Webinar: Graduate Onboarding Masterclass

[00:00:00] So welcome to our onboarding webinar, a specifically focused on graduate onboarding. Though I know today we'll discuss and help, you know, things that can help you build a better experience for all emerging talent, you know, and early careers. My name's Noel Thomas and I'm the one of the founders and creative director at Eli Onboarding. Now, for those who've not heard of Eli before, it's experience led onboarding technology that's used in over 150 countries worldwide and onboards hundreds of thousands of people a year. And as you'd expect for the platform that's picked up best use of technology, [00:00:37] the awards for the last two years. Many of our clients use Eli for onboarding their emerging talent, including the likes of GE HealthCare, Cognizant, nawi, NatWest Group, and Police Now. Now Eli is driven by engagement and designed to enhance your candidate experience setting your new cohorts up for success, creating a real sense of belonging and reducing dropout before day one. Something pretty, which is pretty cool, I guess for most graduate and early career recruiters these days. Now that grads are applying for upwards of 40 roles. If you've not already, maybe switch your team's view on speaker view to get the best experience. [00:01:19] We also like an interactive session, so please say hello in the chat, ask questions as we go along, and we'll find time for them when we can. But I'm gonna kick off before I introduce our fantastic speakers today. I'm gonna quick kick off with a question for you, and it's gonna be a quick poll if you take your time to fill it in. So the question going out to everyone really here today is what are your biggest challenges when it comes to graduate onboarding? And I'll just get that to come up on screen if we can. [00:01:56] Fantastic. And while you are making your decision on that, let's go to our panel. Helen, do you want to go first? Thanks, Noel. Thanks for inviting me along. So, I'm Helen Sheard. I've been in the early careers game for about 10 years now. I sp started my career with IBM 25 years there. The last seven of those years was as part of their early careers team leading the placement scheme. It's about 400 individuals a year across all the different schemes, and I was predominantly focused on interns and school leavers with a view to trying to get them to stay. [00:02:32] So moving on to the apprenticeship programs or returning as graduates. I then did a year with Surrey County Council a year with DXC technology, and now I'm with Hayes as part of their solutions team, helping our clients look at every single aspect of early careers from schools, outreach, all the way through to onboarding. [00:02:54] Fantastic. Thanks Helen. Eric, do you want to go next? Yeah, happy to. I normally don't sound like this either, so I've lost my voice this morning, but I told the crew here I'm pushing through. So my name is Eric. I have about 12 years experience within the recruitment marketing and employer brand space. Work with very different industries from the likes of Glassdoor, grant Thornton beam Marie, if you're familiar with them. I'm at Police Now leading as the head of employer brand and recruitment marketing. And if you don't know Police Now, we attract, recruit and train outstanding graduates, [00:03:33] About 500 recruits a year into being detectives or police officers on the policing frontline within the England and Wales. We've been since 2008, we've been ranked as a top times 100 graduate employer. And yeah, so my team looks after everything from attraction from our graduates onto complete onboarding until they start the police academy. [00:04:02] Fantastic. Thanks Eric. Simon, do you wanna go next? Yeah, Thanks Noel. I'm Simon Crumble lo my job is the head of talent development for Enterprise. We are regionalized, so I cover from kind of Cumbia in the very far north down to bi below Birmingham in the kinda midlands the south of us. We're quite a large graduate recruiter. I actually started on the graduate scheme myself, so I was started in the, on the crowd scheme like most of our people do, and to work through our graduate program. And at some point you usually specialize into something. [00:04:26] Mine was talent development. So we have real passion for onboarding. We take on just short 3000 people a year into our business, and our region does about 300 of those a bit, a bit more sometimes. So you know, quite a high level, quite a busy onboarder and it's a real passionate of ours to get that, you know, great start for a well hopefully is a great career with Enterprise. [00:04:46] Fantastic. Thanks Simon. Sarah? Hi everyone. I'm the relationship director here at Eli Onboarding. I specialize in onboarding and the entire candidate and employee experience. I've got nearly 20 years experience in both early careers and experienced higher recruitment marketing. And yeah, really excited to be here in having a, have a good chat today with our panel. [00:05:11] Wonderful. And just looking at the poll results coming in you know, a lot, a lot of clicks on all the answers there certainly, but I think, I think two of the big ones there are, you know, linked, definitely linked together where we've got that lack of engagement during pre-boarding, as we know for many graduate recruiters that can be eight, nine, even 10 months time, you know, big long period. And then we've got high Renee on grad offers, you know, and I think the two go hand in hand here. Definitely, you know, if you can engage with your, [00:05:41] Your grads during that long period, then you're hopefully gonna be driving down Rene in office. So we can certainly cover some ideas, advice, guidance in that area as we go through our session today. What I want to kick off with, the first quick one we'll kick off though, really is, around experience led onboarding. You know, Simon, why do you think experience led onboarding, you know, creating an experience during that onboarding period is so important for emerging talent? [00:06:10] Great question. No, I think before, you know, you mentioned in your introduction about how many jobs that grads will apply for all these days, and I think especially for us, it's a very crowded and competitive marketplace. So I think it's a very cliche thing, but culture's really key for us. You know, we are a predominantly a car hire company. Not everyone's first choice of career in car hire, but yet we have an incredible opportunity for people who start with us. So I think giving 'em a window into what that actually means for us by actually physically seeing it is a big thing. [00:06:36] We talk a lot about, you know, when your employee goes home after the first day, it's usually the parent or partner that says, how was your first day? And the answer to that question is either, oh, it was okay, you know, I was just doing a little bit of online stuff and a few boxes taking a bit of paperwork. It's not really gonna buy in that person's parent or partner, right? Whereas when they say, oh my God, the first day was amazing, more and more our partner, I've done this, I've got all these things to talk to you about. [00:07:01] Suddenly you've bought in that parent or partner to their entire career. So, you know, fast forward to monthly or four when a tough day comes, you've then got their parent or partner kind of counter selling our company to them a little bit. I think, you know, experience is what it's all about, right? You've gotta see that culture live, that culture know what they're joining because they're gonna apply for tons of jobs, right? And we've gotta be that one that sticks out as actually, yes, it's a similar job to this one X, y, and Z, but the culture there was great for me, [00:07:25] And I wanna spend the next, you