How Elgood can help with your Graduate Programme:
1. How do you become a graduate employer of choice?
With the average graduate recruitment fair now attracting around 8,000 visitors, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from the many other employers who are all striving to attract the best graduates. Today’s Generation Y candidates have clear ideas about what they expect from their prospective employer and will be scrutinising your graduate programme for elements which appeal to their ways of learning and engaging with others. One way to stand out is to ensure that the package you offer is really tailored to the learning patterns and requirements of Generation Y.
Generation Y specialist Benjamin Chaminade points towards a blended learning approach, with a high content of practical activity. “Y’ers as we sometimes call them, like to get on and do things, be kept busy, have variety and use their multi-senses and multi-intelligences as far as possible. GenY enjoy working with their friends and colleagues so anything that enables them to maximise these networks and to bring out their creativity would be a plus. So plenty of management games and simulations are recommended for sure!”
“In terms of making an employer stand out: “some of the best attraction activities companies can deliver consists of getting students involved in competitions, games or setting up a small business to demonstrate and develop their commercial skill.”
2. Now, how do you make the best selection from your applications?
Employers tell us they are experiencing an increasing number of graduates chasing fewer vacancies. Faced with large quantities of virtually identikit CV’s, how can you be certain you are making the best selection? Clearly in some cases proficiency in the actual degree remains relevant, but recent research indicates that employability skills such as business and customer awareness, problem solving and communication and literacy are the most important factor for 77% of employers.
How can you assess these skills? Senior Lecturer at the Birmingham College of Law, Paul McConnell confirms that “employers attach value to commercial awareness, which is not generally something students gain at university, and cannot be demonstrated at interview”.
Using a business game can test:
- Basic understanding of the key drivers for business success and the need to provide customer satisfaction (Business and customer awareness)
- The analysis of facts and circumstances, and the application of creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions (Problem-solving)
- Oral literacy and listening and questioning (communication and literacy).
- A readiness to take part and contribute – a positive, ‘can-do’ approach.
3. Your Graduate Programme – how do you familiarise and engage new recruits with the company and your working ethos?
It seems clear that graduates are entering the world of work with inadequate employability skills. Research indicates that almost half of employers are dissatisfied with graduates’ business and customer awareness, and a quarter are unhappy with graduates’ time management and problem-solving skills. This skills deficiency has a clear business impact, affecting productivity and customer service.
How do you get your new recruits up to speed, and at the same time help them to improve their skills?
A bespoke simulation built around your business will:
- Highlight the key drivers in your business.
- Illustrate how the new recruit fits into the organisation.
- Introduce the recruit to the type of problems and issues they will need to deal with, and develop their ability to solve problems.
- Create a network to help with engagement and onboarding.
New recruits will be able to say “I understand where this company is going and what its values are. I also understand where my role fits within the organisation.” *
A business simulation developed around your company ethos and goals is a great way of motivating your new graduate intake, whilst promoting a deeper understanding of your organisation.
At Elgood we specialise in the development and delivery of bespoke simulations for businesses. We are firm believers in learning by doing, and our experiential training offers a risk-free environment where participants can experience the impact of their decision-making.
With a client list that includes ExxonMobil‘s Fife Ethylene Plant, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle, we have a great track record of delivering stimulating, engaging training packages which make a positive and measurable impact on every organisation we work with. Challenges we have met include induction training for a multinational shipping concern; sales management for a large IT client, and diversity awareness for a government organisation.
We pride ourselves on the close relationships we develop with our clients to precisely identify their needs and goals, and the innovative games and simulations we develop present a real challenge to participants, accommodating many potential strategies and outcomes.
Contact us to discover how you might integrate an Elgood simulation into your graduate programme.