GET mobile Tapping into European Talent Finding and Hosting a Work Placement from Europe: Best Practice Guide for SMEs
www.getmobileproject.eu
This project has been funded with the support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Design and layout Hugsmiรฐjan, 2012 www.hugsmidjan.is
Table of Contents 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................5 2. Placement programmes in Europe.............................................................................................6 3. How could hosting a placement benefit your SME?................................................................8 4. Providing a female-friendly placement environment...........................................................10 5. Cultural implications of hosting a placement trainee...........................................................12 6. How to choose the trainee that’s right for your SME ..........................................................14 7. Hosting a placement trainee – before your trainee starts ..................................................16 8. Hosting a placement trainee – the first few weeks...............................................................19 9. Hosting a placement trainee - support and monitoring ......................................................20 10. Hosting a placement trainee – evaluation and follow-up ...................................................22
www.getmobileproject.eu
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Organisations involved in Get Mobile:
Inova Consultancy Britain
VHTO - Women in Science Holland
CLP Italy
www.inovaconsult.com
www.vhto.nl
www.clpge.it
The Directorate of Labor Iceland
PentaĹ&#x; Inc Turkey
www.vinnumalastofnun.is
www.pendikkisgem.org
Militos Emerging Technologies & Services Greece www.militos.org
This guidebook is the first of these support tools for SMEs. We aim to provide a basic introduction to finding and hosting a placement, and to de-mystify the process for SMEs. You can also use this handbook as a useful guide to refer to throughout the process of hosting a placement trainee, to make sure you both get the best out of the opportunity. Register on the Get Connected Zone to meet other companies like yourself and share experiences, as well as hearing from companies who’ve hosted a placement before. You can post your placement vacancy and look through potential candidates who might just be the answer to supporting your SME with activities whilst providing an amazing career experience for a recent graduate.
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1. Introduction In this handbook you can get practical information on how to find out about hosting a placement trainee in your SME. We’ll take you through each step from advertising and recruitment to managing the placement trainee whilst at your organisation. Get Mobile is a European initiative involving a group of organisations in the UK, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Iceland and Turkey, working together to inspire and encourage greater European mobility of female graduates in BS (Business and science), especially those who are unemployed or under-employed, as well as encouraging more SMEs to host these graduates.
Get Mobile works with two main groups: 1. SMEs (especially microbusiness with less than 5 employees) 2. Female graduates in Business, Science and Technology
We’re producing 3 key tools to support SMEs in finding out more about hosting a placement trainee and to encourage more SMEs to host a placement trainee from abroad: 1. Best Practice Guide for European SMEs on
Traditionally, SMEs and microbusinesses are much
Finding and Hosting a Work Placement: a
less likely to make use of the potentially valuable
Guidebook for SMEs about the process of
source of innovation and creativity that European
hosting a placement student from abroad.
placement
2. Business Briefing Workshops: we’ll be holding
period could provide. We’re working to change
practical information workshops about how to
this, showing SMEs the benefits of taking on a
host a placement trainee from abroad. The
placement trainee, and supporting them with the
workshops will include information regarding
process of recruiting and hosting a placement
selection of trainees, costs involved, the
trainee from abroad.
cultural implications, support for the trainee
female
graduates
undertaking
a
and an introduction to the online Get Connected Zone. 3. Get Connected Zone: an online initiative/ platform bringing female graduates and SMEs together from across Europe. SMEs can register to advertise a placement vacancy to the graduate members of the zone.
www.getmobileproject.eu
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2. Placement programmes in Europe Mobility/Placement programmes in Europe Mobility is the term most commonly used by the European Commission to refer to people going abroad from one country to another to work with an organisation for an agreed period of time. Sometimes this is also known as a placement, internship or traineeship. Mobility of people is a key priority for the EU. The European Commission promotes mobility programmes supporting placements (periods designed for training purposes, spent in work environments where trainees are actively involved in work processes) abroad for a number of different beneficiaries (e.g. students, graduates, potential entrepreneurs). Trainees can apply for specific programmes that cover their costs for going on placement abroad in Europe. Placements can take place in any organisation with legal status in Europe. SMEs might also receive applications from individuals who are self-funding their placement and so are not linked with any EC programme.
What does a mobility placement involve?
of your main concerns, in terms of the time and
Depending on which funding programme the
resources this takes. This guide aims to help you
trainee accesses, placement periods can range
through the process so that it can be as smooth
from between 1 month and 12 months (length is
a process as possible and that the benefits from
defined before departure) in an organisation in
having a placement will outweigh any time or
any of the 27 member states as well as in Croatia,
resources spent in the long run.
