In our previous article, we saw how it was possible to find talent through the so-called People Review. Today, we will be able to tackle another equally effective tool for finding high potentials: returnships-programs. Today, our goal is to show how this method can help you recruit new, more specific talent. Let’s start by clearly explaining what this term means.
Definition of the returnship-program
How do we define the "returnship-program?"
A "returnship program" also known as "return-to-work", is essentially an internship that provides career opportunities for people who have been out of the workforce for various reasons. "Return" means "return", "-ship" comes from "internship" meaning internship and "program" is obviously for "program".
Although these people may be men or women, they are usually women who are experienced professionals and have taken time out to raise children or care for loved ones who may need help or have fallen ill. They are often called "Returners".
These Returners may be of different ages and experience, but you will usually find people who already have some basic experience in their field. The internship simply allows these people to get back into the working conditions of the kind of business they are suited for. This makes it easier for you to find talent with experience. Of course, it is possible to find “younger” talent, as some people take sabbaticals early on, for example.
Let’s take a look at how you can use these programs to find them and what are the important aspects you should look at in your talent search.
Offer internships in your company.
The first thing to do is obviously to offer internships to discover the company. This time of discovery will be as beneficial for you as for the new trainee. On the one hand, this person will have the opportunity to (re)familiarize himself/herself efficiently with the world of work, and for you, this is an opportunity to “test” several people at low cost, in order to find the most suitable one for your criteria. Whatever happens, do not rush! It is normal to want to find a person quickly to take a position, but you should not see these internships as a waste of time. It’s better to take the time to find the right person the first time, rather than choosing someone quickly, but at random, crossing your fingers that they will be a real talent.
How to identify talent?
Now that you know how to attract talent to you, you need to find it. This may seem difficult in a short internship period, but it is much more effective than a simple interview. So your goal is to have interns do assignments that will evaluate the skills you are logically interested in. But don’t ignore the other skills they may have. Unsuspected talents can be useful in your business strategy. A real analysis work will be done here.
You will also need to look at past experience. Nowadays, young people will mainly have direct skills experience to use in the company, while people who have already worked will have the experience of their former companies. Moreover, the main interest of the returnship-program is to attract people with this experience. Therefore, you must look mainly at their experience outside of the internship. To do this, do not hesitate to have them take a ” personality test “. This will allow you to evaluate the different reactions of candidates in certain situations. You will be able to discern the most talented Returners who stand out because of their sense of responsibility and their ability to solve complex business situations.
To summarize, your returnship-program setup is to organize internships, in order to “get” the older talent. This can be strangely refreshing in companies that are mostly composed of young people, as the vision will not be the same. Moreover, it will usually bring someone with experience, which is extremely important for a company to last? Finally, it will simply teach you how to deal with talent management. As your goal is to recruit them, you will then have to figure out how to attract and retain them in your company.
