Work Inclusion: Work Placement Guidelines

How to run successful work placements for people from disadvantaged groups

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President HRH The Prince of Wales / | / Chairman Mark Price / | / Chief Executive Stephen Howard

Business in the Community is registered in England and Wales. Registered charity No 297716. Company limited by guarantee No 1619253

Work Inclusion background

There are currently over 2.5 million unemployed people in the UK, a third of who have been unemployed for more than one year. Within these numbers there are a significant number of people who experience multiple barriers to work and who will not find their way into employment without targeted support.

Experiences such as homelessness, time spent in statutory care, long-term unemployment and having unspent convictions often lead to individuals experiencing chronically low self confidence.This, combined with a lack of recent work experience and more practical blockers such as being caught in a benefits trap, this means that they can require companies to actively reach out to them to enable them gain and sustain employment.

What is the value ofquality work placements?

Work placements provide a vital mechanism through which people facing barriers to work can gain an insight into the world of work, build their CVs, develop key employability skills, improve self-confidence and gain references.

“Being back at work and getting up in the morning is great – I look forward to the day ahead.”

Ready for Work* client, former rough sleeper, unemployed for two years

*Ready for Work is a BITC programme that equips homeless people, or those at risk of homelessness, with the confidence and skills to re-enter the job market. Please see case study at end of document.

Contents of toolkit:

This document provides guidance, tips and checklists around the following main points:

Find the right partner organisation
Identify target groups
Develop appropriate partnerships
Preparation for candidates
Pre-screening
Disclosure of criminal convictions
Pre-employment training
What to put in place internally before the placement
Gaining internal buy-in
Allocating responsibilities
The Programme Coordinator
The Buddy
Plan the placement
Running the placement
First day and induction
Core elements to incorporate (Work Inspiration)
Monitoring
Ending the placement
End of placement review meeting
Linking with employment opportunities
Post placement support
1:1 support
Positive peer networks
Ready for Work case study

1. Find the right partner organisation

1. a) Identify target group(s)

In identifying specific groups to support, companies need to understand the issues that are important to their key stakeholders (such as employees, local communities, industry specialists, regulators etc). The target group(s) should be selected through a consideration of the groups that are in greatest need, most relevant to their business and who would benefit most from this type of support.

Further guidelines relating to this topic are provided in the Work Inclusion Guide to Good Practice:

1. b) Developing appropriate partnerships

Identifying the right partner organisation for your programme is crucial to ensure its success and long-term sustainability. The following are some questions to help you determine the right partner, and more detailed guidance is available in the guide ‘How to develop charity partnerships’ (available to Business in the Community members).

Key questions and discussion points that companies should raise with prospective partners at an initial scoping meeting to understand whether the relationship is the ‘right fit’ for both parties.

2. Preparation for candidates

The role of the partner organisation is important in ensuring that the people who are put forward to go on a work placement are sufficiently ‘work ready’ to be able to use the placement most effectively as a stepping stone into employment.

The points below provide some guidance to support companies in checking this with their partners. It is important to bear in mind that not every individual will require the same amount of pre-placement support and training, and that some people will come to the programme with a higher degree of skills, confidence and autonomy whereas others might require more support.

2. a) Pre-screening

The participant should have already been pre-screened by the partner to ensure they are ‘ready for work’ and suitable to work at your company for their placement.

This could also include a disclosure of any criminal convictions if relevant (please see below for more information). Businesses should check their policies on any requirement of formal risk assessments for work placements, as the responsibility for this lies with the business not the community partner.

Assessing whether an individual is ‘ready for work’ is more of an art than a science. However, many organisations will use a set of indicators or behaviours which will help them to choose clients who are most likely to benefit from such a programme.

For example, Business Action on Homelessness, which has supported over 5500 through its Ready for Work programme over the last ten years uses the following checklist:

If the participant indicates that they have a health condition or disability that the company should know about the partner should contact you to discuss any adjustments that need to be made.

