Many organizations struggle to help fresh hires grow. New employees can feel disconnected or undervalued without the proper structure, leading to higher turnover and missed opportunities. But some companies get it right.
Danaher built a program that attracts fresh talent and prepares them for long-term success, offering invaluable lessons for early career managers.
The Challenge Most Companies Face With Early Career Programs
At first glance, early-career programs seem simple: hire interns, give them projects, hope they stick around. The reality is much more complex.
Companies often struggle to create programs that engage young employees. Without a solid foundation, these programs can feel scattered—communication gets messy, tasks are unclear, and the support network for new hires is weak.
A Closer Look at Danaher's JUMP Program
Danaher rolled out its 2024 JUMP program for early talent recruitment and development. It was designed specifically for first- and second-year students and focused on identifying promising talent early. Participants engaged with the company through various programs and activities introducing them to Danaher’s corporate culture and career opportunities.
The program had a cohort of 24 students participating remotely, spread across Danaher’s global operations. The students experienced firsthand working within a large, multinational company, while Danaher focused on building long-term relationships with potential hires. he program covered multiple regions, including North America, EMEA, and the UK, allowing participants to explore global career possibilities.
But, like other companies, Danaher faced issues. Communication was spread across channels, making alignment hard for everyone. Participants had unanswered questions, tasks fell through the cracks, and program leaders couldn’t keep up. It was unsustainable.
How Danaher Fixed the Problem
Danaher needed a structured system that could keep everyone connected. They turned to Abode to centralize communication, track tasks, and ensure every participant had the required resources. The impact delivered immediate results.
1. Centralized communication
With Abode, Danaher’s early-career program saw a 98% adoption rate. A single platform where participants could access everything—from messages to tasks to resources—made the experience smoother.
2. Engagement and community building
Danaher also took engagement seriously. By leveraging Abode’s community features, they created spaces for interns and early-career participants to connect, share insights, and support each other. In fact, 84% of participants actively used the forum, staying engaged throughout the program.
3. Clear and consistent task management
One of the biggest hurdles for any program is ensuring participants know what they need to do. Abode’s task management tools clearly defined what to deliver and when. This eliminated guesswork and missed deadlines.
Lessons Learned
So, what can other companies learn from Danaher’s success?
Simplify Communication
Clear and consistent communication is crucial. Ensure there’s one central place to access all updates, tasks, and resources. This reduces confusion and ensures participants are never out of the loop.
Prioritize Engagement
Engagement doesn’t just happen—you need to create opportunities for connection. Setting up community spaces, forums, or regular check-ins can help participants feel more invested. This is vital since young employees want to feel part of something meaningful.
Offer Clear Guidance and Support
Don’t leave your participants guessing. Ensure they know what to do and provide the necessary tools. Whether it’s a checklist of tasks or a mentor to guide them, clear support ensures that your early-career employees feel confident in their roles.
Track Success and Make Improvements
Finally, don’t forget to measure the program’s performance. Whether it’s engagement rates or task completion, having data will help you make improvements. Danaher’s 98% adoption rate and high forum engagement prove these programs work with the right tools.
How to Build Your Own Early-Career Program
Creating an effective early-career program requires more than just offering internships or training sessions. You want to lay down a solid foundation that supports young talent from day one and helps them grow into long-term employees, so here’s a step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Create a Welcoming Environment
During onboarding, new hires form opinions about your company, so it is crucial to make them feel welcome and valued from the start. To do this, focus on:
- Personal connections: Assign mentors or buddies to each new hire. This gives them someone to turn to with questions, helping to ease the transition into your organization. At Danaher, mentors played a significant role in guiding participants through both the JUMP program and internships.
- Community building: Encourage participants to connect. Danaher used Abode’s forum feature to help build a community where interns and early-career hires could collaborate and share their experiences. This created a sense of belonging and support, which led to 84% of participants engaging daily on the platform.
- Accessible resources: Provide all the information new hires need in one place. The idea is to avoid overwhelming them with scattered documents and endless emails. When participants feel supported and informed, they’re more likely to stay engaged.
Step 2: Keep It Simple
Step 2: Keep It Simple
The easier you make it for participants to navigate your program, the better their experience will be. A common mistake companies make is over-complicating processes and confusing new hires.
- Centralize processes: Use a single, easy-to-navigate platform for communication, task management, and resource sharing. Danaher used Abode to manage communication, tasks, and updates in one place. This simple change helped it achieve a 98% adoption rate.
- Communicate effectively: Keep your messages short, direct, and consistent. Avoid sending information across multiple platforms or channels, leading to confusion and missed details. Having a centralized platform ensures that everyone receives the same message simultaneously.
Step 3: Stay Engaged Throughout the Program
Engagement is a critical part of any early-career program. It’s not enough to onboard your participants—you must keep them actively involved throughout the program. Engagement builds loyalty and helps participants feel like they are contributing meaningfully.
- Ongoing check-ins: Regular one-on-one check-ins with managers or mentors can help ensure participants feel supported and have a space to voice concerns or ask questions. These check-ins should go beyond just tracking progress. Use them to offer guidance and encourage development.
- Interactive learning: Besides formal training, provide interactive learning experiences such as workshops, project collaborations, and problem-solving challenges. These hands-on opportunities build skills and keep participants engaged and motivated to learn.
- Recognize achievements: Recognition is a powerful motivator. Publicly acknowledging a participant’s contributions or successes can boost morale and encourage continued effort. Whether through a simple shoutout in a meeting or a more formal acknowledgment like an award, recognizing hard work goes a long way.
Step 4: Provide Clear Guidance and Support
Young employees, especially those new to the corporate world, need clear guidance and support to excel in their roles. Without it, they may feel lost or unsure how to contribute effectively. Your program should provide the structure they need to thrive.
- Set clear expectations: When participants join the program, they should know exactly what is expected. This includes setting clear goals, timelines, and deliverables. Danaher used task management tools that allowed participants to keep track of their responsibilities without confusion.
- Provide regular feedback: Feedback helps early-career employees improve and grow. Ensure you provide constructive feedback regularly, highlighting strengths and opportunities for development. This can be done through formal performance reviews or informal feedback sessions.
Step 5: Scale
Scaling your early-career program doesn’t mean just more people—it’s about growing in a way that maintains the experience quality for participants. Here’s how you can do it:
- Start small: Don’t rush to scale up quickly. Instead, focus on refining the experience for your initial cohort. Danaher successfully scaled its program across multiple regions only after ensuring the core elements ran smoothly.
- Leverage technology: As your program grows, the logistical challenges increase. Abode can help you manage more participants while maintaining high personalization and support. Whether expanding regionally or increasing the number of participants, having the right technology is essential.
- Measure and adjust: Track key metrics like engagement, task completion, and satisfaction. Use this data to make informed decisions about where and how to expand. Danaher’s success wasn’t a one-off. They regularly assessed their program’s performance and made improvements. This adaptive mindset allowed them to grow without sacrificing quality.
Conclusion
Danaher’s early-career program exposed problems many companies struggle with, such as scattered communication and poor participant engagement. By keeping communication simple, encouraging engagement, and offering clear support, Danaher built a program that attracts and keeps top talent.
Following Danaher’s example is a great place to start if you want to scale your early-career program. Investing in the right tools and strategies will help you bring in fresh talent and create a lasting impact on your organization’s growth.
