First day nerves: we’ve all been there. Even at my local primary school where my son recently joined they had an induction of sorts with several open days and a home visit to ease them (and the parents) into this new environment. It’s the same for graduates starting a new job and perhaps as recruiters we forget what it’s like.

Incredibly not every organisation has an induction for new graduate hires. Neglecting this key part of the employer-employee relationship not only risks wasting all your previous efforts hiring them in the first place but is very short sighted and unprofessional. Luckily most GRN members are well versed in inductions but judging from the attendance at our recent event they were keen to learn even more ways to improve this process. Gemma Hurt from Kerry Foods was on hand to share her experience.

In attendance to hear these insights were senior talent managers from forward-thinking recruiters such as Daiwa, Groupon, IBM and Heathrow Airport and many others kindly hosted at ICAEW headquarters in Moorgate, London. After an engaging Q&A session, GRN members were enlightened with practical advice to go back to their next board meeting. So, what were some of the key takeaways?

1. Start Early. Your induction needs to begin before the actual start date. Keeping candidates “warm” and better informed post-offer builds the relationship and a much stronger bond – especially if they are able to communicate with other new starters in a social media group. Furthermore, this strategy can help reduce the likelihood of a reneged offer.

2. Storytelling. Bring your company to life with anecdotes, milestones, quirky facts and a bit of gold dust to really engage with new starters. Go one step further and begin with explaining your career journey from starter to where you are now. Guaranteed to get buy-in!

3. OOO (Out Of Office). Remember that social connections made outside of work can help inside work so look for opportunities during the induction period for graduates to socialise during lunch times or evening activities. Inclusion is the key.

For the first time we have recorded Gemma’s presentation to listen back to. This will be the first of a podcast series following each GRN event to give members who attended (and those based outside of London) an opportunity to benefit from these learnings. Do you have something to add to the debate? I’d love to hear examples of best practice to share with GRN members so do send me an email at d.hawes@grb.uk.com.

This is just a flavour of the topics covered during a typical GRN event. To join please apply for membership and receive invites for future events. Our 2018 events calendar is as follows;

• December 5th 8.45am-11am. KCL, London

It’s free and a fantastic opportunity to develop as a professional graduate recruiter in your sector with a diverse range of graduate recruiters facing the same challenges.