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
Funding For you as a small business (and any other
Tasks to be performed by the trainees during their
organisation hosting a placement trainee) there
placement period vary according to their education
are no compulsory costs. The graduates can be
and experience as well as the host organisation’s
eligible for a grant which covers travel and living
requirements. You can outline what particular
expenses (including insurance and visas). You can
skills and activities you are looking for from a
choose to provide contributions to the placement
placement trainee. All this data and information
trainee during their placement period (either
is part of a “Training Agreement” prepared
financial or in kind), but this is entirely optional.
between the trainee and your organisation so that expectations are clear for both sides before the placement trainee arrives. Placement trainees do need sufficient support and management during their placement period as it is often their first experience of work. As an SME, this may be one
Success story Company in Britain My name is Eric Wijmenga and I am the director of Intercambio, an educational agency in Sheffield. We recently hosted our first international graduate in 2011, but we needed a graduate with good language skills to help us process enquires from overseas clients and deal with administration. The main requirements were flexibility and interest toward the business sector as well as the role which had been newly created in the organization. The experience was extremely positive and we were very impressed with how the graduate helped us deliver our services and developed into a very strong all-around member of the team. Hosting a European graduate made a huge difference in the day to day running of our business and I would recommend this experience to other SMEs as well. I also learned a great deal about myself and my management skills and responsibilities, making this a mutually beneficial learning experience”. 6
Success story
Trainee from Greece Hi! My name is Elisavet and I am from Greece. By the time I was a post graduate student, heading for my MSc in Management at the University of Sheffield in the UK, I was pretty concerned about my involvement in the ‘real’ world of employment and my personal career. As it usually goes, stuck between a rock and a hard place - that is, the vicious circle of having to have work experience to get a job or start your own business, when you are actually not supposed to at this point in your life. At this point I came across the online platform of the EU project ‘women@business’, where female graduates were given the opportunity to actively participate, through placement all over Europe, in enterprises by working alongside successful female entrepreneurs. So, I just took my
chances and applied, which eventually brought me in contact with a Greek SME, Militos
Emerging Technologies & Services (www.militos.org). Following the submission of my CV and an interesting Skype interview with the Managing Director of the company, we explored common interests and worked our way towards collaboration; I was able to convince her of my commitment to this internship experience. To me, this really kicked the doors open in having the chance to learn directly from real professionals, testing and exploring suitable roles and gaining the so much sought after work experience. During my placement period, which I very much enjoyed as it was really rewarding both professionally and personally, I felt really valued. As for now, I’m a full time employee in Militos, as they say ‘one of the key team-members!’ and it all started through a placement. Isn’t that inspiring? Trust me, it is 100%.
Internationalization plays a key role in our activity, and the opportunity of hosting a motivated and resourceful graduate who can act as an insider in order to research a new market is definitely interesting. SME in Italy, hosted a placement trainee
The chapter at glance ✓✓ A placement is a period designed for training purposes, spent in
✓✓ Duration can range from 1 to 12 months
work environments where trainees are actively involved in work
and is defined before departure together
processes
with tasks to be performed by the trainee
✓✓ EC mobility programmes support placements abroad for a number of different beneficiaries (e.g. students, graduates, would-be entrepreneurs). ✓✓ Placements can be hosted by any organisation with legal status in the 27 member states as well as in Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey – and this
(Training Agreement) ✓✓ It is up to the host organization to decide who to take on as a trainee according to its own requirements ✓✓ Support and management of trainees are the key issues explored in this guide
includes SMEs.
Useful links & templates Useful information regarding opportunities in Europe http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/ http://www.globalplacement.com/about
www.getmobileproject.eu
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3. How could hosting a placement benefit your SME? Internationalization has made a big impact on companies globally. As they grow more international, the need for networking and knowledge about different cultures grows accordingly. How can you prepare for increased global competition? How will you be able to market your company in a different culture without some knowledge about it? Small businesses might not have the capacity to hire staff to do this, so taking on a trainee might be just the thing you need to expand your business. Your business might not have all the competences you need, such as special knowledge about certain areas of your business or marketing areas.
The main benefits for you of taking on a placement include: • Insights and knowledge about different cultures (which is crucial in order to succeed in international businesses). • Further development of competences and skills for your SME and the opportunity to develop a project you otherwise might not have the time or skills to work on.
