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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Blackbaud was selected as a 2023 Campus Forward Award Winner for their unwavering commitment to seeking out and hiring early career talent, their emphasis on diversity & inclusion, and investments in nurturing and retaining the next generation of talent. Please see below for the highlights of their approach to early career recruitment.
Demonstrated Investment in Early Career Hiring
At Blackbaud, interns and early career talent are highly respected and valued. Successfully recruiting this generation of early career talent requires an understanding of their attributes, an empathy for their values, and a recruiting process that engages their interests and preferences. These are all qualities the Early Career Talent team at Blackbaud demonstrates when connecting with and building a diverse pipeline of future leaders. Once interns are hired, they begin an immersive experience with mentorship, diverse leadership, and projects centered around Blackbaud initiatives and driving impact for social good.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
With a proven ability to innovate and adapt no matter the circumstance, Blackbaud is continuing to find efficient ways to improve the Early Career and University Program. This year, Blackbaud hired a University Program Manager to assist the Director of Early Career Talent with optimizing and implementing a strategy revolving around recruitment, programming, and student career progression. While demonstrating opportunities for growth and communicating the company’s social good initiative, Blackbaud continues navigating the virtual and on-site campus recruiting world. The Early Career team continually works to broaden its university portfolio and diversify student organization outreach. As a remote-first organization, Blackbaud focuses on interactive virtual events that provide students with 1:1 connection with leaders, recruiters, and former interns and highlights life as Blackbaud employees.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Blackbaud believes that great things happen when diverse people with different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds come together, which is why Blackbaud serves the entire global social good community with associates worldwide. The Early Career Talent team at Blackbaud is passionate about contributing to the company’s DEI initiatives by continuing to expand relationships with minority-serving institutions and nationally recognized student organizations. Throughout the recruiting process, students from all diverse backgrounds and abilities have an inclusive interview experience, from diverse interviewers, accessible video interviews, and more. Once interns are hired, they begin an immersive experience that includes connecting with affinity groups, diverse leadership, and mentorship throughout the summer. By including students and new hires in an enriching professional network for employees with common affinities, Blackbaud prioritizes this generation’s DEI career goals.
Impactful Internship Program
During the summer internship experience, interns participate in challenging, strategic, and engaging projects across Blackbaud’s business and technology areas. Interns start the summer by attending new hire orientation with new Blackbaud employees. They also attend an onboarding meeting designed explicitly for interns, including sessions on powerful communication, goal setting, wellness, and social responsibility. In addition to their project goals and commitments, interns receive resources to connect with fellow interns, program alums, and internal stakeholders/leaders across the globe. Internship programming includes Q&A sessions with Blackbaud CEO Mike Gianoni and other senior leaders, career planning sessions, a virtual volunteering event, and a DEI workshop with Blackbaud’s senior DEI specialist. The session concludes with final presentations to Blackbaud leaders, teams, and business groups.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
While Blackbaud does have a program specifically focused on early career talent, new hires are immersed in the Blackbaud employee experience on day one. Rather than inundating new hires with training in their first week, onboarding is delivered in smaller sessions over the first three months. Recent graduates are onboarded alongside employees via interactive overviews of Blackbaud products, benefits sessions, tools and collaboration training, affinity group panels, and continuous career/performance development training. New hires also receive role-specific training and are partnered with a peer who acts as a “buddy” through a unique employee experience that allows early career talent to network and engage from the very first day.