{"id":2958,"date":"2015-07-13T15:28:57","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T15:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discovery-graduates.com\/?p=2958"},"modified":"2015-07-13T15:28:57","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T15:28:57","slug":"bringing-new-talent-into-the-merchant-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/bringing-new-talent-into-the-merchant-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing graduate talent into the merchant industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"STEM-graduates-650\"<\/a>PRESS RELEASE<\/p>\n

Wolseley UK has, this year, signed recruitment firm Discovery Graduates for the third year running in its hunt for the best talent to join its Management Training Program. So what makes this partnership such a success?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is a personalized and rigorous selection process\u201d, says Jonathan Evans, Founder of the Discovery ADR Group. \u201cIt is essential that the process of graduate recruitment is a thorough one to ensure that graduates we place are the right fit for the business and, and that the business is right for the graduate. This ensures that both sides are wholly committed to each other from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Stratton secured a place on Wolseley\u2019s Management Training Program in 2014. \u201cDiscovery was very open about what companies wanted and the experience they were looking for. They knew a lot about the role and therefore could advise on how best to prepare. As part of the Wolseley selection process I spent a couple of hours in a Wolseley UK branch ahead of my interview so I arranged to spend a day in my local Plumb Center. It was not something that I would have thought of doing myself but it gave me insight into the company which was invaluable at interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a time when graduate retention nationally is low, Jonathan believes that companies need to do everything they can to get the right people in first time round. \u201cAlthough companies are looking for a quicker return on their graduates there is still a definite need to take the time to develop graduate talent. There is no \u2018quick fix\u2019 and many companies rush to recruit what they perceive to be the \u2018best\u2019 graduates, without taking the time to identify what it really is that they need. But it\u2019s a costly mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n

A report from the CEB last year highlighted that 40% of graduates leave their job within the first year, but Discovery is bucking this trend with a 90% retention rate. \u201cAlongside the interview process we use behavioral profiling to help graduates to develop self-awareness, identify their strengths, and their areas for development. It also helps us to identify a range of jobs that would suit their skill set and temperament – beyond those which directly relate to their degree or which they would have thought of themselves. It also means that we find people who are a good cultural fit for the business and who have a genuine passion and the right attitude to work in that particular sector and role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Sann\u00e9 was in the first cohort of Graduate IT Management Trainees and started in October 2014. \u201cI originally applied for an operations position but Discovery suggested that that I was probably better suited to the IT program. I thought they were crazy as I had very little technical IT knowledge but they said Wolseley were looking for somebody with business experience, who was open minded and could learn quickly. Discovery recognized in me the right personality and skill set and were clear this was more important than technical knowledge \u2013 and they were right. I would never have thought about applying for the IT role one but I really enjoy it and now know it was the right job for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as Jonathan knows, getting the right people is just the first step. \u201cThe development of your talent is just as important as recruiting the right people, when it comes to retention. Businesses need to look at graduate recruitment and development as a longer term investment in order to improve retention and get a better return on their original investment. Wolseley UK is a perfect example of a company doing just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting onto the Management Training Program at Wolseley UK is just the first step \u2013 the new recruits are then put through their paces on the ground and in the classroom. Graduate trainee Alice Wise explains, \u201cOn the Management Training Program we have 2-3 day training courses every other month which cover every aspect of the business, alongside things like motivating a team, or understanding branch accounts. I\u2019ve also taken advantage of additional training such as presentation skills \u2013 there are lots of \u2018optional\u2019 training courses and Wolseley UK supports you to do as much training as is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how is this investment in graduate talent affecting the business? Sarah Bullock, Head of People Capability and Development, Wolseley UK, said: \u201cWe want the best branch employees in the industry \u2013 and we want to retain them. Our Management Training Program helps us achieve this by attracting top, passionate new trainees, getting them to roll their sleeves up and giving them early responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to stretch them and get them to run their own projects. By exposing them to all areas of our business, our future managers get a fantastic understanding of how we operate and will be more informed, engaged and best equipped to lead high performing teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luke Evans, who is also part of the 2014 cohort, agrees. \u201cHaving knowledge of the whole business and being really close to it makes it much more likely that you will stay with the company for longer, because you\u2019re totally engaged,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m building networks across the business and I\u2019m developing my knowledge and insight every day. I feel part of something bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, 100% of Wolseley\u2019s Management Trainees have chosen to stay on with the business after completing the program.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE Wolseley UK has, this year, signed recruitment firm Discovery Graduates for the third year running in its hunt for the best talent to join its Management Training Programme. So what makes this partnership such a success? \u201cThe most important thing is a personalised and rigorous selection process\u201d, says Jonathan Evans, Founder of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[20,21,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-employer-news","category-graduate-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovery-adr.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}