Evaluating the Effectiveness of Employer Engagement: Summary Report

EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT – SUMMARY REPORT A summary of a report by the AGCAS Employer Engagement Task Group that explores

careers

or

employability-related

interactions

between

students

and

industry at university and analyses the effectiveness of such activities in improving outcomes for students and graduates, and employers.

1. INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

This document summarises a report created

Whilst we are conscious that the research

by the AGCAS Employer Engagement Task

for this report was conducted prior to the

Group

UK

and

supported

by

the

Institute

of

Student Employers (ISE), that explores the range

of

careers

or

employability-related

interactions between students and industry at university prior to March 2020, and how they were delivered – on-campus, virtually, embedded

or

extra/co-curricular.

The

report provides an in-depth picture of how employer

engagement

is

managed

government’s

lockdown

enforcement

and subsequent move to home working as a

result

of

findings

Covid-19,

will

employers

be

and

still

we

be

higher

hope

useful

such

for

education

both

careers

and employability services. We hope that the

research

reflect

on

provides

the

an

growth

opportunity

and

to

increasing

within

sophistication of careers-related employer universities

in

a

context

where

employer

engagement

interactions

between

engagement is increasingly seen as vital to students’

experience

of

university.

The

research was intended to test frequently held assumptions about employer engagement – for example that ‘the careers fair is dead’ – and

track

the

changing

landscape

of

employers

and

universities

over

the

last

decade, and that it provides a benchmark for employer engagement activities to track changes

as

a

result

of

increased

virtual

interaction.

careers-related employer engagement.

The report is based on a survey of 108 The report identifies the various ways that

AGCAS members across 69 institutions, as

universities

well

and

employers

measure

the

as

qualitative

interviews

with

eight

employer

student/graduate recruiters. This summary

engagement activities and paints a picture of

document outlines the key findings of each

the

section of the report, as well as reflective

success

of

activities

employers

careers-related

that

and

were

most

universities

effective

before

the

for UK

went into lockdown in March 2020 due to the

Covid-19

form

the

pandemic.

basis

of

a

The

series

findings

of

short

will

pulse

surveys, allowing the impact of Covid-19 on employer engagement to be tracked against the

benchmark

engagement report.

of

activity

“normal”

employer

established

in

this

questions

for

universities

and

employers

and recommendations. For more detail on each

section,

please

read

corresponding section of the full report.

the

1.Introduction and context continued

HEADLINE FINDINGS

1. The careers fair is not dead. In

5. Before March 2020, a minority

face-to-face interactions, careers

(only 21%) of careers-related

fairs are still seen as one of the

employer engagement was

most effective employer

delivered virtually and only 30%

engagement activities for both

was embedded. VirtuaI was also not

universities and employers.

considered to be as effective as face to face delivery.

2. Employer presentations and skills session were the most

6. There is a mismatch between how

commonly offered activity and

universities and employers measure

rated one of the most effective

effectiveness with universities

activities according to employers.

focusing on experiential feedback, compared to employers looking for

3. Unsurprisingly perhaps, workbased learning such as

quantitative numbers of hires or applicants and return on investment.

placements, and embedded curricula activity are considered most effective by universities,

7.Employers want to know that the information they are sharing will

despite the majority of employer engagement activities being

reach students, so they are often keen to speak to student-facing staff

extra-curricular.

as well as employer engagement professionals.

4. From a university perspective, generic advertising services are 8. The majority of Careers Services

considered to be the least have specialised employer

effective employer engagement engagement teams with some form

activity, although it should be of employer engagement strategy,

noted that it is difficult to measure and most use an account

the effectiveness of this. management model to personalise the service they offer employers.

The rest of this report summarises the key findings for each section of the full report.

For more information, see the corresponding page of the full report.

2. EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES This section discusses the most common employer engagement activities facilitated by universities prior to March 2020. The findings from this section will be interrogated in future pulse surveys, allowing us to understand whether Covid-19 has affected which employer engagement activities occur most frequently.

THE MOST COMMON EMPLOYER

Employer skills workshops

ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Single employer talks

DELIVERED BY UNIVERSITIES

Generic advertising

SPLIT BY:

Vacancy handling

FACE TO FACE (ON CAMPUS)

Recruitment provision

ONLINE

0

79%

50

100

150

200

OF CAREERS-RELATED EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES WERE DELIVERED FACE-TO-FACE AND ONLY 21% ONLINE

Only 3 activities were more likely to be delivered online than face-to-face:

1. Generic advertising services (e.g. social media, posters, plasma screens)

2. Vacancy handling (e.g. advertising)

3. Targeted advertising services (e.g. targeted emails)

70% OF FACE-TO-FACE ACTIVITIES WERE EXTRA/CO-CURRICULAR, ONLY 30% WERE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE CURRICULUM

70%

Only two activities were more frequently embedded within curricula than extra/co-curricular:

1. Structured year-in industry schemes (e.g. placements, usually credit bearing) 2. Structured consultancy projects (e.g. project-based learning or dissertations).