2. b) Disclosure of criminal convictions

At the beginning of the partnership it is important that the company discuss with their community partner the kinds of convictions the company would or would not be comfortable accepting. By doing this the community partner should seek to refer people whose convictions will not create an issue in your company. In the case of people who are deemed work ready but have a criminal conviction, the community partner should support the individual to disclose their convictions to a HR representative of the company if necessary.

If a candidate does disclose an unspent conviction and you have any concerns, we would suggest that you assess the individual’s suitability on a case-by-case basis and discuss your concerns with your partner organisation. This will enable you to make an informed decision about whether their previous behaviour poses a risk or whether their commitment to take a placement in the company indicates that they are now ready to leave their offending behaviour behind.

It is worth noting that if the community partner has experience of working with this client group, they will be well placed to provide insight to the justice system and the type of support an individual may need to reduce the likelihood of re-offending.

For more information on this topic, please see

NOTE: Bear in mind that providing work placements to those further from the job market is an opportunity to revisit some of your company policies and approaches to recruitment. It may be the case that some of your policies make it difficult for people from these groups to access the opportunities that exist in your company. This may be an ideal time to revisit these policies and procedures.

2. c) Pre-employment training

This training should ensure that the candidate is prepared to make the most of the placement and has the right expectations (including clearly understanding whether the placement will lead to employment or not).

These guidelines do not go into detail about the delivery and content of this training, but the points below should support you to ask the right questions of your partner (or prospective partners) to make sure that the people coming on placement are equipped with the right skills and behaviours to be able to make the most of it.

Key areas partner organisations should cover in any pre-placement training:

Communication and people skills
Appropriate workplace behaviour
The importance of punctuality and appearance

Your partner should also give you details of the participant’s sign on dates/times at JobCentre Plus so that you are aware of any times when they might not be able to be at your business during the placement.

3. What to put in place internally within your business before the placement

As well as making sure that your partner organisation has prepared participants for the placement, there are also key steps that each business should take to create the right environment within the business for the programme to succeed.

This includes gaining internal buy in, allocating appropriate management responsibilities, planning the placements and going through any logistical issues with the appropriate teams (Health & Safety, HR, security, reception etc).

3. a) Gaining internal buy-in:

Nurture and encourage senior support to secure a champion at a leadership level – at a minimum, this should include securing support from the HR or CR Directors
Work with HR and senior champions to ensure that the role of the buddy is recognised as a valued role and linked in with staff development so that employees feel supported and valued for participating
Engage the senior champion in the programme if possible, for example as a volunteer, buddy or otherwise engaging with candidates on placement. This increases internal buy-in but also, crucially, demonstrates to volunteers that engagement with the programme is genuinely valued within the business and they won’t be penalised for taking time to support the candidate.

3. b) Allocating responsibilities

Appoint a Programme Coordinator to oversee the programme and act as a key link person with the partner organisation

Appoint a buddy for each participant (with deputies to cover shift patterns if necessary) and provide relevant training or ensure that they attend any relevant training delivered by the partner organisation.

Ensure that the appropriate reporting systems are in place (buddy to line manager, Programme Coordinator to senior champion, partnership manager and partner/referral organisation etc). These systems are important for capturing the outcomes of the placement and evaluating benefits in order to improve the programme over time.

3. b) i) The Programme Coordinator

The Programme Coordinator is the site level contact responsible for liaising with the partner organisation, and may also be the overall programme manager depending on the size and structure of the company.

They have an important role in making the programme a success by being the ambassador for the programme within the company and could be responsible for the following:

Engaging and organising the different departments who are offering the placements
Helping the company and staff to understand the needs of placement participants
Internally recruiting and organising training for the buddies
Reimbursing travel and lunch expenses for participants, or ensuring that this is managed through the buddy
Providing monitoring and debriefing, along with organising for updates to candidates’ CVs and references where appropriate
Organising all logistics of the training and work placements internally
Disseminating and sharing any best practice to agencies, and supporting agency monitoring and tracking of candidate performance and progress

‘Participants often feel overwhelmed and are put off coming in if they feel uncomfortable, we have learnt that the buddy role is absolutely key to the success of the programme, they make the participant feel at ease every day and remember – the buddy could be helping someone to change their life!’

Employee Support Manager, Marks & Spencer.

