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!)

Back to work after a holiday!

Have you noticed how quickly a suntan disappears once you get back to work? After returning from a blissful week’s relaxation on the dramatically landscaped island of Santorini, I swear I could see the skin returning to its usual pale pallor as I grappled with a backlog of emails almost as long as the queue to get through passport control at Birmingham airport.

As ever there was no time to gradually immerse myself into work mode. A day in and I found myself speaking at a HEPI conference on the highly topical theme of “The Student Experience: Rising costs – Raising Expectations”.  I was asked to contribute to a session focusing on how students gain a great deal from their HEI. This, as I suggested to the audience, will be one of the  key challenges facing universities under the new finance arrangements with students paying significantly more for their studies.  I was quick to point out that AGR supported the notion of students contributing more to the cost of their learning in the belief that it would inevitably raise their expectations (and their parents) which in turn would drive up standards and improve quality in teaching and learning.

I am not sure to what extent I convinced my audience of university managers but listening to other contributors, especially legal experts, one thing is for certain – HE is going to change out of all recognition over the next few years although I doubt that anyone yet knows exactly how it will change. Even looking forward just 12 months to when the new fees are introduced, there seems to be great uncertainty about the impact on participation rates.

Which neatly brings me to this week’s main challenge. Today I am attending the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee at the House of Commons to give oral evidence to the Committee’s enquiry into The Future of Higher Education. The link to the BIS Select Committee’s homepage is http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/inquiries/the-future-of-higher-education/.

The uncertainty I referred to above makes the task of answering parliamentary questions that much more difficult. However, as important stakeholders in higher education there is a duty on employers to present clear expressions of the way forward for the sector. It is pleasing that the Committee values AGR’s contribution to the debate and I will share the experience with you in my next blog.

Another indicator of how challenging shaping the future of higher education is can be gleaned from the delay in the long awaited publication of the Government’s White Paper which is now expected to be published in the summer.

When I am not attending high profile events, together with the rest of the AGR team I am grappling with the important detail of putting on this year’s annual conference which is now only 7 weeks away! I know you would expect me to say this but I genuinely believe that our conference planning committee has put together an excellent programme this year. Take a look online at www.cceventslive.com/agrdel2011. Almost 300 people have already registered. Do you really want to miss out on the graduate recruiters/developers event of the year?

What a tangled web we weave!

By the end of play on Tuesday, universities intending to charge more than £6,000 had to submit their plans to the government’s watchdog, the Office of Fair Access. To date almost 75% have set their fees at the maximum £9,000 much to the disappointment of the coalition government which had previously declared that fees in excess of £6,000 would only be issued in exceptional circumstances.

It seems that on this occasion exceptional has become the norm as the average stands at £8,679.20. Not unexpectedly Russell Group institutions are charging the maximum. Only a few universities intend to charge variable fees depending on the course despite courses being more or less expensive than others to deliver.

A couple of vice-chancellors have indicated that one consideration in setting fees at or near the maximum is status. As one put it, imposing fees ‘at the bottom of the spectrum’ would make undergraduates feel substandard. The outgoing president of the NUS pointed out that students will not only have to judge where to study on the based on costs but will also have to take into account the prospect of their course being judged externally, presumably by employers, by what they pay. All of which reminds me of the curious phenomenon that higher prices increase desirability among consumers.

A bizarre prospect of the new fees regime, highlighted by Sky News this week, is of students studying the same course at the same institution being changed different fees with those with lesser grades being able to haggle on price.

How have we arrived at this perplexing state of affairs? It seems the government is pursuing two different ideologies at the same time. It is keen to create a ‘market’ in higher education in the hope that it will increase student purchasing power and in turn drive up standards. At the same time it is anxious to drive forward a social mobility agenda. Add to this the need to reduce expenditure on the costs of teaching and learning and  on government subsidies for student loans and we end up where we are – in a muddle.

It may all work out in the end but, according to the lead news item in today’s Daily Telegraph, university places could be cut by as much as a tenth as the Coalition attempts to plug a multi-million pound black hole because of the cost of bigger student loans than expected – the assessment was based on average fees of £7,500. A fear for recruiters is that the graduate talent pool will contract and at the same time quality will be sacrificed in an attempt to balance the books.

In AGR’s submission to the Browne Review we called for the cap on tuition fees to be removed completely but staggered over a number of years to allow (i) universities to adapt to a commercial market and (ii) the introduction of a  new and much needed culture as to who pays for higher education. In our view, removing the cap would not have automatically led to fees rocketing – the market would have seen to that. Additionally, we could have avoided the scramble of universities to charge maximum permitted fees.

