Recruiting high-calibre graduates is on the agenda for many growing businesses who want enthusiastic and intelligent trainees to buy into their company vision and make an impact. However, once you’ve overcome the challenge of recruiting graduate talent (we can help you with that), the next challenge is ensuring they stick with your business. After all, top talent will always be in demand, so how can you ensure that your graduate recruits stay put?
Day 1 on the job
First impressions really do count and it’s important that you and your team are ready for your new graduate trainee to start. How they feel on their first day, week and month will have a big impact on whether they decide to stay with your business.
- Create a collaborative environment. Creating a supportive and positive environment is essential for your new graduate trainee. Assigning a more senior mentor who can guide them is a great way to help them settle in. Ensuring they have regular meetings with their manager/mentor to track their progress and set new goals is also very effective.
- Structured training. Graduates will be keen to get started with their training and will want to know what your plan is for them. If their first few days at your business aren’t well-structured, organised and engaging they may start to question whether they made the right choice in working for you.
- Meaningful interactions. You should get your new graduate trainee engaged with the entire team – not just the person who is training them. Arranging a team meeting or a feel-good activity for their first day is a great way to make them feel involved and to show off your company culture.
Professional Development
Graduates will be keen to continue their progression and move up the ladder in your company, so you need to be seen to be giving them the tools to do so.
- On-going training. Even after the initial training period you offer graduate trainees, you should continue to develop the talent in your company by offering additional training. If graduates know that you are continually investing in them, they will be more likely to stay.
- Offering incentives will encourage your graduates to work harder while giving them a morale boost when targets are hit and helping with job satisfaction and retention. You can create a tailored bonus scheme, or offer wage increases if certain goals are met. Discuss what your graduate trainee wants to achieve over the next year and set them targets and rewards in-line with their goals and what you want them to achieve.
- A PDP (personal development plan) is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that helps your employees manage their own learning and growth. Creating and regularly reviewing your graduate trainee’s PDP will help them to stay motivated, improve and achieve their goals.
Did you know, out of graduates who leave their employment in the first three years, 19% move on for better pay and 14% are dissatisfied with their career progression?
Bringing it all together
Hiring graduate talent can be a challenging task, but if you invest and retain them they can have a big impact on your business both now and in the future.
Bridgewater Graduates are specialists in recruiting graduate talent for commercial roles. If you need help recruiting high-calibre graduates for your team, get in touch with us today!
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