know, 20, 30 years of my life there. That's a huge thing. So experience is so key that I know Mm-hmm. Absolutely agree. That, and Helen, your thoughts on that, you know, you, I guess you're helping a lot of grad recruiters in this area. Yeah. Oh, I totally agree that first day buzz is going to really sustain that stickiness for your, for your new hires. But for me, it is really important that, you know, these if we are just talking specifically here about [00:07:57] Graduates and early careers, you know, this is their first insight into the world of work. They wanna make, be made to feel like they're really important that all of their study has been for something that they're gonna make an impact in their role. They've got to feel part of the organization. I mean, they've gone through all of that due diligence of re researching the role and finding out and say, and you've spent a lot of money attracting them and getting that offer, right? And so then to just go, oh, yeah, here's a standard pack, [00:08:28] Work your way through it's just not good enough. You know, you've got to give them the respect that they have chosen you over countless other employers. So actually making sure that you not only keep engaging them all the way through and just make them, you know, it doesn't take a lot to actually think, you know, what helped me on my way? You know, and whether that's having a buddy and support system, and it's before that, before day one. I mean, you know, a lot of these candidates you've been keeping warm for nine months [00:08:58] Or so, you know, actually that keeping warm part is just integral because the dropouts, I've, we've spoken to some employers that have got 40% dropouts and Yeah, exactly. Eyebrow raise. I was like, I'm sorry. Yeah. What's happened here? And again, it's that long duration where, you know, their peers at uni are going, oh, well, I'm now talking to so and so, and it's, and so you can easily be swayed. So it's just being really Cognizant of, you know, what drew them in the first place, making sure that your brand and EVP all the way through is consistent, that it, [00:09:35] It isn't just a marketing campaign, it's, it transitions to the day one, and then you give them meaningful, tangible work that, you know, from day one, and they actually feel compelled to turn up for data. Hmm. I think that's so true, isn't it? You've been marketing to these people for months and months as well, painting this glorious picture of work and life and culture at your organization. This is almost like your first point when they're an employee, really, and it's like, yeah, oh, and this is what it's really like, you know, they, [00:10:06] The drawing and then, you know, the Reality. Yeah. We were pitching to you yesterday and now you're a client, basically. Yeah. That kind of thing. Eric, what are your thoughts on this experience? Why is it so important for onboarding? Yeah. Well thanks for asking, but yeah I agree with Helen completely. I mean, from an employer brand standpoint, we want to make sure we create that reality once we start to go into that onboarding experience. I mean, the way, you know, you could, it's like almost like dating if you have a really polished [00:10:35] Tinder profile, but that first date is just a list of questions fill out, fill out, like these answers. So I know if you're the right person, you know, that's more the compliance then. But experience is truly about for us at Police Now because we, [00:10:52] Our graduates aren't gonna really understand what it's like to be a police officer or a detective until they're actually there. So in our onboarding, for us, it's really about creating an experience and starting to set the realities of what they should be expecting through a, an immersive way through information that's tailored to them and what they would understand. So yeah, for us, it's about to start to like take them from that attraction stage and getting them prepped and ready. Obviously there's a lot of like compliance and things that we need to do pre-employment to become, [00:11:28] You know a tested officer. But that needs to be coupled with that experience that they're having along the way to remind them why they applied in the first place continuously and bring that into the forefront of their, of reality for them. [00:11:46] Yeah, I a hundred percent agree and I, Sarah, I'm guessing you will as well as I know you very well. Yeah, no, absolutely. Obviously I agree with it with everything everyone said. Just to touch on Helen's point though, around that 40% Rex, and obviously that's, that's not everywhere. But even the average, I think the average rate is 7% coming out from that ISE survey that came out this week. You know, even that, you know, that if you're hiring a hundred grabs, that's, that's seven you are losing, which you didn't need to. And I think the average cost by higher from the same survey, [00:12:18] Is about four and half thousand pounds. So, you know, you don't have to be great at maths to work out that's, that's a lot of money that's been spent. But so just from a kind of pure numbers game it makes sense to just, you know, hold onto to the majority of those people because, you know, they're good. You've, you've got this rigorous recruitment process, you've spent the time doing it. It's such a shame to lose those people. But totally agree with the building, the sense of connection and community and around people. [00:12:49] I think graduates want to meet the people they're gonna be working with. You know, as you said before, they, the students don't know what it's gonna be like. You know, you can tell 'em as much as you want, but until they meet the people they're gonna be working with that bring it into life. So I think creating those connections is really important. And introducing people to the people, not just the other grads, but actually, you know, the managers they're gonna be working with and other colleagues throughout the organization. I think it's really critical. [00:13:16] Mm, definitely. And I, and I think that's, that's always been a big focus to me when developing you know, the right onboarding experiences is helping the, that student make that transition from study to work. It's so different. I mean, I, it was a while back when I did it, I have to admit, you know, I've forgotten how tricky it was, but these days, you know, just making that transition and understanding how a business works, it's, it's, it's, it's super critical, I think. Yeah. So let's, let's look at pre-boarding here. [00:13:46] It's, it's obviously one of the hot topics from our audience, you know, based on that poll, that they're, they're wondering, how am I engaging with these cohorts over such a lengthy period? You know, it's definitely crucial to graduate success, but what should it involve, Eric? You know, you've mentioned you've got a lot of compliance, but how are you balancing out, you know, what does your pre-boarding involve? [00:14:08] So yeah, I think what we've seen is this kind of like, you know, especially around COVID where everything kind of moved to digital. I think what's difficult with the pre-boarding with like it being completely on di digital platforms and never actually meeting people face to face and creating those connections, is that like you lose a lot of like, loyalty in that timeframe. And I think that is one of the challenges and why you kind of end up seeing a lot of Renee during that time. So we obviously use Eli as our platform for on pre-onboarding. [00:14:45] And a lot of the information there hasn't been able to allow us to tailor specifically based off their routes and journeys and also backgrounds. So different people coming into our programs from different ethnic backgrounds, have different expectations and