Now let’s look closer at the benefits of taking on a trainee:
If you run a small company, you might not always
• Fresh Thinking: The trainee can bring in new
necessary for success in the international
ideas to your company and new ways of looking
have staff with all the skills and competences market..
at your organisation’s activities to help improve
• Intercultural Perspective: You have the chance
processes. A new outlook from someone
to build intercultural knowledge and skills in your
outside can be very valuable; often we are stuck
company. In a world that has become more and
with old ways of doing things and do not see
more internationalized, knowledge of different
outside the box.
cultures is very important to all companies. To
• New Skills: You can get additional support with
have someone from a different country and
your business tasks in an area outside of your
culture not only benefits your company directly,
current employee’s expertise e.g. marketing. If
but also benefits your staff who can learn about
you take on a marketing graduate on placement,
new cultures and ways of thinking, and possibly
they could develop your strategy further and
learn some words/phrases in a new language!
implement a marketing campaign, for example.
• Networking is crucial for businesses today; building up your client list and expanding your business. By taking on a trainee you could make the first steps to building up new contacts and networks in Europe and add value to your business. • Management skills: With hosting a trainee you
Whereas my degree has given me excellent academic skills, it has not given me experience in how to work within an international organization. During my placement I will get acquainted with the daily office work and get work experience in an international environment A placement trainee in Belgium
get an opportunity to improve your management skills and therefore be more qualified. Also you get an opportunity to implement new methods of mentoring and coaching which can be valuable for other staff. • Extra resources: Placement students can mean extra resources for specific projects - we all have a project waiting to be implemented when there’s time, perhaps a student could complete this on your behalf?! • New perspectives; Bringing in a young person from a different culture can bring new ideas and perspectives to the company
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Success story
SME in Italy My name is Umberto Curti, I am the co-owner of Welcome Management, a consultancy firm in Italy specializing in web marketing and training for the tourism and enogastronomy sectors. We edit Ligucibario® (www. ligucibario.com), one of the most extensive Internet portals dedicated to the food &wine of the Italian Riviera. We run into Erasmus SMP by chance – an enterprising Croatian graduate asked the University of Genoa for the database of businesses that cooperate in traineeship programmes (we have been participating for 10 years): thus, she sent through her application with information about the programme and red tape involved – which to our surprise is very little and simple. Internationalization plays a key role in our activity, and the opportunity of hosting a motivated and resourceful graduate who can act as an “insider” in order to research a new market is definitely interesting. We proposed her a training task plan and gave advice about how to get prepared for the placement, which will start in October. Talent goes international!
During my studies I spend some time in Canada for an exchange project. I am eager to continue with that international pathway. I have heard about placement opportunities through the Get Mobile project and I would definitely like to learn more about it! A Dutch graduate interested in placement opportunities
Useful links & Templates The official website of the We Mean Business Campaign, issued in 2012 by the
The chapter at glance For your SME, taking on a placement trainee from abroad is an excellent way to:
European Commission in order to raise
✓✓ Gain first-hand information about foreign markets and
awareness among European companies
improve intercultural intelligence – the keystones of successful
of the positive benefits of hosting an Erasmus or Leonardo da Vinci trainee: http://we-mean-business.europa.eu
internationalization. ✓✓ Bring in fresh outsider ideas and perspectives on processes and activities. ✓✓ Develop the company’s know hows and skills in strategic fields such as marketing. ✓✓ Make the first steps to building up new contacts and networks in Europe
www.getmobileproject.eu
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4. Providing a female-friendly placement environment What do we mean by female-friendly? A female-friendly organization , according to the Equality Commission,1) is a company which: • Believes that women’s unique set of skills and experience are key to business success • Has a clear strategy to increase the representation of women in the workplace • Works to promote initiatives to support women in business and increase their confidence • Has equal opportunity programmes in place to advance its female employees
Why is this important?
