Placement Year Review at Logica

The Role

Role Description

I provide secretarial and administrative support to the divisional HR team (HR Director, HR Officer, Staff Development Manager). My tasks include:
1. First line advice to staff on application of policies and procedures
2. Consulting with those who have resigned to arrange their leaving details, including exit interviews.
3. Greeting new graduate and more senior starters into the company.
4. Updating our local files with changing information on any employee issues, as well as instructing the outsourced service centre to update our global system.
5. Production of management reports, done monthly covering any HR issues that have been raised over the month.
6. Analysis of sickness data sent to HR from Finance each month.
7. Production of a number of mail merges, for pay review, performance review, bonus nominations, office moves
8. Ad hoc tasks, such as salary analysis, bonus information, staff manager list reports
9. Also worked in the Resourcing team for a majority of my time here, keeping track of what projects employees were working on, maintaining our online system showing who is available for other projects, keeping track of expected weekly reports from those who are available.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I joined the company at a very interesting time. By my second day, my immediate manager had left the company and a week later the director transferred to another division. The first few weeks were filled with uncertainty, but were quite exciting, and I had to learn quickly as our team was just the two of us (myself and my predecessor). During my time here we've been through two redundancy exercises, a merger and a number of office closures. In February, during the first redundancy exercise, I was not enjoying my job at all. But after a difficult period, and a new team, I started to enjoy my job again, and now, a few days before my last day, am very sad to be going.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

My current team are very close, and we work very well together. Although they're all senior to me, it never feels like it when they ask me to complete tasks, and they treat me with a great deal of respect and kindness.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

One of my bosses is in the senior management team, so I know all of the team, and they are all very helpful when I have questions. They all had advice for me when I joined the company, and now have plenty for when I go back to university!

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

This varied quite a lot, as we had periods of a lot of activity when I was rushed off my feet and staying until quite late in the evening, and sometimes it was very quiet. However, the mixture was quite nice, as sometimes it's nice to be a bit quieter!

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I had two direct bosses during my time here (not including the one that left on my second day). The first I had for the majority of my year, and although we got on very well, i was often kept out of the loop with various problems or situations. During the first redundancy exercise I was not involved at all in any of the calculations, meetings or even the administrative tasks. But my second boss has been much better, and I feel a lot more trusted with confidential information, and I was involved in the second redundancy exercise a lot more.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

This year has been an amazing experience for me, and I see it as the most beneficial year of my degree so far. I've learned so much that I will use in my final year, and having experience in my chosen career area will help me get a job when I've graduated. I'm so glad I did a placement year, and I couldn't recommend it enough to second years considering doing one.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

When I joined we worked in a different office to the one where we are now, which was a fantastic environment to be in. Everyone knew each other and lunches and after work drinks happened every week. However, in October we moved to another larger office, the company's main office. This office had a very different atmosphere, and was much quieter than the previous one had ever been! This got a lot better though, as time went on.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

At my company the placement scheme is done in conjunction with the graduate scheme. There is a four day induction when you join, introducing you to the company as a whole, and then a shorter, one day induction within your own division. The welcome to the company was brilliant, and twice throughout the year, the team held IP days, in which all the placement students in the company got together to talk about how it was going, what kind of work we were doing, how we were finding it and so on. These days were great, but I think the scheme could benefit from more regular contact with the students.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

I went on one training course, for SAP, which was brilliant. I use SAP a great deal so this course was very beneficial for me. That was the only thing I had in terms of official training, but my team spent a lot of time training me informally.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Sports and Social Club
• Company Parties/Events
• Above 25 days holiday
• Working from home
• Travel loan

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Although I'm very sad to be leaving, the current state of the business doesn't suggest that it would be a good place to go back to, or if there would actually be a position for me. However, if there was an offer for me, I would definitely consider going back.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

There were monthly events held for placement students and graduates, that were held in bars and clubs all around London.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

I didn't live in the area where I lived, but socialising was quite expensive. But that's expected in central London!

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

There's always something going on around the area, working 10 minutes down the road from Camden and 15 minutes away from Leicester Square and Covent Garden, but there are also a few pubs all around the office.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

There may have been activities going on, but as I had two hours travel ahead of me to get home, I didn't participate in them. But I did go out for a few drinks quite often.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

The idea that a placement year is an opportunity to get paid for making tea and coffee for the office is so far from the truth. You get real experience during these years, and it's invaluable. The amount it adds to your degree is enormous, and if you can do a degree, you definitely should.

Review 9/16 for Logica

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