If you're looking for some ideas about how to get more from your recent graduate recruit this is worth a look. ProGrad are a specialist graduate recruitment company in Australia, working with over 600 companies to deliver top graduate talent in the B2B arena.

1. ProGrad: Getting more from your graduate ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

2. ProGrad Recommendations Clear and Defined Expectations It is essential to manage the expectations of your sales graduate from the first week. Where possible, list the expectations on paper, and ensure that this is positioned with the graduate. We would advise explaining to the graduate what will happen if: Targets are achieved – what is in it for them? Targets are not achieved – how is this dealt with, what is the consequence? Whilst a job description clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities, we would recommend a separate document to outline the KPIs required from the candidate also. Where possible, please set daily KPIs, weekly KPIs, and monthly KPIs. It is important that these are achievable, and perhaps escalate with time in the business. There needs to be a clear goal to achieve from the candidate, which will ensure a sense of requirement in the team. ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

3. ProGrad Recommendations What is a graduate capable of achieving? Graduates are capable of achieving great things, yet do require the initial guidance and assistance you would expect of someone new to the business. They are highly mouldable, and can be taught great habits from the first day of employment. That said, without careful management and strong guidelines, they can also be taught poor habits from day one. The inhouse induction needs to include the following: House rules – what is tolerated in the office environment, what is unacceptable Reporting Structure and internal relationships Job Role and Responsibilities KPIs, Goals and Progression Clear and defined Expectations ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

4. ProGrad Recommendations Tracking Results Results need to be tracked by the individual and reviewed by the manager (at least daily for first few weeks, and then perhaps move to weekly thereafter). We would recommend utilizing a “monitoring sheet” as a separate tool to the internal CRM systems you might be using. It is essential to have a hard copy which they PHYSICALLY have to input data on. What is being achieved? What are the outcomes? What are the successes? Which areas can be improved? Have any training/ development needs been highlighted? ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

5. ProGrad Recommendations Complete Visibility – using Whiteboards This is particularly important when working in a proactive professional sales team. We would term this essential to make sales targets and results completely visible to all within the business (particularly the sales team). Sales people are driven by status and recognition and this needs to be addressed for top performers. It also easily highlights underperformance within a team. We would recommend visible laminate sheets/ whiteboards or flipcharts to track KPIs on a daily or weekly basis. ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

6. ProGrad Recommendations Setting a Weekly Planner Weekly planners are great for providing structure and again providing clear and defined expectations to your employee. There will always be flexibility around the planner, yet it provides consistency, structure and routine. Essential for their success and for developing good habits: After a few weeks, they are probably not really utilised but they do provide a nice basis for structure and time management. The expectations are clear for both parties. ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

7. ProGrad Recommendations Managing Performance Levels Tracking, monitoring and providing results against expectations in a visible manner will be the first step to managing performance. If possible, we would strongly recommend a weekly meeting to discuss how the graduate has performed. Gradually, this can change and can happen on a less frequent basis. This can be moved to monthly meetings after the first few weeks. In the early stages, they will require regular access to management to ensure they are reporting results and can receive regular praise for their output. ProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au

9. Communicate openly

10. Offer structure and process

11. Take a nurturing approach to management

12. A mentor/ buddy can add value to a new graduate recruitProGrad Pty Ltd, Level 4, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: 02 8235 8300 Web: www.prograd.com.au