Benefits of being female-friendly
Get Mobile is focusing on making sure that more
• Women are generally agreed to have different
female graduates from under-represented areas
values than men do (Vivian Giang, 2012). Due to
are encouraged to go abroad on placement to
women’s higher levels of empathy, they are more
increase career prospects. Gender inequality is
likely to notice the needs of other employees
a common issue women face when they start
contributing to create a more friendly work environment overall;
working. The barriers are especially intense in certain business sectors, such as science,
• Incorporating diverse gender talent to your
business, engineering and technology, which are
team will highly expand your company’s market
traditionally male-dominated. Research (World
reach. Since 70% of women say that marketing
Bank, 2001) shows that:
doesn’t speak to them, they will provide your organisation with new and creative insights
• Young women are often discouraged to pursue
on how to target new and diverse market
careers in business and science compared with their male colleagues; • Women in technical and scientific fields face
segments (Women Friendly Services, 2012); • Women and men have different focus areas at
isolation, lack of access to relevant social networks, mentors and lack of sponsorships
work, for example women are more focused on developing long-term workplace skills than men, who are more likely to move on to betterpaid jobs (Hobsons, 2005). This means women can contribute to the creation of a long-term business strategy for your company
Success story Trainee in Turkey Hi, My name is Pınar, I graduated from the City and Regional Planning Department in Turkey. During my studies, I wanted to develop myself in the field of Geographical Information Systems so I participated in an Internship program with IAESTE. I had an opportunity to work in the Scottish Forestry Commission as a GIS Developer Assistant for three months. It was a wonderful experience in my life,. It was very important to me to work with people from different nations and also meet a lot of different people. This experience helped me to plan my future in a very clear way. After my studies in Surveying Engineering this internship program made it much easier to find jobs. Now, I am working as a GIS Specialist in a private corporation and doing what I wanted to in my professional life.
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Ways to improve the female-friendliness of your SME The barriers facing women as they try to find jobs in the fields of business, technology and science often put them off from finding employment in those sectors. Once employed, barriers persist throughout their career frequently preventing their advancement. There are several solutions which companies can put in place to recruit and support the progression of women, particularly in under-represented areas:
1. Focus on effective recruitment Organizations need to ensure effective recruitment to capture the expanding number of women interested in pursuing a career in science, business engineering and technology. This can be achieved through targeting your placement advert or job vacancies, particularly to recent female graduates in under-represented areas. Make sure your placement advert is female-friendly! You also need to make sure you are recruiting and selecting trainees using the same equality methods as with regular members of staff. For example, make sure that staff involved in assessing applications or interviewing placement trainees have been through equality training or awareness. You should also monitor your placement advert to see numbers of men and women applying, to make sure your placement advert is equally attractive to both.
2. Retention – don’t let them go!
3. Ensure gender equality!
Encouraging talented females to progress
Creating equal opportunities for the advancement and career
in their career depends significantly on the
development of women starting out in their careers is a
work environment. The ideal environment
fundamental element of a female-friendly work environment.
is hospitable and supportive to women, which is why informal practices to value women’s contributions should be in place, e.g. mentoring during a placement period.
By hosting female graduate trainees you and your organisation will be positively contributing to the first and fundamental steps of their career advancement.
The chapter at glance How to improve your company’s female-
The benefits of becoming a more female-friendly workplace:
friendliness:
• Due to their higher levels of empathy, women are more likely to
• Focus on effective recruitment - make
notice the needs of other employees contributing to create a
sure your placement advert is femalefriendly!
more friendly work environment overall • Incorporating diverse gender talent to your team will highly
• Retention - encourage talented females
expand your company’s market reach - women will provide your
to progress in their career by developing
organisation with new and creative insights on how to target new
a suitable work environment
and diverse market segments;
• Ensure gender equality and equal
• Women being more focused on developing long-term workplace
opportunities for career growth
skills, they can contribute to the creation of a long-term business strategy for your company.
Useful links & Templates The official website of the EUROCHAMBRES Women Network project, particularly the “publications” section http://www.echwomennetwork.eu/Content/Default.asp Here you can find examples of positive effects of diversity: http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/paris/home/womenmatter.asp www.getmobileproject.eu
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5. Cultural implications of hosting a placement trainee
Cultural differences, problems and solutions
Company and country culture
With placements abroad, a lot depends on the
own “culture” – ‘how we do things around here’.
extent to which the trainee gets in contact with the
Business styles rely on a set of rules, these vary
“habitat” (lifestyle, mindset, habits) of the hosting
from explicit to those which are unspoken. It
country. This is not limited only to language issues
usually takes some time before a newcomer ‘fine
– although fluency in the language does obviously
tunes’ their behaviour to fit in with the culture of
help. Immersion means having the right attitude
the organisation, and this is even more relevant for
and motivation, as well as an adequate set of soft
placement trainees from another country. Being
skills - from communication to self-confidence
proactive helps: the selection and preparation
and adaptability. Placements abroad prove to be
phases are essential in order to provide the trainee
an effective way to develop these skills, especially
with preliminary information on your organisation
problem-solving and self-management. In this
and country e.g. brochures, websites, etc. so that
process that is both personal and intercultural
they can begin to familiarise themselves with
for trainees, the role of hosting organisations
your culture as soon as possible. Through the
is central. Your SME represents the trainee’s
support of the Mentor, as the placement starts
“practical handbook” in the world of work and
and as the trainee gets to know their colleagues,
also for the country’s identity and environment
activities and city/town that they will live in for
(economic, social and cultural).