relationships with policing. So we have content that we're able to tailor to them throughout that period. We've also looked at like the times and places where we do see aches and figured out ways to create more of those personal connections by doing things like socials, by doing things like induction in person events to start networking with each other, [00:15:27] Start connecting with each other. You know, relocation is a big thing for us where people are relocating to different areas. And so for them to be able to meet each other and meet others that they might be able to house share, all of these things start to create a sense of connection, not just to us Police Now and the force that they're joining, but to each other which is gonna be invaluable to them going ahead. So those are just some of the bits that we're doing in pre-onboarding to allow us to like start to build that where we can. [00:15:58] Lovely. Yeah. And Simon, you know, what kind of things are you putting in there to engage with people over that long period? You know, and you mentioned parents as well. I mean, have you got things in there to support them during that pre-boarding, help them get involved as well? Yeah, so great question, Neil. So again, we'll, we'll, probably some, well, sometimes in summer are just in my region onboard sort of 30 to 40 graduates every month. So over two different, two inductions, maybe even more than that. Sometimes a very busy months. [00:16:24] So that's a, it's a, it's a big number, you know, it's a big number to churn in and experience them is key. So we do a few things with that pre-boarding. We I'm sure they get a lot of phone call communications from our team that's not just though from the HR team that's from the branches. They're gonna work in their manager, the manager's manager, give 'em a call beforehand. Just welcome them in, ask any questions. And we also do a, usually like a social meetup beforehand. So we go to, you know, pizza Hut, go bowling [00:16:48] And things with them, just 'cause to us, that's the culture you're gonna, you're gonna work in, right? If we are gonna hire 30 employees, one of them might work in head office, 29 of them are gonna work in a branch. So bringing up to head office to meet the team here, that's not our culture. Our culture is the branch that you work in with your colleagues and your customers day by day. And, you know, customer service is huge for us. So seeing our customers and chatting to our branches is key. So bringing 'em here to onboard at the, [00:17:13] At the head office isn't, isn't what we do. We bring them in and meet our teams on a social basis, very informal, very networky, let 'em know how good a company we are, opportunities we've got. But, you know, to your point before Sarah, like, let's meet our teams, then let's meet your team you're gonna work with tomorrow. Not our, not just our managers that you're not gonna see up here at head office. Let's meet the people you're gonna work with every single day. So we do a lot of things like that. Social events, we'll send them Christmas cards, [00:17:38] We'll send them Easter cards and things to keep on, you know, that bench when they're waitings come in, keeping 'em warm, like you said before. We'll, you know, we have, we engage them all the time at that point. 'cause we can't have that Rene thing happening. We just, we just can't, we can't do that in today's marketplace. So we are all over that kind of face-to-face touch because, you know, it's just, it's so key for us this day and age. Mm-hmm. I a hundred percent agree. And Helen, same question, but I guess looking at your clients, maybe, you know, [00:18:05] There's people on the call today who actually it's like you can't get everyone together 'cause this is spread out all over the country. So, you know, how would you be, what kind of things would you put me in pre-boarding to still try and deliver similar things? Simon, I guess has spoken to, but look, we, you know, I live in Scotland. I'm not gonna get down for a social in London kind of thing. Yeah. I had exactly that experience actually at Dxt technology 'cause they were a hundred percent virtual company. And it was, how do you deal with that challenge? [00:18:34] And the only way to really do it is to set up little networks, little groups. And in an ideal world, you'd want everything in one place. So for me it was setting up those little communities. 'cause we knew where everybody was. And so we could set up regional little groups for them. And also looking at their competences as well. If they're being brought in with special skills and they're gonna be working in a certain sector, a certain line of business, actually getting them to start creating that buddy and that network 'cause I, you know, people who have like, grown up [00:19:13] Through companies and that's the kind of actual atmosphere that you want to create and trying to do that online, but also you need to bring in not only just for those communities, you need to bring in the existing members of staff. So you don't want everybody just only having contact with HR or whoever's doing your onboarding. You want them to have visibility of their peers within their team. And so if you are doing any social meetups over and above actually work things, you know, bringing them in often did you know drinks in, [00:19:51] You know near a client site and if there was something happening, you know, invite them along just to say hello. But it's really hard to do. But it's about reducing the anxiety and about building the confidence of your new starters. And actually if you can show them what your culture is really like, and try and get 'em engaging and finding that common ground. 'cause you know, when you do meet somebody in the office, you're talking about pets, you're talking about football, you're talking about, you know, how the match went. And even just how dreary the weather is at the moment, you know, [00:20:21] You are doing that and you need to create those forums for that level of just one-to-one engagement. And just finding your buddies. But, you know, if it is about house share, if it is about car sharing and especially, you know, with challenges to actually, you know, a cost of living, we need to make sure that we're reducing that impact as well for all of our new starters. But it isn't just early careers. I mean, you know, we should be doing these measures for absolutely everybody that starts and bringing them in and making them feel part of your family. [00:20:54] Not, you know, it's not just a company you've joined, you know, you signed up, you're one of us now. And here's how we do it. And that's so key. [00:21:03] Yeah. I hard agree. And Sarah, I mean, looking at, you know, the clients you are working with, how are they tackling this idea of building that connection to an organization's culture, you know, and building connections certainly when face-to-face and other things like that are harder to accomplish. Yeah, that's, that's a really good point. Well, and all our clients are different. So they all do it in slightly different ways, but I think the connections pieces is the most important. So they kind of, they use technology, obviously Eli, [00:21:34] In our case, as the enabler, but they make sure they still keep that human contact. And I think that's, that's really important. So using things like our social war to create groups and bring people together who have similarities or have similar interests. Or maybe they're joining the same department, maybe they're in the same country, maybe they've all come from the same university brought together with a social war so they can interact with each other before they join and after. But I think as we've talked about, pre-boarding is so crucial. Things like using instant messaging [00:22:09] So you can message as a group as well is really important. Just giving people also personal information about each other, sharing what they're interested in. As you say, Helen, you know, sharing what your pet's called could be an inroad into some similar interests. You know, I mean, it's a simple thing, but, you know, sharing that information about each other and having contacts, books where you know who you're gonna be working with sharing events that you're gonna be able to do, knowing what you're gonna be doing in your first week before you start so that you can see the people [00:22:39] That you're gonna be meeting up with maybe on your first day at lunch. Little things like that technology can help to bring actual humans together, I think is really crucial. [00:22:50] Hmm. Absolutely. And I think we've focused definitely on that cultural and building connections. What else should we be thinking about in pre-boarding then? Let you know what else is gonna help people make that transition. You know, should we think about pre-learning materials? Should we be thinking about other information and insight in into your organization? What kind of stuff are you, are you doing during that time, Simon? [00:23:16] I think we definitely encourage them to research our business. 'cause obviously again, you know, we want 'em to understand a little bit more about us. So our recruitment team our TA team are very involved with the, with kind of from day one and like a coaching piece. So it's not just, you know, start on day one and they just interview you and bring you through. They'll coach all the way through. So if they feel that someone starts with us and hasn't asked the questions on that first interview piece, we might say, Hey, you know, for interview number two, maybe ask a few more questions. [00:23:40] We coach 'em through a little bit and help them not get the job, but help them with that advice that would, you know, hopefully see them, see them through. But I mean, I guess it's, it's just, we, I think the biggest thing for us on that one, not really is the, is letting 'em understand that they know our culture. 'cause we're not just any other company. It's a, it is a, it is a family owned business still, and it's very different and it's an expect to other slightly retail based environment. So we'll have them come [00:24:03] And do a two hour visit in our branch. So they go to a branch local to them. They've only, they may or may not work in, but they'll spend two hours there, you know, getting to know the team and speaking to customers. And yeah, again, we're lucky with the geography. We've got branches all over the uk, we can do that. But I think, you know, being in the branch you're gonna work in, or at least one similar, it's massive for them because they're gonna go away if they catch it. I wasn't sure about the company right now, [00:24:25] But now I know more about it. I will do some more research. I will look into it more. I will reach out on LinkedIn to the people that I met and ask a few questions before they start even, you know, not to the recruiting team, but to the person I've spoken to in the branch half an hour ago on LinkedIn. So it's just very transparent, very open. But the communication thing is like absolutely pivotal for us on that one. Mm-hmm. And Eric, you, me mentioned, you know, before, you've, you've effectively, none [00:24:50] Of the people joining Police Now are gonna have an idea really un unless their parents happen to be of being a police officer. So how are you helping them come on the journey with you there? What are you giving them to give them insight into, I guess, where they're going in their career? [00:25:06] Yeah. Well, mo actually, the majority of people that join us wouldn't necessarily have been thought thinking about policing as an, as a career. So that's kind of the difference that Police Now brings to, you know, because if they did think about joining policing as a career, they'd probably go direct to force usually. But for us, we're looking at people who might, who come from different backgrounds, who have different kind of interests that we want to make that difference. So yeah, it is a challenge for us because it is a journey that we have to take them on [00:25:39] Because the, you know, we, you know, our, the most subscribed you know webinar that we do at the beginning is this kind of realities piece. And the amount of questions we still get. I mean, they've gone through the application process, all our marketing, and still the amount of questions you get about like, what's this gonna be like, you know, and I'm sure it's very familiar with all of you that like, there's still so many questions in that pre-onboarding phase to answer. And the reality is that nobody will know what it's like until you're on the ground as a police officer. [00:26:13] However you know, those connections to current police officers are participants who are amazing. So we constantly bring in people going through our programs, alumni of the programs who are now kind of sergeants or inspectors that can show them the development opportunities along the way. And the reality of that case studies live examples there are inductions either onboarding or online. One of my favorite events that we do is this kind of friends and family event where you can bring along, you know, your close loved ones, anyone's as anyone's welcome, because in policing, obviously you're not just trying to earn the trust [00:27:01] Of the candidate, but you're also trying to support them in their discussion that they're having with their own families who probably don't have a line of police officers in their families. So it's a really big jump for them. So that event, you know, and that just starts to set the reality using officers that are currently on the ground and through our program to set those expectations and allow mothers, fathers, grandparents, you know brothers, sisters to ask questions for them, is incredible. So it's, it's about kind of like bringing more people into the conversation [00:27:37] That are stakeholders essentially, that they need to sell that career choice that they've made. I think, I think that's really interesting, Eric, because I think specifically for your career that you are talking about is really important. But actually I think for all early careers, for all graduates and apprentices interns, parents and families have such a pivotal role. And I think sometimes people forget that. So I think it's, it's really important that we think about how we, how we kind of how do, how do you say it look at those preconceptions and deal with them really honestly and openly. [00:28:17] And, you know, not afraid to talk about them in lots of different ways. I think a lot, a lot of the time when we do pre-boarding with our clients, what we're looking to do is bring everyone up to the same level and have all the same information available to them at their fingertips. So, you know, like you said, if someone's not been a police officer before, they're gonna need a lot more information than someone that maybe has generations of people in their family. But similarly that's true of all of all careers. [00:28:44] You know, there might be people who've never had worked in a corporate environment for, and their family have never been in a, in a corporate setting. So there's, there's certain things that we might take for granted that some people just might not know. So maybe seeing someone who's, who's, who's come from where they've come from and doing that and chatting with them or seeing a video, it goes, it goes a long way, I think. Mm-hmm. Wholeheartedly agree. And I'm just, I'm just looking at some questions with one of my eyes side eye there. [00:29:11] Just checking 'em out. Helen, I'm