Select Appointments: (from left) Karen Power, Lloyd Pritchard, Anna Harris, Lucie Connors, Carolyn Ayles and Phil Aulman.

Training key for new role

STARTING a new job in a different environment is a daunting prospect for anyone.

A range of different responsibilities and ways of working mean it can take weeks for a new recruit to get to grips with their role.

To tackle this, Bristol recruitment firm Select has introduced a virtual office which helps provide employees with the skills and knowledge needed for their roles as quickly as possible.

Established in 1980, Select Appointments now has a network of offices throughout the UK and Ireland, and is recognised as a national staffing services company.

It finds jobs for people and people for jobs, specialising in all areas of secretarial and administration, call and contact centre, accountancy and finance, sales and marketing, retail, legal, medical and travel and leisure recruitment.

At Select Appointments we recognise that people are our greatest asset and we have developed a suite of Learning and Development materials to realise every individuals potential.

For every new starter at Select, there is an induction development programme (IDP) designed to provide employees with the skills and knowledge required for their role as quickly as possible.

The entry level training programme Training Camp marks the beginning of each consultant’s individual induction programme.

Training Camp is a five-day learning event that builds skills and knowledge through a ‘virtual office’

The Training Camp mirrors the surroundings in which new consultants will work, allowing them to learn processes and explore techniques in a safe environment.

The emphasis is on communication, legislation, understanding and selling the business to clients, understanding and selling candidate skills and experience, and planning for business.

The focus is for delegates to apply and continue to develop core skills and knowledge through a range of activities and case studies. All delegates attend this programme within the first three weeks of their employment.

Throughout the course, staff from each back office function e.g. Marketing, spend time with the delegates to explain what support they provide. At the end of each Training Camp Diane Martyn, CEO, spends time with delegates to answer questions and wish them well in their career with Select.

To support employees while on Training Camp and throughout the life of their career, they are provided with a handbook called The Select Way. This covers everything learned at Training Camp and can be used as a support when they return to their office.The delegates are assessed through daily questionnaires and at the end of the five days, their total percentage is calculated and the delegate with the highest score receives a bottle of champagne. All managers receive feedback on their employee’s progress and assessment percentage.

Having graduated from the Training Camp, each new employee returns to their office with a heightened confidence. and the ability to immediately apply their learning without the usual transition from the theory of the traditional classroom to the practicality of the workplace. In fact, we have had instances where consultants have actually made placements whilst still on the Training Camp!

Select’s Training Camp has been recognised by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and is now an industry-accredited course.

Here are what some of the candidates have to say:

keep this quote in “Everyone who contributed was superb and we were made to feel very welcome.”

“I have attended many courses in my time, and I have never enjoyed one as much as this – your passion, professionalism and excellent delivery made the content easy to absorb and enjoyable to boot.”

“I can without doubt say that the induction course was the best I have done, so a big thank you from me. It was great.”