Creative graduate induction

On Friday Jill and I ran a showcase session at the AGR conference held in London. The overall topic of the conference was A Tough Guide to Graduate Development and explored how to continue to develop graduates in the current climate.

We ran a showcase with our client which explored how we run a creative induction programme that as well as introducing them to the company and its values, helps them make a swift transition from university to work and make a valuable contribution quickly in the business.

Rather than do a PowerPoint we asked the audience to get involved by asking questions of either the client or the graduates who had attended. We also answered questions from our perspective of delivering the programme.

Three things struck me after the session: firstly how well received the style of the showcase was - lots of engagement and discussion; Secondly, the passion and enthusiasm that the graduates brought with them really shone out and they were both a credit to their company as well as the programme; And thirdly, how many companies still see an induction programme as a way of just telling graduates the rules rather than letting them really find out about the company - its vision, objectives, values and challenges.