The Power of Graduate Training Schemes

Back in the days of the Han dynasty, and for centuries after, to successfully become an imperial official, candidates had to go through a gruelling examination system. This system worked fantastically well as a method of identifying the most talented young scholars from across China. After they were selected, these scholars would then develop and progress through the imperial ranks, perhaps even one day advising the emperor himself. This system may now be a relic of China's ancient past, but there are some valuable lessons we could learn from it.

The principle behind the ancient imperial examinations is very similar to that behind graduate training schemes. Such programs are designed to, first find the best and brightest young talent and, then to nurture that talent so that it performs for your organisation in the long term. Just as those who passed the imperial examination served the emperor for life, products of graduate training schemes often become employees for life.

To kick things off, let's look at graduate schemes in a practical sense. Exactly what is a graduate scheme? To put things simply, a graduate scheme is an organised program of recruitment and training that focuses on two key areas:

1. Identifying and recruiting the best young graduates on offer.

2. Training and developing those graduates so that they one day fill major roles within your organisation.

What are the big advantages? To answer this question, we need to address one of the most repetitive themes in the Chinese HR world, the ‘war for talent'. Currently, organisations are desperately fighting it out over a pool of talent that is simply not deep enough. If we look at this in strategic terms, we could compare each occasion you snare a talented hire - possibly with the offer of a higher salary - with winning a battle. Of course, this is great, but it is only a short-term victory. You will need to win several major battles to eventually declare your organisation a victor in China's talent conflict. Be under no illusions, this will be a long, costly and painful process. Implementing graduate schemes could prove to be a cost-effective long-term approach, which will help you extricate your organization from the conflict completely.

Elite Selection

So, how do you go about implementing a graduate training scheme? The key objective here is to follow the example of the imperial examinations and aim high, very high. You are looking to attract the very best graduates, young people who you believe have the potential to one day fill the most important roles in your organisation. To do this, you must ensure that your recruitment process is as rigorous as possible. For instance, a former colleague of mine in the UK was keen to join the Metropolitan Police (London's elite police force). Eventually, he was successful, but that was only after a process that took several months, through which the police ensured they got exactly the right person. He had to sit two examinations, attend three interviews and then finally participate in a residential selection weekend. Below are a few options to help you single out your future superstars:

• Online assessments: These can be a quick and easy way to get a window into your candidates' personality. For example, the armed forces in Great Britain use them as the first stage of their high intensity officer recruitment process. They test visual responses to stimulus, the ability to interpret information and also the ability to deal with two problems simultaneously. This type of assessment is great for analysing innate problem-solving and deduction capabilities.

• Entry examination: Just as in imperial times, you too can test your applicant's knowledge. The key aspect here is to be specific, either in terms of your organisation or even in terms of each department you are recruiting for. Focus the examinations on specific skills and talents you know will be vital for future leaders within your organisation. One example of this could be language skills. ClarkMorgan actually does this with several major organizations using our CMAS system to test the written and spoken English ability of candidates.

• Interviews: The important factor here is to make this a far more strenuous process than your average job interview. For example, stagger the process over three interviews. Start with a friendly chat with HR staff. This could focus on the candidate's educational experiences and background. The second interview should be more formal and could perhaps include some management representatives. It should focus on the candidate's motivation for joining your organisation. The final interview should be the toughest. Use a ‘stress interview' format to test how your prospective employee will react in the type of pressure situations a senior role in your organization may provide.

• Assessment weekends: Many organisations feel that examinations and interviews are enough to help them pinpoint the talented individuals they are looking for. Others, however, use a residential assessment weekend to whittle the field down to their final perfect few. This is a great way to see how candidates respond to potential colleagues and interact in a team situation.