gonna come with a couple of questions 'cause they're both are similar things. We're talking a lot about engagement over this pre-boarding period. How often should we be doing this? You know you know, so that we don't overload people and, you know, should it all be about culture or should we be thinking about other things that are going to help people prepare for work? [00:29:33] I think the first thing you need to do is establish that psychological safety. Make it known that, you know, no questions are a bad question. And I completely agree with Eric about enabling parents and, you know, the support structures to bring people through that, you know, that into their first role is so important. I mean, you mentioned apprenticeships, but also, you know, you gotta dial it back another level as well to T levels because actually if somebody's going through that route of education, they might well be doing so to then go onto the path [00:30:07] Of apprenticeships and schools. And parents need to have that safe environment that safety network there that they can ask any questions that actually, you know, they're just showing you know, positive curiosity into that role. And as Sarah has stole one of my favorite points about, you know somebody not having a point of reference, you know, if they're going into the corporate world, even, nobody to, nobody to ask, you know, is this outfit right? You know, what should I be wearing? The really simple things that the rest of us have been doing this for far too long you know, [00:30:47] Take us take for granted, but actually, you know, is this appropriate? Should I be doing this? And having that thing so that early engagement is really important. But also, you know, we've talked [00:31:00] We talked about the culture of the company we're coming into, but actually, you know, if you're a multinational company, you're gonna have a different feel in each country. But having worked in an industry where it's had so many different layers, you know, you'll have a design and creative team on the, on the ground floor, and then on the fourth floor you're gonna have people dealing with banking clients and government level type clients. And even in one company you can have various different cultural identities. So trying to be able to convey that to your new recruits [00:31:38] And make them feel comfortable and part of it all can be really tricky. But I think about having that transparency about the know this is who we are, this is what we bring, this is what you are going to be bringing as well. I think that's really important. And reminding people, you know, all throughout why they've been chosen. But as for the amount of touchpoints, again, it varies from country to country. If you go to some of the Nordic countries, they just can start. They can do the job offer and, [00:32:09] And maybe they'll do one or two touch points and that's fine. But actually in the UK we're seeing that actually, you know, fortnightly is about right, but depends on the age and the experience of the person. So it's about knowing your audience and that's why it's really good to see on an engagement platform, whether you are striking the right, no, whether you are using the right medium as well. Because, you know, if you're sending somebody an email and they're not opening it, is that just 'cause they don't do email? Or is it 'cause you know, [00:32:43] You should be using a different platform that's more appropriate for them, you know, if they're, if they've got limited resources, they might be doing it on a library computer at university, they might not have access to their own tech. So understanding your audience is incredible way to make sure you're getting it right. [00:33:05] Yeah, absolutely agree. And I also, all the other points, certainly au authenticity, honesty, truth, you know, no question. A silly one. A hundred percent key. Sarah, I think the last question, this, you know, an engagement plan, is that a good idea? You know, we are looking at this long period, we're thinking, you know, two weeks, three weeks contact. How's that gonna help you as a grad recruit to engage with people? [00:33:28] Well, absolutely I think that's a good point. A lot of graduate recruitment, we have a, you know, a long period of time when people are needing to be engaged with, you know, up to a year sometimes. But then sometimes you might just have a week or two. So it's making sure that it's a personalized engagement plan. Don't overpower people with lots and lots of stuff. You know, if you've just got two weeks, you might not wanna send them something every day. That's why, not what they want, but giving them touch points. Maybe they need something with two weeks to go, [00:33:58] But then creating some different content or some videos or maybe someone to talk to a week before they go. And then on their start date, giving them something completely new giving, creating that excitement and that kind of almost creating this crescendo so, you know, working up to this day one, which should be the most exciting time so far in their life that, you know, they're starting this graduate job and they're hoping it's gonna be a career possibly not for life anymore, but at least, you know, the first step on the ladder to whatever they might want to do eventually. [00:34:26] So I think, yeah, obviously engagement plan really crucial. And we can't just rely on the managers to do that, and we can't just rely on HR to do that. It's, it's a joint thing. And we haven't really talked about it much. We talked about it a little bit, but making sure the managers know, I suppose what's expected of them, and that's not in a kind of patronizing way, but making sure they have the tools to be able to deliver the experience that you want them to be able to deliver, because everyone is different. And a graduate [00:35:00] In one office might get a very different experience to a graduate, another office just because of who the manager is. And that's fine. They can have their own way of doing it, but if they have several planned in touch points of things they absolutely have to do to make sure this graduate gets the, you know, a reasonable level of experience, then, you know, that's getting done. And being able to track that as well, I think is really important. [00:35:21] Yeah. Yeah. I think that's really key. And I think it goes on to further, it's like, you know, a lot of the early career teams we work with are small, you know? Mm-hmm. And so don't feel that all this has to be done by yourself, you know, reach out and get support from the wider business, not just those directly involved with early careers as well, but the wider group, you know, help them to help you ultimately, whether that's running a session on learning or something on wellbeing, whatever it is, you know, [00:35:50] Don't think you are all in this on your own, I think is a really big thing. But I think we've got some really good points there around, you know, also that mix of engagement, you know, it doesn't just have to be right, we've got a call every two weeks. Think about how we're engaging with people in different ways and across different channels. You know, if you think about how you engage with your information day-to-day, whether at work or at home, you're not always on the same app un unless you're my partner who is never off Instagram, [00:36:18] You know, you're, you are mixing it up a bit. So do the same for your grads as well, you know, to keep them engaged. 