How to make work experience work

Richard Morris, CEO, Evans Easyspace, offers five reasons why work experience works and how you can make it work for your business.

Your business is on the up and you’re thinking about hiring to make the next leap. Taking on work experience staff can be a flexible and rewarding option for organisations of any size. The best companies have strategies in place to help them attract and retain top talent, and implementing an ongoing work experience programme is a key tool. Here are my top tips to make work experience work:

Your business is on the up and you’re thinking about hiring to make the next leap. Taking on work experience staff can be a flexible and rewarding option for organisations of any size. The best companies have strategies in place to help them attract and retain top talent, and implementing an ongoing work experience programme is a key tool. Here are my top tips to make work experience work:

• New energy, new ideas

New people can bring fresh ideas and energy to your business, offering a different perspective on existing processes and providing you with the capacity to try new things. Young people on work placements can tackle projects that regular staff don’t have the time to manage, bringing a fresh eye to the project as well as making a valuable contribution to the routine running of the business.

• Route to recruitment

Offering work experience placements to local schools and colleges can provide your business with a steady stream of talent and can help you cut-down on recruitment costs such as advertising and recruitment agency fees. Having a pipeline of talent also means that new hires know the company better, and you have a better feel for how they fit into your team before they start full time.

• Community kudos

Raising the profile of your company in the local community is crucial. Work experience placements enable you to develop positive links with schools, colleges, parents and other local businesses.

• Fast-track existing employees

Placements can be a great way to develop the management and coaching skills of existing staff. The planning, recruiting and mentoring related to work experience placements can provide staff with invaluable first-hand experience, saving your business the need to invest in expensive training programmes.

• Stress test your policies

Welcoming a work experience recruit to your office and risk assessing their activities allows you to keep on top of health and safety practices and other important workplace regulations.

Of course, as your business grows, your working environment will need to adapt accordingly. As you look to welcome new members to your growing team there are other considerations to be made. Conducting operations from your kitchen table is unlikely to appeal to today’s discerning job-seekers. Happily, flexibility also extends to where you work, with professional workspace available by the hour, week, year – whatever suits your current set-up.

Thinking flexibly enables you to act swiftly and steal a march on your rivals. The competition to attract talented people is fierce. Forging work placement links can help you find good people quickly and cost-effectively. The trick is to sustain this stream of talent as people join and progress within your organisation. And a professional, flexible workplace will help you to retain them and develop them.