Progression

Over the last number of years it has become more noticeable than ever that graduates are not content to sit back and let life happen to them. They are eager to forge their own path in all aspects of their lives, especially within their career. The high calibre graduates, will not be long showing you their value and displaying evidence as to why they should be moved up through the organisation. With a high level of performance and ambition, it would not be wise to hold them back. Other companies have realised this and your graduate talent won’t be long moving over to them if you do not offer them the progression opportunities they feel they deserve.

Inform them early of the opportunities that lay ahead of them if their performance is of a good enough standard. Give them a path to follow and goals to hit in order for them to progress. If they are cut from the right cloth, they will find a way to achieve these goals and reach the levels you have asked of them. This offer of progression and laying out of goals will, in more cases than not, assist you in retaining the top talent you have brought into the organisation.

Challenge Them/Give Responsibility

These graduates of a higher calibre do not want to be sitting around for long, upon signing their contracts. They realise that they need to learn the lay of the land to a certain extent, but they will not be long seeking out work and challenges to keep them busy. Before starting this graduate talent, make sure you have a plan laid out of the different projects and tasks you want them to work on. We have seen it at first hand that graduates will happily move on if they are not being challenged. They are aware that there are jobs out there. This does not mean that you heap pointless “grunt” work on top of them. This will not suffice. We are talking about meaningful work that they can take ownership off and display their full array of skills. By challenging these graduates and giving them responsibility, you have an excellent chance of keeping hold of them and developing their loyalty.

 

How is their Work Contributing to Company Performance?

As we stated above, the days of giving your newly employed graduates the thankless “grunt” work are gone. They want to be working on projects and tasks that are making a genuine difference to, or at least contributing to the increasing of the company’s bottom line. We strongly advise employers to explain to these graduates how the work they are doing is making such a difference to the company’s performance levels. Let them know that if their work is not of an excellent standard, what is the knock on effect it will have?

 Training/Learning Opportunities

The real top talent realise that every day is a school day. They realise that if they are going to be a leader in their field/industry, they need to be learning continuously. Companies can go about assisting them in a number of ways. For some companies, they may offer the opportunity to continue learning and developing through external courses. For others, they may link incoming graduates with experienced employees who know the business and industry well. If using that method ensure that you give the graduate the agency to put his/her own stamp on things. A more recent method we came across in one of our clients head offices, was a library consisting of all types of professional development books, leadership books and wellness books. Having spoken to a candidate we placed in the business a year previous, he stated that most staff in the company use the library, especially those brought in during graduate intakes.

Remuneration

We may not want to admit it, but MONEY TALKS! As true as this is, through our constant engagement with graduates, we have come to the conclusion that it is not the be all and end all like it used to be. However, employers who hope to obtain and retain top young graduate talent need to ensure that they are remunerating this talent at least competitively. Make no mistake about it, other companies are trying to poach graduate talent from competitors. The graduate recruitment world has become ultra-competitive, and this is continuing on an upward spiral. The least you can do to help obtain and retain this graduate talent is to pay them fairly and competitively. You need to keep an eye on high performing individuals and ensure you are not about to lose them over your inability to pay fairly or competitively.

 Work Life Balance/Flexibility

If you manage to obtain high calibre graduate talent, you can be assured that when in the office, they are constantly working to achieve the shared goals of the company. However, what the really innovative and smart companies are starting to do is offer more flexible working hours and other arrangements. This contributes greatly to the work life balance of these graduates. We would encourage employers to offer out of office working, be this working from home, or other locations, as today’s graduates see this as a massive advantage if offered by an employer. You can be guaranteed that if you as an employer are offering these types of options, you will retain the graduate talent you used so many of your resources to obtain.

By putting the above into action, your company will have a much better chance of retaining and developing the graduate talent you worked so hard to recruit.