GradStart for graduate recruits—programme definition

Business and soft skills development

GradStart for Businesses (GradStart) is a development programme designed to enable graduate recruits develop the personality, skills and knowledge they need to function optimally in the workplace.

The programme combines monthly workshops with assignments to be done between workshops.  The workshops provide relevant content and support and the opportunity to work and share experiences with others in the same position.

GradStart covers ten one day modules, one per month.  It is the wide diversity of content which makes the programme unique.

1  Industry intelligence

Knowledge of the recruit’s industry sector is essential.  GradStart participants will benefit from comparisons of each other’s sectors and have the chance to learn how other sectors operate.

Understanding the commercial environment in which their business operates is also vital for its new recruits.

In addition, participants will be taught how to acquire industry intelligence through research techniques, reading industry journals, and learning about competitors.

2  Personal management

Effectiveness in the workplace starts with the ability to manage oneself:  one’s emotions, responses and behaviours in a potentially infinite number of situations.  And all change and development in that area requires self-awareness and self-understanding.

In this module, we consider the fundamentals of why we think, feel and behave in the ways that we do.

Then we address how young employees must be able to manage themselves as effectively as their colleagues who have been at work for years.  Employers emphasise that motivation, resilience, self-confidence and a ‘can-do’ attitude are essential attributes in employment.

3  Financial awareness

Many business people—even experienced ones—do not understand the basics of business finance and terminology, and struggle to understand what a financial report is conveying.

These are key indicators of business performance and health, so it is essential that new employees learn the fundamentals of business finance at an early stage in their careers.

4  Interpersonal behaviour

Most work is achieved largely or wholly through relationships between people.  Learning how to behave personally and professionally with others is essential in building productive work relationships with colleagues, business partners and clients.

Students apply the self-knowledge gained from the Personal management module to grow their capacity to understand and empathise with others.  This enables them to tailor their behaviour so that the other person’s needs are met most strongly.

5  Problem solving

Being able to analyse a situation, formulate and consider options—assessing the merits and risks of each—are all critical skills new employees will have to apply throughout their life and career.

Making decisions and taking risks are important skills of a leader.  An ability to identify the best outcome will increase the probability of success and protect the reputation of the business.

Developing confidence and learning to trust their problem-solving abilities are paramount in a new employee building a successful career.

6  Communication skills

Effective use of language—both verbal and non-verbal—is the basic tool whereby people communicate.  Being able to ‘read’ others is as important as communicating accurately oneself.

A young employee’s ability to use language assertively to influence others will help shape their destiny and identity, and demonstrate their leadership potential.

Presenting to a large audience, writing reports or simply using e-mail constructively are all skills that effective leaders need.

7  Customer awareness

Without the customer, the business is dead.  A corporate understanding of how to treat the customer well is essential to the success of the business.  Yet, many businesses do not do this well, as the news media regularly report.

Knowing how sales-people build relationships with clients will make the difference between gaining sales and losing them.

Learning about contractual commitments, why and how they are made, and how to negotiate and behave with clients and business partners will ensure young employees understand how their business operates with customers.

Understanding how to satisfy customers with the business’s products and services, thereby ensuring their loyalty, will create its continued growth.

8  Team working

Teams are the forums in which good communication is needed.  Every day, employees have to interact with other people—colleagues, managers, directors, partners and clients.

Their ability to work collaboratively makes a crucial difference to the long term health of a business (and an individual’s difficulty in this area quickly becomes a real drag).

Understanding how the people in a team are affected by the others in the team;  how to select people to make up an optimally performing team;  and why many teams are more or less dysfunctional, are all key to successful team working.

9  Management

This module covers the basics of management, enabling new recruits to understand the context in which their line management is working.  It then asks how can this management role be best accomplished, what leadership qualities and attributes are needed?

Outside project management, much management is change management.  Change is the natural state of 21st century business.  New employees will be involved in significant change programmes throughout their working lives.

When a business invests in change, how does it know when it has finished?  If new employees understand the change process, they will be better equipped to understand the impact that change will have, and how best to embrace and handle it with resilience and a positive mind-set.

10  Leadership

We believe that leadership is an attitude, an approach to working with others, that it is both possible and desirable for new employees—and everyone else—to develop from the start.  Clearly good leadership is essential for good management.

Basically, this module answers the question, what do managers who are leaders do that managers who aren’t leaders don’t do?

Rationale

Without expertise in all these subjects, young employees will not be able to build effective relationships at work or a successful career.  These skills and attributes form the foundation on which their leadership development is based.

GradStart is available both as an open programme and inhouse for larger clients.

GradStart workshops are no larger than twelve people, enabling us to attend to each participant’s particular needs.  We stress the benefits to all participants of continuity of attendance throughout the programme.

Related material:
>  GradStart:  programme introduction
>  GradStart:  programme overview
>  GradStart calendar

To discuss our programme in more detail:
Please call 0800 619 9697 or email info@akonia.com
Alternatively, call Jeremy Marchant, 01 453 764 615, jeremy.marchant@akonia.com

by Jeremy Marchant . revised 4 january 2016 . image:  Akonia . Free images

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Contact Jeremy Marchant, jeremy.marchant@akonia.com, 01 453 764 615