'cause not everyone will want to assimilate the information the same way. And that's absolutely fine. I think. Definitely. So want to touch just briefly on social mobility. So we've talked a lot about what goes into or what should be going into pre-boarding, but how can we make that experience one that really champions diversity and social mobility, you know, makes it easier for people from different socioeconomic backgrounds to join us? [00:36:53] Eric, I know you've got a very diverse cohorts coming into you, so how are you supporting them to arrive, feeling included? Yeah, so first of all, I think it's in, it's important to establish a very safe space and also leading the conversations in this, because we all know, you know, living within the uk the kind of, you know, we see you know, the different news talking about policing culture, and it's been a spotlight within the media. So there's no hiding away from this anymore. And Police Now has, was created under, at its core foundation to bring diversity within policing. [00:37:39] So for us the social mobility that those coming from underrepresented backgrounds that aren't in the police force currently, that for us, we take very serious. And it's about actually adding some extra support elements, representation, role model, role modeling providing additional resources about the realities of what they're gonna experience and why that is, should fuel them in bringing the change to policing. And that's kind of the real big message that we're driving with those from kind of those underrepresented backgrounds that don't have the, advantages that others do when coming into, this industry. So for us, like truly it, like we talk, have, [00:38:29] Have very open and can candid conversations and really paint re a good picture and reality of what they're coming into and providing them kind of the support. So in our program, we have a dev professional development coach that actually is there to support them in these challenging moments. And to support everybody, everyone has one, but we see especially true from those that need it a little bit more throughout that period of time. So it really is about that, like it's about providing all those resources and some won't take it and others will but it's about like having them available. [00:39:14] And so when people do raise their hands, we're equipped as a team to sup to support them how they need to be supported. So yeah, that's, that's kind of some of the stuff that we do. [00:39:27] Fantastic. And Helen, you've, you've, you know, you're working with a lot of your partners to, you know, attract, assess and hire, you know, a diverse group of people. What are you then supporting with from an onboarding perspective afterwards to help them arrive? You know, on the same level as everyone else? [00:39:47] I think you need to set everybody up for success. And to do that you need clarity of, you know, those core messages. So as Eric said, you can put out a whole bunch of content, but not everybody needs to consume it. So you need to actually just make sure that, you know, [00:40:03] For one of about Word, the mandatories are all covered. But if you take it from a neurodiversity outreach type approach, if you were to say, actually what you need to do is you need to set really clear expectations, really clear agenda, make it you know, almost a can't pass this point until, you know, it steps all the way through to make sure that everybody has reached the same basic level of understanding by the time that they come on board. But actually explaining what you're doing, explaining why you've got to do it, and explaining the process all the way through. [00:40:43] I think just, you know, again, that whole clarity, setting it out right from the very start and being sure that your message is consistent all the way through. And then if you have got a load of other details access to business resource groups, access to buddies all of those support things, all of the nice to have, and then the social aspects of it as well, because you're gonna have plenty of people coming in who are either, you know, extroverts, introverts you want to actually be able to encompass everybody. So if you are arranging a social, that's great, [00:41:18] But making sure that everybody knows that's not mandatory, but these bits are, you know, that is so important because you could actually put people off by saying, oh yeah, pizza and bit, well, actually I come from a culture that doesn't do that. So immediately you're excluded. So you need to make sure that you're thinking all the time about what everybody has to do and then what they might like to do and the good to haves as well on top of it. But making sure that all your material all the way through is accessible, I think is really key to, [00:41:53] You know, real simple things like actually, you know, the vis visual contrasts and I know you guys have worked a lot with an organization that can really support with that as well. And yeah, it's simple things that you can do it yourself, even just by checking the accessibility from tonal differences in your material. If people have got screen readers, you know, what does it look like if you just turn it to a black and white image? It's such a simple step that you can take without the need for any super wizzy technology just to see, you know, [00:42:24] Somebody with a eyesight impairment, is this accessible to them? And just be really inclusive in your approach, but actually they're good practice for absolutely everybody. So you're being inclusive just by being simple and straightforward. Mm-hmm. I agree. Yeah. And also that idea of just taking the time to put yourself in the, in the shoes of those demo different demographics of people and think about the onboarding process you're, you are taking through and through and obviously the insight, the comms, whatever through their eyes and just evaluating it, I think is a, [00:43:00] A brilliant tip there. You don't have to spend weeks doing that, but even just a day, you know, looking at the different groups that are arriving as your, in your graduate cohort on understanding the challenges they might face, the anxieties they might have is a, is a brilliant place to start. Yeah. Si Simon, how are you managing that? You've mentioned, you know, take 'em out for bowling but you know, how are you building that a more inclusive e experience? I Think we are, we're on a journey too with this as well now. So we're still, we're still [00:43:30] Continually involved in this one. I think for us, one of the big things is not being scared to say, you know, what do you need in this process? So I think just that openness of saying, listen, you know, we can accommodate you in any way possible. What is it you need? And just stop talking and just see what they come back with. 'cause maybe it's nothing, you know, we don't wanna force something on someone that you know, hell's point, we don't wanna force a social event if you don't wanna be social. So let's just ask 'em what they need [00:43:52] And then we can accommodate whatever we can do. We have a weekly once a Wednesday, like a drop in session or we have some of our TA team and some of our other leaders will be there just to have any questions asked. And again, someone might wanna mention anything on that call. So it's fine to ask after. And again, you know, to Sarah's point before, is that resource available for you later on? 