the next few months, the process of fitting in to
Having a mentor or coach in the organisation is key to supporting the adaptation to a new culture. They should support the trainee facilitating their integration into the workplace as well as
Organisations as well as countries have their
your organisation and country culture can begin. The induction process should normally take a few days, and include items such as office procedures, IT systems, equipment and filing systems etc.
providing a set of practical details and hints about daily living in the host country. As Mentors, it is essential to keep in mind that culture and customs change from country to country. What is considered as “the rule” in the hosting state could be considered as “strange” and difficult to understand elsewhere. For a Mentor, keeping the right balance between independence and support (always avoiding “parenting”) is essential in order to reduce the potential for socio-cultural clash for the trainee. Trainees will then be able to take the best out of the placement experience – know-how about job styles and professionalism; insights into a new culture and the capacity to handle change, diversity and uncertainty.
What I liked most is the fact that I had the opportunity to develop a varied range of skills: soft, cross-cultural and technical – a booster for my CV. A placement trainee from the UK
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Success story
Trainee in France My name is Francesca, I am a graduate in International Science and Diplomatic Relations. I did not know about mobility placements until a friend told me. Having almost no experience in the world of work, the prospective was appealing – improving my French and getting to know a job environment at the same time! I sent an application to the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Lyon: its role is to help Italian companies that want to do businesses abroad. The answer was positive, the grant awarded, the experience useful - I had the opportunity of following an internationalization project from the beginning to the end. What I liked the most is the fact that I had the opportunity to develop a varied range of skills: soft, cross-cultural and technical – a booster for my CV!
The best memory of my mobility experience was to get more responsibility than expected in all aspects. I also enjoyed nice non-work related experiences, like travelling around the country and learning more about the culture of the UK. A placement trainee in the UK
Useful Links & Templates
The chapter at glance
Useful studies related to business
• During a placement abroad the trainee gets in contact with the
communication styles all over the world
”habitat” of the hosting country and faces issues such as linguistic
http://www.globalnegotiationresources.com/
fluency, attitude/motivation, soft skills (communication, problem
The portal of the EC DG for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion http://ec.europa.eu/social/home.jsp Help and advice for EU nationals and their family about travel, work/retirement, living abroad, health and shopping. Featuring Citizens/Business versions. http://europa.eu/youreurope/index.htm
solving, self-management) • Hosting
organisations
represent
the
trainee’s
“practical
handbook” in the world of work as well as in the country’s culture • SMEs’ Mentors play the lead role in introducing trainees to the company’s habits and business styles as well as facilitating their fine tuning with the country’s daily life and identity • Proactivity helps: provide the trainees with preliminary information on your organisation and country so that they can begin to familiarise themselves with your culture while still at home
www.getmobileproject.eu
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6. How to choose the trainee that’s right for your SME You can use Get Mobile to search for suitable female trainees for your placement opportunity. Register at www.getmobileproject.eu to find out how you can access the CVs of female graduates in Business and Science looking to go on a placement abroad. Just as selecting the right employee for the job is crucial in an SME, so is choosing the right placement trainee.
Follow these steps to help you recruit the most suitable trainee for your organisation.
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Make sure you’re clear about the placement opportunity you have on offer If you’re not clear about what role/tasks/activities you want the placement trainee to carry out during a placement, then it will be difficult to make sure you’re attracting the most suitable trainee with relevant skills and interests. Make sure you prepare a Placement Description (similar to a job description) which outlines the placement role and typical tasks expected on the placement. You can also prepare a Person Description that shows trainees what criteria you think are essential for the placement role and which ones are desirable. This is also the chance to make it clear to potential applicants about the conditions of the placement – hours, any financial support available from the organisation etc
2
Make sure you’re advertising your placement in the best places You need to make sure that your placement opportunity is being seen in the best places across Europe, to attract the best candidates. There are dedicated websites to advertise your placement vacancies free of charge and you can also advertise on www.getmobileproject.eu. Think about whether you are looking for a particular skill, e.g. marketing, and then you could approach Universities abroad running placement programmes that will have students or graduates in these areas. They can then send trainees’ CVs for you to look through. You might be looking for a trainee from a particular country to help you expand your business in that country. You can search for trainees by country on the online databases e.g. in Get Mobile you can see what country a placement trainee is from and where they want to go on placement to. For a list of websites to advertise your placement, please see Useful Links.