88%

THE MAJORITY OF INSTITUTIONS IN THIS RESEARCH OFFER SPECIFIC/TAILORED SERVICES TO SMES (88%) AND LOCAL EMPLOYERS (88%)

SMEs

Local employers

Specific sectors

Non-UK employers

Recruitment agencies

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. How will we maintain the effectiveness of these interactions whilst increasing virtual delivery?

2. How will we build effective relationships with other parts of the university to increase embedded activity?

3. THE MOST EFFECTIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE MARCH 2020 This chapter explores the most effective careers-related employer engagement activities from a university and employer perspective prior to March 2020. The findings from this section of the report will form the basis of pulse surveys designed to understand whether the pandemic has affected the frequency and effectiveness of different employer engagement activities.

THE FIVE MOST EFFECTIVE EMPLOYER

5

95%

ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FROM A UNIVERSITY PERSPECTIVE ARE:

95% of the employer engagement activities rated as most effective by universities were

1. Careers fairs (general)

delivered face-to-face (not virtually) and

2. Careers fairs (subject specific) 3. Year in industry (placement) schemes

63% of the most effective activities are extra or co-curricular

4. Structured internship/shadowing programmes 5. Employer skills workshops

63%

THE MOST EFFECTIVE CAREERS-RELATED EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR EMPLOYERS Data from the ISE found that careers fairs are also the most effective employer engagement activitiy, followed by: Giving talks and workshops Sending targeted emails to students Providing careers information and resources

CAREERS FAIRS ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE CAREERSRELATED EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY

Providing work experience opportunities

FOR BOTH EMPLOYERS AND But interviews with employers painted a more nuanced picture with ‘Small/informal events/opportunities to meet students’, ‘internships, placements and work experience’ and ‘managed recruitment/recruitment

UNIVERSITIES, FOLLOWED

BY EMPLOYER SKILLS WORKSHOPS AND WORK EXPERIENCE PROVISION

support’ referred to as more effective than careers fairs.

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. If careers fairs were the most effective form of employer engagement pre March 2020, how can employers and universities replicate this in a post-Covid environment? How can careers and employability professionals leverage that effectiveness as we move back into hybrid or face-toface delivery?

2. If embedded curricula activity is more effective than extra-curricular, how can careers and employability professionals work with their wider university to embed employability within curricula?

4. MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS In this chapter, we explore how universities and employers measure the effectiveness of careersrelated employer engagement activities.

THE MOST COMMON AND MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS USED BY UNIVERSITIES TO MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THEIR EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 1.

Employer feedback

2.

3.

Most common

Most effective

Number of employers engaging

Number of students engaging

Student feedback

No. of students who gain internships and placements

DLHE/Graduate Outcomes

0

25

50

75

100

125

HOW DO EMPLOYERS MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THEIR EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT WITH UNIVERSITIES?

1. Number of applicants from the university 2. Number of offers/hires from the university 3. The calculated return on investment (time or money) from attending events/ engaging with a university 4. The performance or retention of the student/graduate once in role = 5. Event turnout / engagement with students at events = 5. Students' brand awareness

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. How can we bridge the gap between employers and careers services when evaluating effectiveness?

2. Can universities better use their systems to measure effectiveness in the ways employers prefer?

3. Can employers better share their application, offers and return on investment data with universities?

4. How can universities use Graduate Outcomes with employers?

5. VIRTUAL EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT PRE-MARCH 2020 This section of the report examines virtual/online careers-related employer engagement activities delivered prior to March 2020, and the perceived effectiveness of these. The importance of virtual activities

post-March

2020

is

discussed

further

in

section

9:

employer

engagement

in

a

post-

pandemic world

1.

21% 2.

PRIOR TO MARCH 2020, ONLINE DELIVERY ACCOUNTED FOR JUST Most common 21% OF ALL EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Most effective

3.

3

The only activities more commonly delivered online than face-to-face prior to

ONLINE EMPLOYER

March 2020 were:

ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ARE

1. Generic advertising services (e.g.

MORE COMMONLY DELIVERED

social media, posters, plasma screens)

TO BE EXTRA/CO-CURRICULAR

2. Vacancy handling (e.g. advertising)

THAN EMBEDDED IN THE

3. Targeted advertising services (e.g.

CURRICULUM

targeted emails).