3. b) ii) The Buddy:

The most common obstacle to people getting back into work is their lack of confidence and low self-esteem. The provision of an in-work buddy for each candidate on placement is key to providing candidates with encouragement and support to help them get through the placement so they can develop further. Many of their needs will be exactly the same as other new starters – e.g. lack of confidence, feeling shy, not knowing what to do or where to go.

Who makes a good buddy? Someone with patience, a positive attitude, a willingness to take on a challenge and a desire to develop their skills.

What is their role?

To be the participant’s main day to day contact, support and friendly face - helping them to settle in and introducing them to the team.
Ensure the individual undertakes a variety of tasks during the placement
Provide an insight into modern business life
Encourage individuals to think how work experience will benefit their long-term employment prospects
Point out their strengths, and try and build their confidence.
Act as a guide in their work and practical things, a friendly face, putting them at ease and helping them get the most out of their time with us- building their confidence.
Helping with those simple things that are crucial to a nervous individual who has been out of work for a long time, such as ensuring they have someone to go to their breaks with and knowing how to find the locker room and toilets.
Someone that the participant can turn to in order to ask any questions.
Give feedback at the debrief session alongside the coordinator.
Complete an evaluation form at the end of the placement

3. c) Plan the placement

Decide which area of the business will be suitable for the participant – discuss with the partner and create mini job descriptions for each role. This could help unlock other internal placements but also provide a clearer framework for candidates to understand what skills they could gain and how they can record this engagement on their CVs.

We generally recommend that you place people in an entry level type of role. While some candidates will have good qualifications and work experience, it is best to offer work that isn’t overly technical to make the placement accessible and allow candidates to settle in to working. You can always change the work once you get to know the type of placement available to someone.

Placements work best when there is actual work for someone to do, e.g. in dispatch, admin etc, rather than simply a shadowing role. This means a candidate feels involved in the placement and has the opportunity to learn different skills. Including a variety of work often works well as do roles with good opportunities for interactions. Some companies draw up a timetable for candidates to follow (e.g. one week in one area then move for the second week).

Businesses might need to be prepared for candidates to need flexible hours, particularly at the start of the placement. This should be agreed in advance in appropriate. Some key factors that might make this necessary include: signing on days at the Job Centre, health issues, travel requirements, child care responsibilities etc

4. Body of placement

The first day of the placement should include an appropriate induction, introductions to all the relevant people, time with the buddy and a clear outline of the candidate’s role and responsibilities during the placement.

The length of the placement will vary but should be at least two weeks long. The partner organisation should have checked that the placement will not negatively impact any benefits entitlements the candidate may have, but it’s worth checking this with the partner.

4. a) First day and induction:

Where there are just 1 or 2 participants, you will need to adapt the induction as appropriate. As well as all legalities (Fire Tour, Manual Handling, Risk Assessment if necessary) the induction should include an introduction to your business.

4. b) Core elements to incorporate into the placement – Work Inspiration

Work Inspiration is an employer led campaign to make young people’s first experience of the world of work inspiring:

The three elements highlighted here are particularly relevant for placements for younger people, but can also be valuable to consider incorporating into work placements for any individuals who might have been out of the workplace for a considerable period of time.

4. c) Monitoring progress

The buddy should provide regular feedback for the Manager on how the participant is developing and how the placement is progressing. Any issues that arise should be communicated to the charity partner as soon as possible, in order to limit the number of candidates failing to complete the programme.

At the end of the first week the buddy should review with the candidate how the placement is going and feed back any concerns back to partner organisation and the Programme Coordinator.

5. Ending the placement

As the placement ends, the company should consider how best to de-brief the candidate and, if appropriate, support them with an action plan to help them make the most of their experience and gain and sustain employment in the future.

5. a) End of placement review meeting

If possible, a three way final review meeting should take place with the buddy, the candidate and the partner organisation. This is the opportunity to review the candidate’s performance, provide references and agree any specific next steps or action plan.

The Programme Coordinator could also be involved in this meeting and should certainly be kept informed of outcomes if not directly involved. This also serves to ‘hand over’ the candidate back to the referral organisation.