1. Ideate
(with Problem Statement for reference)
Re-designing the school-to-work environment:
New College Graduate Focus
Yellow Venture Lab

2. Stakeholder: Vice President of HR (of the baby-boomer
generation) at a rapidly-growing laser company in the Pacific
Northwest. Responsible, among other things, for identifying,
recruiting, hiring and developing talent, including new college
graduates.
Need: Develop a significantly-improved and comprehensive new
college graduate recruiting, talent development and retention
process
Insight: Without the new, fresh and different ideas from new
college graduates, the company may not retain its vigor, vitality
and creativeness to the level required to be competitive—let
alone a leader—in the laser industry.
Problem Statement
…needs a way to…
…because…

3. Ideate: Recruit
• LinkedIn
• On campus interviews via career center
• Identify students via professors
• Monster.com
• Open house at company
• Pizza bash on campus
• Advertise in campus newspaper
• Advertise via Facebook
• Advertise via Twitter
• Advertise via Google
• Offer summer internships (college and high school)
• Offer part-time internships during school year

4. Ideate: Recruit
• Billboard on or near campus
• Provide company-branded equipment to school labs
• Have people waving signs for company on campus (like you see
for car wash fund-raisers, for instance)
• Provide high-school scholarships
• Provide college scholarships
• Mass emails to students in programs related to company’s line of
business (physics, optics, EE, ME, OR)
• Advertise at footballs stadiums
• Encourage word of mouth from interns
• Cold call top students in related fields
• Advertise on cars, bikes or other vehicles around campus
• Enlist support from career center—get them excited about
company
• Enlist professional recruiter who focus on hiring new college grads

5. Ideate: Develop Talent
• Establish mentor program
• Initial new employee orientation for new college grads (NCGs)
• Defined training established in first 6 months
• Job rotation through multiple roles in first 2-3 years
• Training on site via co. subject matter specialists inc. managers
• Training on site via external subject matter specialists
• External training at colleges for specialized
courses/seminars/workshops
• Roundtables with other new college grads and managers
• Presentations between new grads, share best practices
• Focused, defined on-the-job training
• Training via web (like this Design Thinking course!)
• Assign books and hold reviews (NCGs pick the books)

6. Ideate: Develop Talent
• Have NCGs present at conferences, local business gatherings
• Have NCGs conduct company tours when best practice
sharing with other companies (e.g., for operations)
• Have NCGs create and provide training to others in company
(new employee orientation and other)
• Establish and communicate clear job grades, ladders and
career options at company
• Have NCGs mentor high school and/or college students
(during internships and/or school year)

7. Ideate: Retain
• Develop company leadership training program to unleash
management’s ability to motivate and retain employees, inc.
NCGs
• Show clear career path options
• Provide training and development options so NCGs can see a
clear future
• Hold fun events just for NCGs to hang out together (pubs,
golfing, skiing, hiking, plays, dinners, beach, ballooning, wine
tasting, etc)
• Hold events like those above with NCGs and managers, esp.
executive management
• Executive management to hold brown bag lunches, breakfast
meetings, dinners, etc to connect with NCGs

8. Ideate: Retain
• Provide attractive stock option package
• Provide very competitive benefits package, inc. health care,
401k, free (deluxe!) lunches, free beverages, health club
membership
• Provide fun diversions during the day, e.g., ping pong, video
games, billiards, basketball, volleyball, weight room, aerobic
equipment
• Send NCGs on exciting trips together, e.g., California, Hawaii
• Send good smattering of NCGs on international trade shows
• Provide opportunities for NCGs to present to executive
management
• Provide opportunities for NCGs to present at company
meetings
• Conduct surveys to determine what motivate NCGs and take
action accordingly