5%

Only 5% of the activities selected as most effective for universities are online and none of the activities in the top ten most effective for universities were primarily delivered online. Data from the ISE does not describe whether the most effective activities for employers

are

virtual

or

face-to-face,

but

we

can

assume

that

sending

targeted

emails to students and providing careers information and resources may be delivered virtually.

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. Given that a greater amount of careers or employability-related interactions between students and industry at university is now likely to occur virtually, how can universities and employers work together to increase the effectiveness of virtual activities?

2. How can careers and employability professionals improve perceptions of virtual careers-related employer/student interactions with employers, students and wider university colleagues?

6. STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT IN UNIVERSITIES This section of the report discusses how careers-related employer engagement is structured and managed within universities.

THE AVERAGE FTE NUMBER OF CAREERS-

86% OF RESPONDENTS HAVE A

86%

SPECIALIST EMPLOYER

RELATED EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT TEAM OR STAFF

PROFESSIONALS EMPLOYED IN CAREERS

MEMBERS WITH A SPECIFIC

SERVICES IS 8, THOUGH SIZE OF TEAM

EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT REMIT

RANGED FROM 1-52 FTE

9

THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF FTE

57% OF RESPONDING INSTITUTIONS

STAFF MEMBERS WITH A CAREERS-

HAVE AN EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT

RELATED EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT

STRATEGY, 25% DO NOT.

ROLE ACROSS THE WIDER

18% answered "other". These respondents

UNIVERSITY IS 9, THOUGH

were

ANSWERS RANGED FROM 0 TO >60

strategy, or have an informal strategy.

currently

writing/updating

55% INVOLVE EMPLOYERS IN THEIR ADVISORY BOARDS OR

55%

8

their

57%

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR STRATEGY TO A MODERATE (45%) OR GREAT EXTENT (10%), 20% DO NOT INCLUDE EMPLOYERS IN THEIR ADVISORY BOARDS OR STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AT ALL

THE GRADUATE OUTCOMES

Graduate Outcomes survey

74%

26%

League tables

70%

30%

Immigration changes

55%

45%

TEF*

50%

50%

Careers registration data

41%

59%

LEO*

35%

65%

KEF*

22%

78%

SURVEY IS THE EXTERNAL FACTOR THAT HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT PROVISION. THE KEF* HAS HAD THE SMALLEST IMPACT. Moderate to great impact No impact to limited impact

0

25

50

75

100

TEF = Teaching excellence & student outcomes framework; LEO = Longitudinal employment outcomes; KEF = Knowledge exchange framework

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. How do careers and employability professionals best share employer engagement strategies and learning across the AGCAS network?

2. How do careers and employability professionals best share knowledge across their careers service to help employer engagement professionals articulate student concerns and feedback specific employer information?

7. EMPLOYER/UNIVERSITY RELATIONSHIPS This chapter of the report details how universities promote their services to employers and decide which employers/organisations to target, as well as how employers choose which universities to work with. It explores the perceptions of “partnerships” with universities from the employers’ point of view.

Face-to-face meetings

98%

External networking events

OF UNIVERSITY CAREERS Phone/Skype

SERVICES MARKET THEIR SERVICES TO EMPLOYERS

Careers service website

THROUGH FACE-TO-FACE

Mail shots or newsletters

MEETINGS. 0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

WHAT DO UNIVERSITIES THINK THEIR SELLING POINTS ARE TO EMPLOYERS?

GLOBAL MINDSET OF STUDENTS

DIVERSITY OF STUDENTS

UNIVERSITY "BRAND" AND LINKS TO

EMBEDDED WORK EXPERIENCE/

INDUSTRY/ RESEARCH

PLACEMENTS

LOCATION OF UNIVERSITY/ GRADUATES

CALIBRE OF STUDENTS

QUALITY OF EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT/CAREERS PROVISION

OF UNIVERSITY RESPONDENTS TARGET

91%

DEFINING EMPLOYER/

EMPLOYERS TO WORK WITH BASED ON EXISTING

UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS ACTIVITIES/ ENGAGEMENT; 85% TARGET EMPLOYERS IN SPECIFIC SECTORS AND 82%

Employers

TARGET EMPLOYERS BASED ON LOCATION

regards

define to

universities, Existing activity

‘partnership’,

relationships employers

exclusive

in

with

discussed

opportunities,

mutual

understanding and bespoke ways of

Sector

working

Location

together.

Partnerships

should be characterised by two-way DLHE/Graduate Outcomes

transparent communication and trust,

Student interest

and

0

25

50

75

100

result

in

tangible

outcomes

for

both parties.

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. How can careers services continue to market their services to employers effectively in the absence of face-to-face interactions?

2. How do employer engagement professionals manage resource to facilitate the more personalised interactions and tailored information employers would like, whilst maintaining a diversity of employers for students?

8. EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGES PRIOR TO MARCH 2020 This chapter provides details of the careers-related employer engagement challenges that faced universities and employers at the time of the research survey (January – February 2020).

1

THE GREATEST EMPLOYER 1.

ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE FACING 2.

UNIVERSITIES WAS STUDENT 3.

THE GREATEST EMPLOYER

EXPECTATIONS/ ENGAGEMENT.

FILL/SKILLS SHORTAGE ROLES.

FOLLOWED BY: 1. xx

FOLLOWED BY: 1. xx

ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE FACING Most common

Most effective

EMPLOYERS WAS FILLING HARD TO

2. Staffing resource

2. Location of roles

3. Employer expectations/knowledge

3. Students' lack of

4. Internal structures/ways of working

knowledge/understanding

= 5. Maintaining engagement with employers

4. Recruiting diverse hires

= 5. Budgetary resources

FUTURE CHALLENGES Careers and employability professionals ranked the factors that they felt were most likely to affect their institutional

careers-related

employer

engagement

activities over the next two years (pre March 2020).

1. Changes in the economy (growth/constriction)

2. Changing emphasis on university career and employability

3. Return of post study work for international students

4. Changing employer emphasis on graduates

5. Brexit

KEY QUESTIONS: 1. Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic may have resulted in new challenges and shifted priorities, how can we ensure that the challenges facing universities and employers prior to March 2020 are not forgotten?

9. EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD This chapter explores how the global Covid-19 pandemic changed the course of this research project and immediately impacted the careers or employability-related interactions between students and industry facilitated by universities.

Less than a month after the research survey closed, the

But

government announced that the UK would begin a period

activities for the autumn term – typically the busiest time of

of lockdown, which had a huge impact on student and

year

graduate

between students and industry on-campus – this research

recruitment

and

development,

as

well

as

the

wider economy.

as

universities

for

raises

careers

important

and

or

graduate

recruiters

plan

employability-related

questions

for

employer

their

interactions

engagement

professionals about how their engagement with employers Research by the ISE supported by AGCAS, found that:

continues to have positive results for students/graduates, employers

and

universities.

The

pandemic

has

had

a

Firms were reducing their planned student recruitment

severe and significant impact on students, graduates and

for this year by 23%;

the wider population and it is unlikely that things will ever

Respondents planned to recruit 12% less graduates and

fully return to normal.

40% less interns and placement students than they were going to before the Covid-19 crisis;

Whilst appreciating the damage caused by the crisis, it is

Firms shifted much of their recruitment processes online

also

and cancelled most face-to-face activities;

positive changes. For employer engagement, we may see

Most employers are keen to stay in close contact with

the

universities

move

dramatically. The flexibility resulting from increased remote

online

working may see employers targeting a wider range of

careers

and

provision

to

see

online

education to

align

providers with

their

recruitment processes.

Whilst there is still much uncertainty about what will happen

important

use

and

to

effectiveness

universities

more

afford

costs

the

acknowledge

of

sustainably. of

travel

to

where

online

Students

it

has

influenced

activities

who

interviews

increase

struggled

and

to

assessment

centres may find their access to opportunities improved.

in the next recruitment season, there are indications that online

recruitment

–

including

attraction

and

selection

AGCAS plans to use the evidence from this research as a

activities – will be the new norm, at least until the end of

starting point to conduct short pulse surveys with AGCAS

2020 and perhaps indefinitely.

members

to

understand

how

Covid-19

has

changed

employer engagement.

As demonstrated in the case studies that AGCAS collected for Universities UK, careers services moved swiftly to ensure

Key questions we hope to answer:

support for students was available online. From virtual one-

Are the factors that were rated as most likely to to-ones to increased use of vlogs, podcasts, online chats,

impact

institutional

careers-related

employer

and live streams, careers services were able to offer their

engagement activities over the next two years still students access to guidance, support and opportunities to

the same now? help

them

develop

their

employability.

Employer

How

has

the

pandemic

affected

universities

engagement teams have been exploring various iterations

careers-related employer engagement? of what might replace careers fairs virtually, from avatar-

Are style fair software to combinations of web pages, webinars and video content. Presentations and skills sessions have moved to webinar formats and many are innovating with online speed networking and using new technology, as well as social media to broaden reach.

careers

fairs

still

the

most

effective

careers-

related employer engagement activity?

Has

the

increased

use

of

virtual

employer

engagement activities since March 2020 influenced how effective they are perceived to be?

@AGCAS www.agcas.org.uk research@agcas.org.uk

September 2020 Š Content licensed to AGCAS To view the terms and conditions for the material provided in this publication, please see: www.agcas.org.uk