Winner in the Over 250 Employees - Short Term Placement Category

BP Plc

BP is a global energy group employing over 100,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide. The company offers summer placements to over 100 students each year.

The judges were particularly impressed with BP’s appraisal process. Placement students are appraised at two points during their placement (at the mid point and at the end). The aim of the mid term appraisal is to identify any development areas which need working on during the remainder of the internship and to enable the student to experience the process so that the final appraisal brings no surprises.

Students are provided with a mentor either drawn from the graduate population that is coming to the end of their early experience programme or managers who have been with the company for a number of years and are from the same discipline and site as the student. Being a mentor for the placement programme can be the first mentoring or line management experience a BP employee has, aiding their development as well as that of the placement students.

Students are encouraged to be proactive in their relationship with their mentors e.g. by completing their self assessment forms, reflecting on learning and development opportunities and then using their mentor to discuss actions and possible outcomes.

Key Success Factors

• The placement programme is a thoroughly professional process from recruitment and induction to feedback and skills development
• The placement programme is extremely candidate centric
• Students have become ‘campus ambassadors’ when they have returned to University
• Students are encouraged to organise community investment in local schools and enthuse school children to take part in environment-friendly projects

"“My placement encouraged me to think independently and to take the initiative in the goals I set myself, the outputs I hoped to produce and methods I employed to complete them.” BP placement student"