Graduates are the future lifeblood of a business, so recruiting the best talent and then nurturing this is crucial.
Graduates are often rough around the edges with little or no commercial skills or commercial acumen. But what they lack in experience they often more than make up for in enthusiasm and will to succeed. The challenge for businesses is to take this raw talent and shape them into employees that add real value to the organisation both commercially and financially.
Investing in graduate training
Investing in graduate training will give your graduates the best possible start to their careers in your business, helping them to move from university to the real business world. A graduate training programme will teach them both practical and commercially-focused skills to ensure they gain the right mix of business, technical and personal skills.
As many businesses face the prospect of losing key staff members as the baby boomers approach retirement, graduates offer a real option for succession planning in business.
As more experienced employees move on, graduates can bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the table, which, when well managed and trained can bring new life to an organisation.
“Placing graduates in every department of the company allows them to provide feedback and suggestions on which processes are working, what may need changing and how skills can transfer across departments to benefit the wider company.”
Developing graduate commercial skills to ensure ROI
Graduate training helps graduates by setting the context of where their role fits into the wider organisation and how they can add value. This commercial context allows them to start contributing to your business from day one, making a real impact as they go.
“Studies show that many employers fall short of providing their new hires with the support they need to get their careers off to a strong start – resulting in disengaged employees and, even worse, a high staff turnover rate.”
There is not only the training aspect to consider but also the employee engagement and motivation benefits of putting new graduate recruits through a graduate training programme.
Graduates that have undertaken training courses are often more ‘bought in’ to the company ethos and values and are dedicated to making a difference within their role.
Studies have shown that millennials, who make up the current graduate crop, place a high value on the social and personal development rewards of a role, often valuing this more than financial recognition.