3
Interview candidates on Skype before making your final decision Just as with any recruitment process, you need to have as much information about the placement trainee before you make your choice on who would be the most appropriate trainee. Once you have looked through CVs, you should make your shortlist of candidates you are interested in and then organize interviews with candidates to help you make the final decision. Using Skype is the most cost effective way of interviewing candidates abroad. Make sure you have your list of questions ready before speaking to candidates so that you can ask each person the same and compare them fairly. Once you have interviewed candidates you should get back to the successfull trainee as soon as possible. Many placement trainees have to complete a placement as part of their course and have tight deadlines for this, so they need to know from you if their application has or hasn’t been successful as quickly as possible. It’s good practice to let those candidates know that weren’t successful, again so that they can move on with applying to other organisations for their placements.
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Success story
Trainee in UK My name is Katrin and I am a recent graduate in European Studies from Germany. I came to the UK to undertake a placement abroad and worked as a Project Assistant for Inova Consultancy in Sheffield for six months. My decision for coming to work in the UK was motivated by increasing my employability after graduation, gaining new experiences and improving my language skills. I was very happy to get a placement with Inova as the company focuses on supporting women in the labour market and female entrepreneurs, and this was something I was interested in. My placement with Inova was very useful and I learned how to deal with different aspects of office work, such as how to write good business e-mails or how to approach colleagues and clients. The placement was also a good life experience and an opportunity to learn things about myself and gain more self-confidence. As a small business, Inova was able to offer me much more responsibility than I expected, which made this a truly beneficial experience for me.
Internationalization plays a key role in our activity, and the opportunity of hosting a motivated and resourceful graduate who can act as an “insider” in order to research a new market is definitely interesting SME in Italy, hosted a placement trainee
Useful links & Templates Hints and templates for recruiting staff, focused on SMEs support needs http://www.smetoolkit.org/smetoolkit/en/ category/937/Recruiting-Hiring Eures homepage http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en Get Mobile homepage http://getmobileproject.eu
The chapter at glance • Use Get Mobile to search for suitable female trainees for your placement opportunity - register at www.getmobileproject.eu! • Follow these steps to help you recruit the most suitable trainee for your organisation • Make sure you’re clear about the placement opportunity you have on offer: prepare a Placement Description (similar to a job description) which outlines the placement role and typical tasks expected on the placement • Make sure you’re advertising your placement in the best places: your placement opportunity is to be seen in the best places across Europe to attract the best candidates • Interview candidates on Skype before making your final decision: it is the most cost effective way of interviewing candidates abroad
www.getmobileproject.eu
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7. Hosting a placement trainee – before your trainee starts Communication between SME and trainee before their arrival
the workplace is very important so the trainee will
Before the trainee arrives, clear communication
their placement quickly.
feel at home from the beginning, and settle into
between the trainee and your company is very
important
to
prevent
difficulties
and
misunderstandings occurring later on. Try and send the trainee general information about the company, town or area. If you decide to take on another trainee placement in the future, then it could be the role of the current placement to inform the next trainee about these aspects, in order to put the new trainee at ease.
Practical information for the trainee before she arrives. You can decide on the amount and type of information to provide for trainees before their placement. For example, you could provide practical information regarding accommodation, insurance, social services, health care and banking. It is usually easiest to provide a list of useful websites for trainees to be able to look through
Once you have made a decision about hosting a
before they travel so that they can feel more
trainee, it is very important to prepare staff and
prepared and ask any questions that are worrying
provide them with information about the new
them before they arrive.
team member. Staff should be encouraged to
Mentoring during the placement period
make the trainee feel at home and help her fit into the workplace. A good idea is to have a special induction programme for her in the beginning (as you would with any new starter), a tour of your company and to meet all staff, not only on company premises but also ideally in a social setting.
Ideally, you will appoint a member of staff to be a Mentor for the trainee. As with all members of staff, the Mentor needs to know about the trainee (their past skills and experiences) in order to help them settle in and make sure that she is getting the most out of the placement experience. The
You also need to prepare for the trainee’s arrival
Mentor can send a short introduction email to the
by making sure that a workspace is ready e.g. desk,
trainee before she arrives so that they can get to
computer and Internet access. A warm welcome to
know each other.