Home from home 

The fallout from increased tuition fees could result in some unexpected consequences. One I heard of recently was a trend for more and more students to study at their local university or not go to university at all. This could, it is suggested, have a negative impact on the local economies of cities with one or more institutions. You only have to visit an urban learning centres to see how much impact students have on the local economy – housing, council tax, entertainment, public transport, shops, restaurants and take-aways for starters; and that’s before we take into account the impact on the local workforce with large numbers of students employed on low rates of pay in casual jobs.

To brighter news…..

We said our fond farewells toGary Argent last week. I am delighted to report that we have secured the services of Linda Graham (ex-M&S and Teach First) to work with us as a project manager on a part-time basis until such time as we appoint Gary’s successor. Linda has a wealth of experience in graduate recruitment and we are fortunate indeed to have her on board at this particularly busy time. Linda will be taking over the running of the sector focus groups and helping me organise the annual conference.

Talking of which, the final programme for the conference is coming together nicely. You can view the content by visiting www.cceventslive.com/agrdel2011.

Bookings are looking good and if you want to take advantage of the early bird discount and guarantee your accommodation at the Celtic Manor Resort you should not delay your registration. The final, final closing date for early bird bookings is 30 April.

As I get more involved in the planning of the event I can see the prospect, set up by our erstwhile conference planning team under the admirable leadership of Karen Martin, of this year’s conference being a cracking event. The team have listened, noted and acted upon the feedback from last year’s event which, incidentally was overwhelmingly good, so this year’s event should be even better.

Happy Easter!

Reflections on Graduate Development in an Age of Austerity

As the dust settles on another successful AGR graduate development conference I thought it useful to reflect on the event.

Firstly, I am so pleased that the association decided to hold a separate development event because each year we attract a sea of new faces as well as a number of more familiar ones. There is clearly an appetite for networking among those of our members responsible for developing graduate talent within the businesses.

Our opening keynote speaker, Jim Burrell, Vice President at Enterprise Rent-a-Car (a perfect case study in how a graduate can reach the top of an organisation) made a powerful statement when he said that the investment they made in training and development was a massive differentiator for the business and gave them a massive advantage over their competitors.

Jim’s remarks tie in with a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers global survey of some 1200 CEOs which found that talent management was now top of their business agendas, overtaking risk management and investment. A large majority of chief officers plan to change their management strategies over the next year. A number of challenges were identified including improving skills, greater use of non-financial incentives and the recruitment and development of younger staff.

A major challenge and opportunity for graduate developers in the current climate is to convince senior managers that training and development is indeed a key differentiator in building the competitive edge. To be convincing requires three requirements – being bold, being persuasive and providing evidence. As someone who has in the past had to convince head teachers to change their practice, I found that pointing to examples of good practice at other schools generally did the trick. Hopefully, our delegates were able to collect ammunition in best practice to leverage change back at the ranch.

There was more evidence of businesses struggling to find ways of measuring the return on investment in graduate development. This has been a long standing issue. We have tried various approaches to assist our members which proved to be too sophisticated or too expensive. Looking through the feedback forms on last Friday’s event it seems we have still to find a satisfactory solution so we are plan to return to the challenge by forming a small working group of members to explore the feasibility of developing a simple ROI toolkit that members can adapt for use in their own organisations. Whatever the team come up with, it will require businesses to collect accurate key information sets and I suspect that that will in itself be quite a challenge for some of us.

A late change to our programme turned out to be master stroke. Peter Hawkins of Windmills fame, spent 30 all action minutes to help us review what we want from our lives and how we can achieve it. Pete reminds us that life is finite and we only get one shot at it. The theme of ‘No Regrets on Sunday’ says it all. The session can easily be applied to graduate development programmes but the main reason for including it on our agenda was to help graduate developers think about their own development – now there’s a novelty!

The final learning point for me was around the retention of graduate talent. With signs that the jobs market is improving, businesses will be holding their breath that they can keep the graduates they have invested so much time, effort and money in. The truth is that if you don’t invest in your graduates you will surely lose them and if you do, you might! Jim Burrell made a telling point when he emphasised that developing graduate talent during austere times was crucial to ensure businesses retained their talent when the economy improves.

