Update On September Review
Pros
This review is an update on my time as a Leadership Development Program Associate in SVM Brands. The concept of the year long rotational program is a great one, and it really drew me in. Getting to work and learn about different brands and business segments really broadens your knowledge for the future. Getting to work with so many great people throughout your 1 year program, really making use of your free time (and there is a lot of it) Laid back environment. Got to be a part of one great project during my time with SVM Clean. Get to learn and be close to very high up leaders, that you wouldn't get the chance too otherwise.
Cons
"This review is based on my opinions only" So back in September, I left a 5 star review. A young, straight out of college kid that was loving what he was seeing. Sure there wasn't much "Training or Development" going on but I thought that was because of my circumstances of my rotation. We were promised formal development, and training, to better suit us for our time at ServiceMaster, and a guaranteed position at the end. In my opinion, formal training and development never actually came, or the position for me. It was honestly an "Internship on Steroids" type of program to me. I had interned for years before that and couldn't see a difference, other than pay, which was great. I would ask my supervisors for work daily, and a lot of times there were small projects and tasks to do, but we would sometimes go over a week at a time without any official work. Yes, you try and fill your time effectively, but a after months long plus combined time of not having any official work, it starts to feel like a waste of time. Let me be clear, I LOVED the people I worked with, my brand leaders, my fellow coworkers etc. They tried their bests the "train, develop, coach, mentor", but it wasn't their jobs to do so. They had enough work on their tables. My issue comes with the training department, HR, and upper level corporate management. In my opinion It seemed as though they had completely forgotten about our program. I had over 7 meetings with my HR manager get cancelled without any notice, or me waiting for her to never show up. Granted, it was just her for the whole department which is NUTS. As a kid straight out of college, I wanted feedback, development and formal training, to be the best version of myself and to get what was promised to our faces. I got no feedback. "Hey we believe you could do better at time management, hey we need better results", nothing like that. If you are in college, and they recruit you for this type of program, really ask what steps are in place for you. This is a big decision for you, and you should know the nitty and gritty details.