Success story SME in Greece My name is Olga, and I am the Managing Director of Militos Emerging Technologies & Services in Greece. Militos is an innovative firm that renders high quality consulting services. Our fundamental objective is that the collaborations we choose are unique, regardless of their duration and magnitude. We strongly support the practice of work placement trainees, having a clear picture of the benefits for both the trainees and the companies, especially small and medium enterprises. Actually, we are well known for training our people from scratch! See‌ qualifications are not limited to a CV. It is not by chance that Militos regularly hosts trainees, who eventually turn out to become either our full employees or we have secured a job placement for them in another company where they were given the opportunity to widen their career horizons. It is our philosophy in doing business and working with people from all over Europe, getting the satisfaction of giving guidance to them, while raising the profile of the company. It is actually a case of thinking outside of the box, making the best out of our business aspirations, by treasuring talent and commitment wherever it comes from. Is it worth it? For sure! 16
Supporting trainees to build a social network.
Managing trainees’ expectations
Social networking is important for the
placement trainees, managing expectations comes up as
trainee, so preparation before she arrives is
something that is crucial to ensure a successful experience for
important.
both trainees and companies. Trainee expectations can vary
When speaking to SMEs who have successfully hosted several
greatly from one trainee to another. Expectations can include: When the trainee arrives, it is important
increasing their knowledge of different cultures; learning
for the Mentor to introduce her to the local
a new language; strengthening their network; or simply
area; how to get to work; where to shop;
increasing their skills in the workplace. In order to try and meet
where the hospital is etc. The Mentor should
these varied expectations, you need to have some information
be aware of different cultural backgrounds
from the trainee about what they are hoping to gain from
and inform the trainee about the culture in
their placement experience (ideally discussed at recruitment
the new country. You can put your trainee
stage), before the placement trainee is selected by the host
in touch with local organisations who
organisation.
could provide activities for international students, for example, to help them meet
Managing company expectations
new people.
It is important that you are clear about what the trainee should focus on during her placement period. Whilst there is obviously flexibility with any placement period, it is ideal to provide a placement description in advance with a list of some of the tasks and activities expected to be carried out by the trainee. It is also useful to provide a Memorandum of Understanding or placement agreement between the placement trainee and your organisation which outlines place and hours of work, dress codes, any financial contributions to be made, monitoring and disciplinary procedures. This agreement can then be signed by both the trainee and your organisation to provide a formal record.
I find mobility opportunities an exciting option for our company. We will certainly look into the possibilities with the help of GET mobile. SME in Iceland, interested in mobility
Useful links & Templates
The chapter at glance
The website of this EU LLP projects
• Pre-arrival 1: clear communication prevents difficulties and
provides templates and check lists
misunderstandings occurring later on. Send the trainee general
dedicated to SME Mentors.
information about the company, town or area, customs and
http://www.evta.net/eumoveportal/ startpage_-3.html
culture as well as practical information and useful links • Pre-arrival 2: prepare staff and provide them with information about the new team member, including ensuring that a workspace is ready • Select and train a Mentor • Support trainees to build a social network • Manage trainees’ and company expectations – shun improvisation!
www.getmobileproject.eu
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A useful tip:
Good practice is to assign a specific project to the placement trainee that matches their skills, abilities and interests. This means think “tasks not tea� (CIPD, 2012, p.16). It is important to keep trainees active and engaged with the organisation, ensuring a positive and encouraging work experience.
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8. Hosting a placement trainee – the first few weeks Hosting a placement trainee can be an enriching experience for both trainee and host organisation. We’ve put together some information here to help you make the most of your trainee’s time with you.
Introducing the company
This meeting should include topic such as:
It’s important that the placement trainee understands your business – its aims, customers and working culture.
Most
companies find it useful to arrange an introductory meeting with their trainee to cover the basics about the role and expectations.
