with essential information to get started, but it also needs to prepare them for working life. We’ve worked with this client for 10 years and now run the whole graduate programme - and so we’re particularly proud of the induction. From the outset, the client wanted a module that would fire up the graduates, educate them about the business, and develop the skills they would need. Equally important, they wanted a programme that would enable them to make the transition from academic based learning to workplace development.
How did we tackle it?
The programme runs as a 5-day project. The graduates work in small teams and have a challenging business topic to address. At the end of the week, each team has to give a 25-minute presentation to an invited audience of directors and senior managers. But it’s not just about preparing the presentation; they have to:
- organise their activities and manage their time effectively
- work as a team to complete the project and take part in different activities
- regularly report to their facilitator to formally assess progress
- interview people from the business - either face to face or by telephone
- manage a budget - they have to pay for all the resources they use to complete their project. They generate income by completing team tasks
- adapt to shifting goalposts throughout the week
And finally, they have to pool their findings, agree their conclusions, articulate their ideas, and put together a presentation to impress their audience.
It’s an intensive five days, which combines a full-on, engaging learning experience with a simulation of working life: the ups and downs, dilemmas, and decisions, dependence on colleagues. Our facilitators work with them to support the learning and make sure their experience of the induction will be of lasting benefit and sets the scene for the rest of the programme.
What did it achieve?
The business selects the topic and the graduates tackle it with energy and enthusiasm. They ask awkward questions and sometimes come up with some really creative solutions which get implemented by the business. The graduates find out about the company rather than the company telling them; this sets a precedent for the future.
100% of managers rated graduate knowledge of the company low or very low before the induction. This shifted to 100% of managers rating it medium or high after induction. Whilst not solely connected to the induction, retention rates have risen significantly from 58% to 98%.
Email Lucy Neale or phone 0117 315 5243.
