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The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
Synchrony 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
Synchrony believes that early career talent is a differentiator to its business and an investment in its future. The Synchrony Business Leadership Program enables the company to seek talent and support their development in a critical stage in their careers — the starting line. Its mission is to not only groom talent, but engage and accelerate their careers by creating a program rooted in deep domain knowledge, as well as substantial cross functional experiences. Through structured curriculum and buy-in from Synchrony’s most senior leaders, each individual understands the investment and trust the company is making in each of them. This investment in developing talent allows the company to garner true leadership traits and skills, and ensures its leaders of the future are prepared for the ever-changing landscapes they are sure to experience.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
Synchrony’s university recruiting efforts are truly a team sport, as its small team of three executes a best-in-class recruiting program with 100% support of business leaders, representing the company on campus and virtually via a unique hybrid recruiting model. At the center of its innovation is Synchrony’s commitment to EQUITY OF ACCESS for any candidate interested in a career with the company. Synchrony instituted a robust virtual events platform to ensure that any student, regardless of university, can meet with a member of its team or learn about opportunities. These sessions included diversity dialogues, mental health workshops, early career coaching, and much more. Synchrony has also focused efforts to build relationships with student groups at college campuses throughout the country. These face-to-face engagements allow the company to build trust with these groups and not only look to hire great talent, but also support their development with critical skill building and networking exercises.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Synchrony’s Business Leadership Program is a key pipeline to junior and senior leadership positions in the company, and as such representation is a critical component of the company’s strategy. The team focuses on many initiatives to attract a diverse class of interns and full-time hires, such as engaging and empowering ERGs to build relationships with colleges, student groups, and diverse populations across the country. ERGs host fireside chats with senior leaders, first-gen programming, critical skill building, and other programs around culture and inclusion. Synchrony has also committed a $50 million investment to Education as an Equalizer, an initiative to expand access to higher education, skills training in high-growth fields, and financial literacy for underserved communities and its own workforce. This initiative provides scholarships, mentorships, and internships to help low-income and underrepresented students graduate college and navigate their future paths. Synchrony’s recruitment initiatives include relationships with HBCUs, HSIs, and national partnerships such as NABA, ALPFA, Out4Undergrad, and DisabilityIn.
Impactful Internship Program
Synchrony’s internship program provides interns with meaningful and impactful projects across the business. Its hybrid work model allows BLP interns a chance to engage in its headquarters and meet with key leaders, work on cross-functional projects, and engage with their fellow interns. During the summer, Synchrony offers fully paid and furnished housing for interns to live in a community and build lasting relationships with their cohort. The company also provides a full summer series of events, created and run by alumni of its internship and full-time program, which include weekly social outings, lunch and learns, community service offering, and trainings. Synchrony also ensures that every member of its executive leadership team — including its CEO — meets with the intern class in person to engage and answer any questions they have. All of this leads to Synchrony ensuring that it fills 95%-100% of its full-time class from intern conversion each year.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
When early career talent joins the Business Leadership program, they receive two years of accelerated growth and development, and are placed in a rotation structure to ensure their exposure to the business and all the different career options within their function. Throughout their early career journey, participants are matched with multiple mentors and sponsors to help guide and support their development during and after the program. Hires are also put through a structured and expansive learning curriculum to ensure that they have the key skills and knowledge to continue to grow at Synchrony and excel in any role they take. Yearly, the company hosts a Talent Planning Review process to ensure that every program participant and alumni from that function are being career-pathed and supported during their time at the company. This leads to a 99%+ retention rate over the two-year program, with each participant accelerating and being promoted two levels during their first two years.