We connected with MaddieWhibbs, a Talent Acquisition Manager, Universities and Colleges, at BlackBerry. She shared some valuable insights about how her company creates opportunities for co-op students to do work that’s relevant to them.
Maddie recounted how BlackBerry fulfills the building blocks of relevance to ensure young talent is doing relevant work (and are therefore more likely to be happy in their job and may perform better).
Findcreative ways to provide young talent with social opportunities
BlackBerry knows that beyond the skillsco-opstudentslearn during their work term, the people that they meet at the company impact their work experience. This includes fellow co-op students, employees and leadership at the company.
“One program tofeatureis our BlackBerry Student Social Committee – known as the BSSC,” says Whibbs. “We’re fortunate to have over 160 students join us each term. TheBSSC plans and facilitates a wide variety of social events forourco-op students to enjoy time away from their desks. It's often a highlight for many students.”
The BSSC plans social events strictly for fun like virtual games, coffee chats, bingo and trivia. The committee also organizes events geared towards professional development like professional headshots and one-on-one resume critiques.
Challenge young talent appropriately
Much like social integration, anopen line of communication between a manager and their co-op student is an essential part of a successful work term.
Whibbs notes, “At BlackBerry, we encourage frequent and scheduledone-on-onesessions between both parties where they touch on items such as theco-op student’spersonal goals, corporate goals, learning objectives and workload.”
These conversations maintain alignmentbetweenthe co-op student and their manager. They alsoprovide atime and space to talk aboutskills development andfindingwork that offersoptimal challenge.
Create workfor young talent that aligns with their professional interest
Theconversationabout career interestsstarts during the interview and evaluation phase.At BlackBerry, theinterview team goes over projects and objectives for the upcoming work term to ensuretheyalign with the co-op student’s interests.
These conversations continuethroughout the work term as part ofscheduledone-on-onemeetings, whereco-op studentsdiscuss and build upontheirinterestswith their managers.By setting expectations and havingtheseconversationsearly in the work term, theteamcansteerprojectsand assignthemin a way that alignscloselywitheachco-opstudent’s interests.
“BlackBerry also has anonlineskillsinventorywhereemployeesshare their skills and career interests through ourhuman capital management system,” Whibbs highlights. “These interestsareviewed by the employee’s leaders and recruiters within the company. This allows employees to receive recommended career moves andmatchtocurrentjob openingsbased on their skillset.”
Help young talent learn new skills
Whibbs notes, “At BlackBerry, we’re proud to provide a variety of training and development opportunities that are designed to align business objectives with personal growth opportunities for ourco-opstudents.”
These programs include:
Onboarding buddy program
This program matches each new hire with a colleague who helps themlearn their role and understand the business.
Power Bar Skills Development Training Programs
BlackBerry offers informal, on-demand learning throughtheirLearning Management System.These open enrolment courses consist of one-hour soft skills development sessions covering topicssuch as WorkingfromHome 101, Effective Communication, College to Career, Establishing Trust, Presentation Skills, Giving and Receiving Feedback and Resolving Conflict with your Peers. Employees are highly satisfied with the program and returnfor more opportunities to learn.
Udemy for Business
BlackBerry offers supplementary learning opportunities for employeesthroughUdemy for business. In 2020, more than 1,500 BlackBerry employees spentacumulative14,680 hours learning on theUdemysite. Common course topics included programming languages, IT certifications, web development, crosscultural communication, machine learning and business writing skills.
BlackBerry invests heavily in the four building blocks of relevance because the company recognizes the importance of these fundamentals.When young talent feels their work is relevant,they're more likely to be satisfied in their job and perform well. While the ongoing battle to retain top young talent rages, the ability to provide job satisfaction is more important than ever.
Consider how your organization can use these four building blocks to create relevant work for young talent.