Association of Graduate Recruiters warns employers not to cut graduate & placement schemes

The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) has today called for British businesses to continue to invest in the development of their graduate talent throughout the economic downturn.

In the current economic climate, the value of graduate recruitment schemes will undoubtedly come under fire as firms look to make cost savings. Many recruiters are being asked some probing questions such as, How long until we see a return on the investment in graduate recruitment?; and Could we replace graduate recruits with school leavers or experienced hires? The AGR is advising recruiters to get even better at demonstrating the value that such schemes bring to a business, in both quantitative and qualitative terms.

A new paper published today by the AGR urges businesses to calculate the return on their investment by looking at both their financial investment and the contribution made by the graduate to the company over the first few years of their employment.

Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the AGR, said: ìTalent development has always been important to business and it would be a disaster if firms decided to drop their graduate and placement schemes to save money in the short term. HR Directors know how beneficial it is to recruit graduates and it is important that this is recognised at board level.î

Quantitative measures that should be considered as investment costs include the Cost Per Hire (CPH) of each graduate, which can be calculated by looking at the cost of marketing graduate schemes against the number and quality of applications that the schemes produce. Starting salaries and the cost of training courses that graduates are sent on should also be considered. Money brought in to the business by the graduate, through sales or by working on a project on a chargeable day rate, should be considered as the graduateís contribution to the business.

Qualitative measures of return on investment focus on the hidden cost and value brought by graduates, and on the quality of the graduate and the additional benefits they may bring to the business such as fresh ideas and current marketplace knowledge.

Other qualitative measures include the ëusefulnessí of the work done, the benefits of having a more diverse workforce, motivation levels and knowledge transfer from senior to more junior staff, which mitigates the risk of this experience being lost if someone leaves.

What is the Return on your Investment? is available now. It is the latest in a regular series of briefing papers published by the AGR and follows Adding Value Beyond Measure (2004) and Riding the Recession (2008).