'cause not everyone learns the same way, right? And not everyone consumes the same way. So have we got video resource available 24 7 for you? [00:44:16] Have we got things in different media? Have you got people you can reach out to? If you don't wanna ask any group testing, absolutely fine. But I mean, it's, it's, it's cliche, isn't it, by that whole, you can't be what you can't see thing, so let's make sure people can see people just like them. And the more we can do that via any medium, I think is a, is a huge benefit on that, on that journey for us. Mm. Yeah. I think it's such a simple idea, isn't it? Just ask. Yeah. You know, get direct feedback, you know, and, [00:44:42] And as you say, give people different ways to ask as well, it might not be on that group call, but ultimately this idea of absolutely, look, we're here to support. We'll do it any way we can, but just let us know. I think that's a bit of a no brainer there, isn't it? Definitely. Sarah, what else? Just jump in, Just add into that. Not just about asking, it's also about tracking, you know? Yeah. If you can spot where people aren't as engaged or maybe they haven't even logged onto their onboarding portal or they haven't called someone, if you are tracking [00:45:13] That, you can spot that. And we work with several clients who do this really well. Cognizant being one of them, you know, that they can spot where people may be struggling or maybe falling behind, they can then jump on and their managers can then contact them and give them the support and the plan and the personal plan that they need to help them with their role because they're obviously the right people for the job. They've, they've gone through lots of process to recruit these people. So explore tracking it and then exploring why, asking questions [00:45:43] And then doing these pulse checks. So they do this every week through their portal, you know, allowing them to just monitor the mood of their grads. And it's, it seems, it sounds quite simple, but actually it's really effective. I mean, you know, obviously I won't go into lots of detail what they do now, but we are, we are presenting next week at the ISC and I'm sure lots of you are gonna be there with Cognizant. So feel free to come and ask us about that next week when we're there in person. 'cause it's what they've achieved there [00:46:09] Not just from onboarding, but from their whole program is really interesting. Yeah. I was gonna give that a little plug definitely in a moment. So last topic before we jump to the q and a. And we don't need to linger on too long of this, but you know, what are the benefits, have we seen when we've got this right? You know, what kind of experience, if we've delivered this great experience, what kind of things can we expect as recruiters? What benefits are we gonna get from this? Simon? [00:46:38] What have you seen from the experience that you've been delivering? I think sales point by measuring is really key. We measure pretty much everything in our process now internally. So, you know, we'll measure the dropout at what point people would drop out if possible at all. You know, we measure, to your point, Sarah, engagement level to certain points. And we're lucky to have over 90% success rate on our really onboarding. Now our onboarding, we track up to obviously up to start. And then 120 days is our typical measurement for new hires, you know, so luckily, again, [00:47:07] Above 90% there is good for us. We're pretty strong on that, pretty consistent on that. But we all measure every single thing there, even due to the experience at the start, just through simple, you know, pull surveys, like Sarah said, measuring whether they did or didn't get a phone call before hand from their manager. That's measured tracked. And we have some really good engagement with our stakeholders and our sort of our senior team that will really, you know, jump on that and help us reinforce that key that, you know, that your employee needs a phone call. [00:47:33] Noel didn't get one. Why? Why is that? Let's just find out why Noel is the only person in that class of 60 not to get a phone call. So it's, it's just, you know about that again, that tracking, but the visibility is the key piece. It's great tracking it, but we've got, you know, quite lucky to have that engagement internally that we'll share something and people really get on that. So I think share is fine, but who you track it and who you share it with, sorry, is probably the key part for us. [00:47:56] But we've luckily had, you know, great results there with our retention engagement and luckily our business results too. Fellow. Nice. Lucky man. Lucky man. And Eric, what for you, what's success looking like for you when you get it right then in onboarding? Well for me, I think it's just about getting the right individuals into the p into the police force, right? I think I'll just share one example. So we think very we, throughout pre-onboarding, we want to make sure we're setting the right picture, the right realities, having the right conversations to set the right expectations. [00:48:35] So there was obvious, and you most of you probably know about the Barness Casey report, that showcase kind of like the internal workings of the met and the challenges that are within there, especially around race bull bullying and things like that. And it could be quite daunting, obviously, to somebody who's of say, black Heritage coming into our program at that time. And I remember sat at the kind of onboarding they've started the program and there's this female block officer that joined our program and she said word for word, she said, I was thinking about reneging [00:49:13] And can canceling my offer with Police Now when that report came out. But she said, I'll come to induction and if they don't address that report, I'm out. And we did, you know, we did address that report and we were open and honest with kind of how the new generation is truly the, they're the people that are gonna make that change within the policing culture. And I think that just is the moment that I'm so proud of the team to having those like transparent conversations and really you know, leading with that because they're the one, they're the things that make [00:49:50] Or break someone's experience with you, and they're the ones that, you know, you want them in the program because they're, you know, she will go on to make a massive change within that police force and be empowered to do so. So I think that just shows like when you get it right, you get individuals like that into your program. [00:50:09] I Yeah, I think, I think it's a lovely point, isn't it? You know, we can bang on around reducing those, Renee, but actually it's about keeping this brilliant talent in your organization. You know, it's, it's not about the bottom line here. It's about this amazing person that's gonna do wonderful things. I think that's a really good point. Helen, you've got a lot of clients coming to you saying, we need your help with this. What is success looking like for them then? [00:50:33] It's a twofold thing. I think for the candidates themselves, success is actually feeling like they've joined the right, organization, that they've made the right choice. That all that effort that they've invested was the right direction. But for a client, it's really important that a new starter [00:50:55] Is the right one for them. And so enabling them with the right tools that, yeah. And training as part of that onboarding journey so that they can really hit the ground running to actually prove to the business that they've made a great investment choice as well. Because actually, you know, you're gonna be quite resource strapped. Where are we? You spending the effort actually putting all of these steps in place was worth that effort. You know, it was the right decision. It might have been a long hard slog to set up this process, to put all of these measures in place to do everything, [00:51:36] But, oh my goodness, look at the results that this person has achieved because they've been enabled so well, and actually setting somebody up for success pay such long dividends from that stickiness of, candida all the way through to hopefully being a long-term, you know manager, you know, career leader of the future. You want them to be that person and that 'cause that's what you hired them for their potential. So actually, you know, putting in those mechanisms, showing