AFTER THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW………..

Yet another AGR conference ends. Where did the time go?

More than 500 people made their way to the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales – some from as far away asAustralia,New Zealandand theUnited States. About half arrived on the Sunday to soak up the sun and party atmosphere on the revamped rooftop terrace. How ironic that the resort’s improvements to provide protection from wind and rain was superfluous on a magnificent summer’s evening.

Earlier in the day, Real World and the Spring Project ran our first ever employability workshop for sixty unemployed graduates with support from a professional team of AGR members (and the Celtic Manor Resort).

Monday morning began with a series of showcases and opening of the exhibition heralding the start proper of conference. No matter how many conferences you organise, and this was my 13^th, the nerves kick in as you watch scores of delegates take their seats for the official opening. Our first keynote speaker, Dennis Turner, HSBC’s chief economist, put the nerves at rest with a highly informative, revealing and amusing delivery on the state of theUK economy. It is, to quote, “bumping along”.

Experience dictates that the first keynote sets the tone for the whole event. If it is well received then there is a build up of momentum that propels the conference forward. That certainly happened this year.

Domestic considerations such as the logistics of feeding large numbers of people at the same time and rehearsing the awards ceremony prevent me from attending seminars but from what delegates fed back to me, the seminars were topical, lively, challenging and participative. Just what the conference planning team called for.

Squeezed in between the seminars was a timely keynote address from Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of HEFCE. His insights into the future direction of higher education inEnglandgave delegates plenty of food for thought.

As if organising a major conference programme isn’t enough we also build in an awards dinner. This is the most complex and challenging element of conference. While delegates worry about which dress to wear or who to sit with, the cast – awards presenter, entertainers, DJs, and catering staff – all compete for floor time to ensure the evening is a success. At one time we had Mike Gunn rehearsing his lines on stage, the stage crew fixing the LED dance floor, String Mania waiting patiently for their sound test and the hotel staff laying tables for 450 guests. Yours truly stood in the middle of this organised chaos clutching a clip board, trying to keep the peace.

Hard to believe that less than two hours later the Caernarfon Suite was transformed into a spectacular setting for dinner. Mike Gunn got his own back for my nitpicking over pronunciation with a few well aimed jokes at my expense. As ever there was a technical hitch but we got away with it. Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Barclays Bank for lifting the ‘blue riband’ award. Once the final award is handed over, I relax and enjoy the dinner and entertainment. Traditionally the evening ends up in the bar and this year was no exception. However, as I sneaked off to bed at 1.00am, Merlin’s Bar was less busy than normal – a sign of the economic times, or are we all becoming more responsible?

The acid test for conference is the first session the morning after the night before – Tuesday morning. The launch of the AGR survey results by James Kewin and the panel discussion, chaired by Alison Hodgson did a great job in exploring the survey findings in detail. The turnout, it has to be said, was brilliant.

With 12 workshops to choose from delegates are spoilt for choice. Delegates occasionally ask why they can’t attend more than 2 sessions. The simple answer is that we would not get many presenters prepared to run sessions more than twice on the same day!

Tuesday afternoon and we are in the home straight but with repeat workshops, a keynote delivered by Dr Debbie Swallow on intercultural communication, and a conference reflections session to fit in, the pace does not slacken off.

We end Conference 2011 on a high with presentations to Margaret Dane, Chief Executive of AGCAS who retires in the autumn, and the aforementionedAlison Hodgsonwho becomes AGR’s first ever honorary fellow for her contributions to AGR over the past decade.

Finally, once AGR chairman Terence Perrin closes the conference and wishes everyone a safe journey home, the conference hall empties in seconds and suddenly it is all over – again!

Heading back into the hotel for a debriefing with Celtic Manor staff, I find I don’t recognise anybody.UK’s leading conference hotel never sleeps and as one set of delegates leave, another crowd arrive. The backroom crew have but a couple of hours to dismantle the stage by which time there will be no visible evidence that AGR’s members have been at the Celtic Manor. Fortunately memories are not so easily dismantled.

2011 was a vintage year and I shall always associate it with the glorious weather that greeted us; the brilliant keynote from Dennis Turner; Mike Gunn’s jokes; the efforts of a committed conference planning team; Guardian Job’s amazing coffee and  WII dance/sing song; Alison Hodgson’s surprise at her award; the party atmosphere at Sunday’s social; the inspirational short video capturing the essence of the employability workshop; the exceptional food and the unsolicited positive feedback from delegates.

That’s how I felt about it – but what about you? If you were there please take the trouble to complete the conference evaluation form which should be reaching you via RateMyPlacement anytime now (the link for this is also below). In less than 4 months time (groan) we start all over again and begin organising the 2012 conference. The very first thing that the planning team does is consider the feedback from delegates this year. So help us by making sure you let us know what you think.

You can find the conference feedback survey here http://www.ratemyplacement.co.uk/surveys/agr-conference-2011

More detailed information on the conference sessions and award winners will be available in the next issue of Graduate Recruiter due out at the end of July.  You will also be able to find copies of the presentations on the AGR website over the next few weeks. 

We are also hoping to make the photographs available on the website, so look out!

WOULD YOU RECOGNISE YOUR CEO?

A few weeks ago I attended the 18^th Breakfast News event organised by TARGETJobs sponsored by Work and in association with AGR.

I have yet to miss one of these breakfasts, so I am well placed to say that this was one of the best yet. Not because of the food, although it was very good, but because the agenda was as fresh as the orange juice that Gary Rhodes served up.

My presentation focused on “How important are graduates to business leaders?” Over the past three weeks we surveyed AGR members with a series of questions aimed at exploring this somewhat neglected aspect of the graduate recruitment function.

Against a backcloth of 5 years of expansion in graduate vacancies, despite the uncertain and challenging economic environment,  two thirds of AGR members reported that their business leaders have either a great deal, or a fair level, of involvement with graduate recruitment. That involvement was at its highest with regards to determining targets and budgets and participating in the selection process and development programmes. There was also a healthy interest in the return on investment.

In a majority of businesses graduate recruitment was seen as a route to leadership and a significant minority saw it as a prime outcome of the development process. It was estimated that 3 in 4 leaders are themselves graduates.

Perhaps the most useful statistics related to the length of time it takes a graduate to reach positions of responsibility. Bearing in mind Gen Y’s predilection for progressing quickly at work, the responses were fascinating and provide a valuable benchmark against which to measure you own organisation’s performance. For example, the first level of responsibility is working autonomously (16 months on average) followed by managing projects. The report also includes timescales for managing people and managing budgets. Compared to my early years at work when ‘sitting next to Nelly’ and observing how to do the job could last for 6 months or more, these timescales are impressive but I doubt that high-flying graduates will see it that way.

The survey also covered the value of graduates to organisations. Some interesting data emerged here though not all of it positive. It seems that too many businesses still don’t have processes in place to measure the ROI. An element of ROI has to be retention rates and again, half of the respondents did not know how long graduates stay with them. That’s not quite the same as saying that no-one in the business knows but those recruiters who could provide an accurate answer are clearly in a stronger position to measure the true value of graduates.

To be effective at work in this day and age you need to be able to develop working relationships with colleagues at all levels including top management. The last section of the survey explored how well the graduate recruiter related to their CEO. While the vast majority would be happy to ask their CEO to take part in recruitment/development activities, only a third would buy them a drink and one in twenty would not recognise their top boss if they bumped into them!

AGR members will be able to access the full survey report for free shortly on the AGR website.

 Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive (who would be delighted to accept a free drink from a member of staff!)