I end by congratulating the three winners of the AGR Graduate Development Awards for their outstanding submissions: They are:

Graduate Induction: Grant Thornton

Strategic Alignment: Baker & McKenzie

Graduate Development Preparation in Higher Education: University of Nottingham

The judging panel took the brave decision not to make awards in a couple of categories – Career Management and Supplier Contribution – as they felt there were too few entries of the required standard to select winners. The AGR Awards are a recognition, above all else, of excellence, and the judges were correct not to make awards for the sake of it. Hopefully, in 2012 there will be more interest in making submissions for these two important categories. I also hope that we will be able to showcase the winners at future master classes.

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive

31 March 2011

 

Jim Burrell - Enterprise Rent-A-Car

 

Simon Reichwald presenting award to Baker & McKenzie

Pete Hawkins

THE WEEK AHEAD

Are your Sunday evenings like mine? Ever since I was a spotty schoolboy, I have spent Sunday evenings getting back into the zone for the forthcoming week’s commitments. In those far off days at school the trigger was the  signature song of ‘Sing Something Simple’ on the wireless which had an ever present slot at six o’clock. I grew to hate the song and even now, when I hear it I am back there, checking I had completed my homework, polished my shoes and sorted out dinner monies.

That I was more often depressed than exhilarated by the thought of what was to come was irrelevant. It proved to be an excellent rehearsal for the real world (of work) I was eventually to enter. So much so, that I still spend time on Sunday evening checking my diary and preparing for the week ahead.

Tell me I am not alone in this obsession – I always felt it was untrendy but I justified it to on the basis that most other people would be going through exactly the same ritual!

So, what has this week got in store for me? Dominating the diary is the AGR graduate development conference on Friday. Last minute preparations are taking place to ensure the 140 delegates, exhibitors and presenters have their expectations met. This is our third event at the INMARSAT conference venue in London and the theme this time around is GRADUATE DEVELOPMENT IN AN AGE OF AUSTERITY. The programme has been designed to allow plenty of time for delegates to network with each other and it ends with a drinks reception which, if everything should go to plan, will be an opportunity for me to enjoy a glass of wine by way of celebration – along with the winners of the 2011 AGR graduate development awards winners.

Before then, I am attending the NCWE Awards luncheon at Merchant Taylors’ House on Tuesday. As one of the sponsors I have a duty to be there but frankly I would want to be there anyway as it is always uplifting to celebrate the achievements of businesses, large and small, that treat work experience so seriously and focus on the quality of the provision. This year’s awards presenter is businesswoman Ruth Badger, who was the runner-up in the 2006 series of The Apprentice and has since set up her own consultancy. Should be another good do!

On Wednesday I am taking a trip to the seaside – well, Bournemouth University to be precise. I am speaking at the School of Tourism’s Careers Forum on the hot topic of the graduate marketplace and what employers look for in graduates. This is a new venture and a response by the university to pressure from students for an event that goes beyond the usual careers fair and provides a deeper insight into graduate opportunities and challenges. Each year I am only able to respond positively to a proportion of the invites I get to speak to students and academic staff. I regret ever having to say no as I want to encourage universities to build more and more ‘employability’ type activities into the student experience. This request caught my eye for a number of reasons; how it came about; that I had never before visited the campus before; and that Bournemouth is one of 60 universities in membership of AGR. The weather forecast for the week is decent enough for March but I fear the bucket and spade will be left at home.

On the return leg from Bournemouth to Leamington Spa I hope to be able to tune into the Chancellor’s budget speech in the hope that I will hear some good news. No, not a reduction in alcohol duty – what will put a smile on my face and many others I suspect will be a budget for jobs. It is widely reported that George Osborne is planning a budget to make Britain a more attractive place to do business. There are also strong rumours that he will announce 50,000 extra apprenticeships and 100,000 work experience places in Engineering, IT and Manufacturing.  With youth unemployment spiralling out of control – its estimated that in 5 years there will be 1.2 million unemployed 16-24 year olds – something dramatic has to be done. Hopefully every line of the budget will be designed to create real jobs and training opportunities. There are disagreements about the true percentage levels of youth unemployment. I am not sure which calculations are the most accurate but I do recall my dad once pointing out that when you are unemployed you are ‘100% unemployed’.

On Thursday I plan to be back in the AGR office to finalise arrangements for the graduate development conference along with my PA, Louise.

No doubt some of you will have heard by now that our Business Operations Manager, Gary Argent, has secured a post at City University as Director of Careers and Skills Development. Our loss will be their gain!

Gary has been on the AGR payroll for two and a half years. His last day at AGR is 15 April and it goes without saying he will be missed. Gary was our first ever BOM and the Board of Directors and I will be taking the opportunity to review the role in the light of changes to both our operational structures and the environment in which we find ourselves. In the meantime, we wish Gary well in his new role.

Carl Gilleard