1. The what, where, why and how of your company • Company history and current circumstances (how you were set up, how you got to where you are now) • Your business objectives and target customers 2. Your team and working culture • Organisation and team structure (who they’ll be working with) • Working hours and breaks • Location of amenities (e.g. toilets, canteen etc.) • Health and safety at work • Company’s expectations of behaviour (cover issues like confidentiality, communication within the team, any information about disciplinary procedures) 3. Managing the trainee’s development • Clarify their role (what they will be doing, where they fit within your organisation) • Any training schedules (do they need to have training to perform in their role?) • Feedback or appraisal plan (many companies like to conduct an initial review after the first few weeks/months, depending on the length of placement, followed by a second one further into the placement)
Useful Links & Templates The website of this EU LLP projects provides templates and check lists dedicated to SMEs Mentors http://www.evta.net/eumoveportal/ startpage_-3.html
The chapter at glance • Introduce your company - the placement trainee is to understand your business – its aims, customers and working culture. • Hot topics: • The “what, where, why and how” of your company. • Your team and working culture. • Management of the trainee’s development. • Assign a specific project to the placement trainees - keep them active and engaged with the organisation.
www.getmobileproject.eu
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9. Hosting a placement trainee - support and monitoring Ongoing support In general terms, a placement represents a transition between study and work. Very often, being on placement in an organisation will be a completely new experience for the trainee. The trainee should be accepted as an equal part of the team, with similar responsibilities. This is an advantage in small businesses, where tasks and responsibilities are often shared between small numbers of staff.
Monitoring during the placement period. Once the placement trainee is familiar with the day-to-day practise of the company, a monitoring system should be put in place to review the achievements, progress and possible challenges encountered during the placement. The trainee should be assisted by a mentor or tutor selected by the company, who acts as a contact point. This role would suit someone in the company wanting to develop their training skills
Mentors need to provide trainees with: • Regular reviews and guidance • Feedback, praise and recognition (constructive criticism where necessary) • Open dialogue • On-going support
Networking Networking plays an important part in the placement experience. Try and make sure that the trainee: • Is connected with all the other staff members • Is aware of other staff members’ tasks and responsibilities. • Knows who to ask for day to day questions or if they want to discuss their personal and professional development further. From the point of view of external networking, the trainee should be aware of both customers and business partners. This network building should not only be encouraged for business reasons, but also as an opportunity for trainees to develop potential career links for their future.
Useful links & Templates The website of this EU LLP projects provides templates and check lists
The chapter at glance • Always remember that a placement represents a transition between study and work
dedicated to SMEs Mentors.
• A monitoring system is useful to review the achievements,
http://www.evta.net/eumoveportal/
progress and possible challenges encountered during the
startpage_-3.html
placement • The Mentor should assist the trainee also as regards networking – both internal (staff) and external (customers and partners) • Preliminary planning and task lists do prove useful during the first weeks.
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A useful tip:
A placement period should be planned out before the trainee arrives. It doesn’t get things off to a strong start otherwise. For the initial weeks, a task list is recommended, as well as support with prioritizing tasks to help the trainee into the day to day routine of working in your company.
www.getmobileproject.eu
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10. Hosting a placement trainee – evaluation and follow-up It is good practice to carry out some kind of ‘exit interview’ with placement trainees. This could be part of a final monitoring/appraisal review meeting between you and the trainee. This provides the chance for trainees to give you their opinion on how the placement went overall, what they liked and disliked and any ways it could be improved for future trainees. Many trainees have to write a report for their funding programme which they could also share with you, although it should be kept in mind that this is likely to be in their native language. It is always interesting to find out where past placement trainees go on to work following their placement period in your company. For many trainees, this could include going on to further or higher study, going into paid work or voluntary work, or deciding to complete a different placement to try out another area of work. If you can keep in touch with your former placement trainees it forms a useful way of showing future trainees that you’re a friendly place to work, as well as building up your contacts across Europe as the trainee moves on in their career. If you have a Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin account, make sure placement trainees are signed up as members and followers, as well as signed up for your company newsletters. Many trainees like to follow what your company is involved in after completing their placement period. For women working in under-represented fields it is especially important to keep involved in networks across Europe to progress their careers.
All these different countries‘ life experiences helped to build a good relationship with my customers in my business life. SME in Turkey, hosted a placement trainee
Useful links & Templates The website of this EU LLP projects
• Carry out some kind of ‘exit interview’ with placement trainees
provides templates and check lists
• Keep in touch with your former placement trainees - it is a useful
dedicated to SMEs Mentors.
way of showing future trainees that you’re a friendly place to
http://www.evta.net/eumoveportal/
work, as well as building up your contacts across Europe as the
startpage_-3.html t
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The chapter at glance
trainee moves on in their career.
Are you interested in learning more?
Get connected
www.getmobileproject.eu
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It is not choosing a job, it is about choosing a way of life. A placement trainee from Turkey
www.getmobileproject.eu