that potential, and then, you know, in two years time, you're all of a sudden putting them forward for apprentices [00:52:14] Of the year or, you know, rising star of the year because you've set their expectations properly, they've delivered, and you're going on that journey together. And celebrating that success all the way through, I think is integral. So for me, success is actually knowing right person, right. Client, right result. And that career path, just zooming off into the future, I think is amazing. Mm. Definitely. G Guys, we're gonna come to some questions if you've got any more questions. I wanna say, you know, I know someone that had that kind of career. Simon you know, you were employee of the year 2009, 10, [00:52:53] And 11, I believe enterprise. I've been doing my research on you. Sarah, anything to add, anything to add to what we've just had, just while we wait for any questions to come in? So I suppose it's a lot of people often ask me graduate employers, you know, what can we track? How can we track what we are doing? I think there's things around productivity is another thing that Cognizant do. So they look at, you know, when does someone become billable, for example? And I think because of the work they do, pre-boarding [00:53:27] And onboarding to get people up to speed, that's a really good tracking me mechanism. Just something simple like that. So maybe NPS score, you know, what are they saying about you to their friends, you know, would they recommend you? Again? It is, there's, there's lots of different measures, and lots of different clients will use different measures. And again, it depends on your objectives of your onboarding and your pre-boarding, but I think those are a couple of things that are really straightforward to measure. And obviously you're in egg rates, which we talked about already. [00:53:57] Yeah. Fantastic. So I'm waiting for any more questions to come through. Helen, I'm just jumping back through the chat. I can see one there, which was sort of directed to you when you were talking about creating communities. How do you put that into practice now? You know, we know that Eli's got its own social wall bomb. There's your community, very easy. You can tailor it for different groups, but we've not got the world's best onboarding product. You know, how can we go about creating those communities, you know, within our co cohort, [00:54:26] Old school would've been a Facebook group, but setting up teams, channels, you know, it depends what technology you're using. Each client is different. So you know, teams, channel's, really simple. Skype all of those other, not Skype, sorry, wrong one. [00:54:48] Other platforms are available. Just actually setting up those groups on those, on those platforms is really simple to do. And allowing access for those different users and just creating that chat channel for them. Everybody knows how to use the, you know, the chat functions in Microsoft teams. You know, it's a free and easy accessible platform, but I think that's the key thing. You need to make sure that it is free and easy for your end users to actually get access to. Because again, it's about that inclusion aspect. And whether it's you are creating that repository [00:55:30] Or a chat channel or you know, a sharing platform to, you know, whether it's talking about, you know, their dogs or you know, their football team results or whatever it is. Actually creating that sense of community. And then of course you need to think about whether, you know, it's gonna be a moderated channel, whether the management are gonna have access to it or whether it is purely for that cohort. But then of course you need to again, think about that safety element and whether that fits in with your corporate objectives as well and your corporate platform. [00:56:02] Because again, you know, these are all things which until you actually start diving down into the nitty gritty, you won't know. And access of course, privileges again, differ from co company to company. I've seen teams, channels that have got emojis and gies and others that, you know, barely let you spell check anything. So again, it's about each different company and their different you know, route to market and the platforms that they use. But yes, just keep it as simple as possible because if you keep it simple, it's accessible. [00:56:38] Absolutely. And I've got one other question come through from Kate there. I'm gonna direct it at you Simon here. It's, it's about, you know, HR and managing onboarding. It's consistent, it's good, but then when they're transitioning onto the manager, things start to fall apart. So, you know, how do you manage that? 'cause it's, it's not you running all of it, you're passing people onto your different Correct. Retail branches. How are we ensuring that it's, they don't drop the ball, I guess, ultimately? Yeah, it's great. It's a great question now. So we'll, we'll survey them after initial orientation. [00:57:07] So usually only second week, one of our team will survey them there also 90 days later. So then that person then obviously the handshake is between TATD, hr, TD into the rental branches where we kinda lose touch a little bit there because we're so geography spread I guess. So at that point now we survey him again, it's, you know, Sarah's point, a bit of a pull survey just through, just through forms, really just have a little question with him on the initial experience. How did you define your branch? How prepared were you for your branch after finishing orientation? [00:57:35] You know, did you feel orientation mirrored what you had in your branches? What did you feel you need to learn still that we can adapt for next time? So there's, so, and we're quite agile in that we can change things pretty quick. You know, we're looking at, we have a lot of autonomy in the TD department to be able to do that, but we listen really well and we will, we'll make big changes due to, you know, consensus. And we've changed things quite drastically over time because of, you know, three or four people saying the same thing, we'll happily do that. [00:58:00] So it's just surveying and again, back to the, you know, back to the stakeholder piece, sharing it with people that really care and we have some good results on that actually, and some good feedback. Mm-hmm. And you touched on earlier, Sarah, you know, how are we driving consistency? 'cause that's really the key here, isn't it? You know, how are we helping drive consistency across that from you? Yeah. I think just to add to that with the line managers I think I've mentioned a little bit before, but making sure that they're all, [00:58:25] They've all had the same training. They've all had been shown what the way to do is having checklists of things they have to do, for different groups of people. So making sure that everyone gets alerts and things to be, and reminders and nudges when they haven't done things they've got their day job to do. They haven't got time to be chasing up, you know, new hires. They need this automated reminders to be able to do that. But yeah, training, getting them involved, maybe using a few managers who are brilliant at it to come [00:58:55] And talk to the rest of them and show some great examples of what they've done. Yeah. Fantastic. Lovely. Well, I think we've, I think we've hit the 1:00 PM if any other questions that come up there that we may or may or not miss, we'll, we'll get back and sort of answered them laid out and fire them over to you. I want to thank our fantastic panelists today. You've been absolutely brilliant. The insight has been f fantastic, so thanks so much and I hope everyone has a fantastic week. And we might see you at the IC next Tuesday as well. [00:59:25] Thanks so much for coming in for.