.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=logo}
The Pillars of an Award-Winning Program
W.W. Grainger, Inc. 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
Grainger understands individual perspectives and experiences make the company stronger. Interns and early career talent make an impact every day as they solve challenges that fulfill the company purpose of keeping the world working. The company's strong commitment to early career talent is evident through investments like development programs, which are founded on creating the next generation of leaders, networking sessions with executive leaders, and targeted mentoring opportunities. Grainger's investment and dedication to early career talent is further reinforced because 83% of interns pursue full-time employment at Grainger following their internship.
Innovative and Multi-Faceted Approach to University Recruitment
The recruitment teams at Grainger are dedicated to attracting and sourcing early career talent through attending both in-person and virtual career fairs, and hosting business-specific information sessions in areas like tech, supply chain, sales, and finance. At Grainger-hosted events, early career talent has the opportunity to ask leaders questions and see specific roles firsthand. They can have their resume reviewed and practice their pitch and interview questions. Grainger attends an average of 100 early career recruitment events and university fairs, including career fairs focused on diversity and early in career talent. To maintain a competitive edge, Grainger launched paid recruitment marketing campaigns on social media focused on early career candidates.
Overarching Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
To execute its DEI hiring strategy, Grainger finds new and unique ways to engage diverse talent and has established partnerships with a variety of professional networks, like Prospanica and National Black MBA Association. This year, Grainger added two new partnerships, focused on women and LGBTQ+ talent. Grainger also has strong relationships with HSIs and HBCUs, with an emphasis on attracting early talent and providing opportunities for alumni to give back to their alma mater. In 2021, Grainger established BeBrave conversations, which help to create a workplace where everyone feels safe, where they belong and are heard. This year, the company is focused on expanding this concept by rolling out enterprise-wide unconscious bias training and incorporating DEI learnings into internal team member & leadership development programs.
Impactful Internship Program
Preparing early career talent for long-term success at Grainger is a critical component of the company's talent strategy. Grainger offers a variety of early career rotational programs that build broad foundational knowledge of the company and lead to career advancement opportunities upon program completion. All early career hires are provided dedicated hands-on training, mentorship, and networking opportunities, as well as a peer cohort community to accelerate their development. Grainger hosts in-office internships and interns receive fully coordinated and funded housing to ensure they can put their whole focus into learning and development while building a stronger connection to the organization and team. Even before they start, interns learn about the company and the latest Grainger news through a monthly newsletter. All of these actions reflect the continued investment Grainger makes for early in career talent. This is why in 2022, 95% of Grainger interns indicated their work was meaningful and impactful.
Growth and Development of the Next Generation of Talent
Grainger invests in development opportunities to meet and support entry-level professionals in their career journeys. These opportunities include functional development programs extending across many business areas, including technology, finance, supply chain, sales and more. The program ensures all early career hires are provided with dedicated hands-on training, mentorship, and networking opportunities, as well as a peer cohort community to accelerate their development. While participating in the development programs, Grainger offers flexible work options, educational assistance, stipends for professional conferences, and competitive benefits covering team members' emotional, financial, physical, and social well-being to equip early career hires with the tools they need to thrive at work and beyond. Those include competitive paid time off, an automatic six percent 401(k) company contribution, and student loan refinancing. Essentially, participants receive all the benefits of being a full-time team member, while simultaneously rotating within their function to gain new experiences and skills to help inform their strengths and interests.