What are we talking about?
Recently one of our young interns developed a Return on Investment model which enabled us to prove to our Inspect clients how little time it would take for them to recoup the cost of purchase. I must say the results shocked even me!
This got me thinking…. Return on investment is not always about money. One of our best ROIs has been about time, mentoring and people. This ROI has a direct consequence for our clients, who benefit from dealing with our stable team (Zoodata staff turnover is 0%). Our client centric staff know their client systems well, are able to address issues quickly, and are trusted to do the best possible job.
It is no coincidence we have a 0% turnover. Maverick by Ricardo Semler has had a profound influence on us, and many of these ideas have permeated the Zoodata workplace. We hire each other; teams are autonomous; and we encourage them to pursue even seemingly outrageous ideas. One of our brighter ideas was to actively engage with the local university sector to provide students with a meaningful work experience through completing small projects we never have time to do. This ROI has been beyond our wildest dreams.
How did we benefit?
In the past financial year we have experimented with a range of university interactions, including across different faculties, types of internships and with project groups. Although often draining, we always provide students with experienced mentors and work experiences they wouldn’t get elsewhere. Not only were all projects successfully delivered, quite a few unintended tasks were also completed because the students were even better than we expected! Below is a few of the work items our Curtin students delivered to us:
Inspect Return on Investment Model using Excel
New Inspect website
Inspect pull up marketing banner using the Zoodata style guide
Stop draft feature in Inspect
Inspect user manual revised and updated
Power BI integration with Inspect
Implementation of an Automated Proposal tool
6 inspection type templates
Evaluated suitable software tools / products
We were so impressed with two of our interns we engaged them part time whilst they complete their degrees.
Where would you start?
Engaging with Curtin, Edith Cowan and UWA has been a mixed bag as each placement has different criteria, length and requirements and there is no uniform procedure across campuses. A lesser woman would probably have given up! Thankfully the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been excellent to work with, making hosting Business School interns as effortless as possible. After providing the CCI Work Integrated Learning (WIL) officer with my project requirements I receive CVs of suitable candidates. Those who interview well are invited to join us for an internship.
Zoodata’s internship experience through CCI has been extremely positive, but businesses wishing to engage with the tertiary sector must be prepared to:
Provide a structured learning experience with experienced mentors
Be organized and disciplined
Be prepared for some initial disruption and loss of staff productivity
If you are interested in learning more about our experiences in engaging with local universities, we would love to chat with you. If you would like a free copy of our Inspect ROI model to help you decide whether Inspect will add value to your business, please contact us on Phone: 9485 0725 or email: info@zoodata.com.au.