Being a facilitator carries the burden of ensuring the future of Hewitt are well looked after…
During early September 2009, 27 intrepid Hewitt graduates (the 'Grads') and four highly organised facilitators converged on the rolling hills of Oxfordshire for three days of fun, merriment, rigorous intellectual challenge and general welcoming - collectively known as 'The Graduate Induction'. Finding the venue required the latest in satellite navigation tools, and at times, it felt more like you were heading into Middle Earth rather than a pretty village called Middle Aston. However, all that set out for the event made it safely.
Being a facilitator carries the burden of ensuring the future of Hewitt are well looked after and that all of the local amenities are in working order. This obviously required testing the beverages at the bar to ensure they were of the highest standard. In fact, such is the extent to which we look to make our Grads feel at home, we were still debating the quality of the produce three days later. As a further example of the lengths the facilitators go to - we even 'threw' a leading position in the annual quiz !! (Well done to the investment team by the way - cream of the crop etc )
The MAIN goal at the end of the three days was for the Grads to deliver a presentation on the final day to a panel of five Hewitt leaders (including their peers). Creating the presentations required the Grads to pull on a number of resources, such as: interviewing a handful of Hewitt Associates at differing levels, reading senior manager blogs, using the internet etc. It also required them to pull on their creativity and to use different delivery methods outside of the usual 'death by powerpoint' approach. In between working on the presentations the Grads were given 'outdoor' challenges that looked to emulate the type of skills required in the workplace. i.e team work, leadership, creating clear action plans and then delivering. These activities were also aimed at producing 'real life' examples of how obstacles can get in the way of the a pre - planned day. The outdoor challenges did bring up some moments of pure comedy genius - however I couldn't possibly try to begin verbalising these.
Following the outdoor challenges, the BBQ/quiz evening, general socialising and delivery of the presentations I can safely say that the future of Hewitt is looking bright. The delivery of the presentations were of the highest quality and the ingenuity of the content, was at times, hilarious.
Highlight for me: To tough to call but its between Mr Jefford's quiz and sheep antics, and Daffyd's impromptu swimming efforts after the raft race.
Anyway, that's it from me. A big thanks to all those who participated - it was a great to be a part of!