We recently had the pleasure of opening our doors at NRG and Greenbean to two eager work experience visitors, keen to delve into the heart of what makes our national recruitment business tick. With a holistic and inclusive approach, we drew in teams from finance, marketing, vetting, and resourcing to share insights into their roles and departments.
Our aim was not just to highlight the diversity of roles behind the scenes, but to actively involve our guests in tasks that reflect the real-world challenges and opportunities we navigate daily. This hands-on experience was designed to offer a comprehensive understanding of the people, departments, and technology that powers a leading recruitment firm like ours. Through this immersive journey, we hope to have inspired our guests and opened their minds to careers in therecruitment industry.
Here, Gracie and Milly summarise their week and what they learned.
Our Week in Work Experience at Greenbean
- Gracie and Milly
As we head into our work experience week, we’re excited to find out about the different roles within the company, learn about the responsibilities of each department, and get stuck into tasks set by the teams. We’re looking forward to seeing behind the scenes and finding out what it takes to run a successful recruitment company!
Monday – Day 1
On Day 1 we went to the NRG and Greenbean Head Offices at Quorum Park. The first person we met was Clare, the Office Manager, who gave us a tour of the offices and a health and safety induction . We were then introduced to all the different teams, all of whom set time aside during the week for us to shadow them and ask questions. We were allowed to sit in one of the departmental meetings during which the teams discussed the active roles they were working on, and their focus and priorities for the week ahead which would set the scene for the week.
A crucial part of the business that runs through the entire business is the CRM (customer relationship management) system, Vincere. We were introduced to the system with a series of short training videos to understand how this worked within the two businesses, giving us insight into how the team recorded their data and kept track of their day. It was interesting to see what each person’s role entailed and how each team contributed to the company.
We enjoyed spending time with the marketing team and were given the opportunity to write this blog and create a short-form video to document our week to be shared across their various social media platforms during National Careers Week.
Tuesday – Day 2
Gracie had the opportunity to attend and observe a meeting held by the business park where each business was encouraged to talk about their successes and challenges towards sustainability. For example, having sustainable merchandise like bamboo pencils is great in theory, but as they cost more than regular pencils, businesses need to be aware of the costs associated with sustainability.
In the afternoon, we spent time with Kathryn to learn more about vetting and pre-employment screening, including criminal records and DBS checks. Kathryn's team is responsible for obtaining the official documentation that proves a person’s ‘Right to Work in the UK.’This was an interesting day; we enjoyed learning about the vetting process and what is involved behind the scenes.
Wednesday - Day 3
On Wednesday morning, we spent time at our desks to start completing some of the tasks we’d been set. Later we joined a couple of the resourcing team, Gabby and Sarah, to shadow them while making calls. Each call made to a candidate involved a full explanation of the role, information about the company, and a description of the culture so that candidates could envision what it was like to work at that organisation. Communicating this effectively meant Sarah and Gabby could assess their interest and suitability for the role before going into detail about the entire recruitment process.
We learned how important it was to manage expectations and be clear and transparent. It was interesting to see how detailed the start of the recruitment process was and the effort that goes into building relationships with each candidate, whether they are suitable for the role or not.
Thursday –Day 4
On Thursday we shadowed Wendy in the finance department - she plays a crucial role overseeing credit control which means making sure invoices are promptly issued and payments are received on schedule. This highlighted the importance of precision, accountability, and strategic financial management in the smooth running of a national recruitment business. It was also interesting to see all the costs of running a business – finance would be a job for someone who likes math!
Friday – Day 5
On the last day we added the final changes to our tasks, like this blog, and finished editing the videos we’d filmed throughout the week to make a TikTok video. With the help of the marketing team, we picked the hashtags and set it live – and it got over 1,500 views within a few minutes of posting!
Overall, we enjoyed our time at NRG and Greenbean for our work experience week. We were able to see behind the scenes of all the different departments, finding out about people’s roles and how they equally contribute to the success of the business. Everyone’s contribution makes the recruitment process flow from start to finish. We had not realised when we started the week how much work went into recruitment, and it was fun to see how the entire process worked, from liaising with hiring managers, to engaging with candidates, and completing background checks.
Our favourite part of this week was learning about the vetting and pre-employment screening process with Katherine’s team. We were intrigued to see how many things needed to be checked before someone started a job, especially for roles in banks and financial services, such as criminal records and credit checks. Another part we found particularly of interest was how the marketing department all work together to manage their social media channels across two hugely different brands, how many days of interest there are in a month, and how they celebrate them by creating content to make it relevant to the business.
We have learned a lot this week and it has been a really valuable experience!
Leanne Chambers, Managing Director of NRG and Greenbean, expressed her delight at welcoming Gracie and Milly for their work experience week: "Hosting Gracie and Milly was truly rewarding. Their eagerness to soak in new experiences and expand their knowledge was remarkable. We are hopeful that their time with us has not only offered them a glimpse into the dynamic world of business but also sparked a potential interest in a recruitment career. Their journey with us stands as a testament to the enriching learning environment we strive to provide, fostering the next generation of talent in the recruitment industry."
