Hitting my 100 Days

An investment in skills development and the transition of newly hired graduates into the revenue generating functions of a major global bank.

The Challenge

The programme team at a major US bank approached Alpha Development to partner with them in structuring the ongoing development of their Global Markets graduate intake. They identified the “100 days on the desk” milestone as an opportunity to proactively address this requirement.  The critical issue for the new-hires was the impact of transition from campus to corporate; after an intense technical induction program, graduate cohorts could often get ‘lost’ on the desk. By addressing this development gap before the first 100 days of life in their new role, the graduates could:

• Take the opportunity to “re-group” after their early weeks on the desk.
• Understand what was working well and what has been challenging for the group.
• Recognise how they can support each other.
• Appreciate what else they will need to feel more confident, competent and resilient over the
  next 12 months.

The Solution

Alpha adopted a bottom-up and top-down approach to developing content. First, we approached the transition from the perspective of the graduate. This enabled our consultants to focus in on key tools and techniques that could be immediately applied on the desk.

The second phase approached content from the perspective of the line managers of the new hire. Alpha explored the communication and management challenges of developing millennials in the workplace and looked at the best practice strategies of managers that have succeeded in bridging this generation gap.

• Managing Self: Transition and self-awareness.
• Managing Others: Stakeholder and relationship management.
• Navigating the Firm: Understanding organisational norms.
• Accountability: Helping participants take responsibility for their own learning.

The final aspect to development was to help the program team get the graduates off the desk; striking a balance between the cultural demands of the organisation and the evident needs of the participants.

The final programme was delivered as a half day module for small groups 60 days post-induction.

The Results

The resulting programme tackled the subtler nuances of productivity, feedback, influence and networking in the organisation. The session also allowed graduates to explore the workplace from the perspective of their manager and understand the challenges they faced daily.

Post-course evaluation reflected how positive the graduates were about the opportunity to reflect and the investment made in their development.

The second significant output was the recognition of the need for targeted and timely training for the Managers of the incoming graduate cohort.

The organisation began to benefit from a manager population that understood the balance between ‘optimising’ and ‘maximising’ graduate performance during the early stages of their career.