Employee Engagment and Communications Assistant Review

PLEASE NOTE: This review was for a placement at Lloyds TSB prior to Lloyds TSB merging with HBOS to become Lloyds Banking Group. (The RateMyPlacement Team) I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement. I have been really impressed by the responsibility that I have been given and the development opportunities available. I have enjoyed my placement so much I have extended my contract by 3 months!

I really believe that its not where you work but who you work with that makes the difference on how much you enjoy your placement. I have been lucky to have a very close team of 6 people who are all located in the same building. They are always supportive and treat me as though I was just a normal employee.

I had a fantastic relationship with my manager. With our fortnightly 121s she was always making sure that I was getting the most out of my placement. She was always supportive of my interests outside of my role such as joining the 2012 committee and helped me with my university projects.

I feel that I had a really good work balance during my placement. As I was in charge of managing my own time I felt that I always had a steady flow of work.

The one thing that I was most impressed/surprised about my placement was the amount of responsibility that I had. Within a month of joining I was solely running my own projects which involved me liaising with over 30 people to get the project delivered over 4 months. Over the year I have managed over 10 of my own projects and have helped to assist my manager on many more. I was also the Lean Champion for my team which meant it was my responsibility to lead my team on a project to make us more efficient on the way we work. I was also appointed Marketing and Communications manager for the Group IT 2012 committee which meant I was responsible for the website, marketing and communications with an audience of over 3000 people.

My manager has always been supportive about any training opportunities that were available. I have been on various courses that I have found very beneficial. I have also had the opportunity to improve on essential skills such as presentations, leadership and communication skills. The Emerging Talent Team hold various development days for Industrial Placement students throughout the year to help improve your skills that would be useful for your career progression. I have also had the opportunity to shadow different areas of the bank which has given me a better idea on where I would like to work after university

I was quite lucky to be placed in a room with just my team. Because we all got on so well the atmosphere was really relaxed and enjoyable. Everyone in the building seemed very welcoming and even the directors would say hi when they passed by.

Although I felt overall the placement was well organized, there were definitely areas that could be improved on. I felt that you had to be quite proactive to get things done. For example, we meant to assigned buddies, but this never materialised. Therefore I decided to go out and find my own buddy. Obviously the Emerging Talent Team are extremely busy so I would say if you want something done, don’t be scared to chase it up.

As I mentioned above I was offered a wide range of training and development. I had access to the University of LTSB which is where you can do online courses or sign up for any courses which can last between a day or several weeks. I made the most of this opportunity and tried to do as much as possible in my year, which my manager was more than happy to support.

I will 100% be hoping to get back onto the graduate scheme.

To me this year has been like being at university but with money! I have made such good friends with other industrial placements students. We go out clubbing at least once a week and also plan day trips such as going to Thorpe Park, to the cinema or out of dinner. I feel that I have definitely made friends for life this year and I am sure we will all keep in contact after our placements.

One of the bad things about being placed in London is how expensive it is! After getting fed up of commuting from Reading every day, I decided to get a flat in London. Although I thoroughly love the London life..it has been a real drain on funds! Also forget about £1.50 student night drinks... Beers can cost up to £7 and cocktails are priced between £10 - £500!! Also most clubs cost £20 just to get in. But then you are only young once and who needs money anyway!

London definitely has one of the best nightlifes! I would thoroughly recommend Café de Paris!! Best club in London!!

I would definitely say you get out what you put in. When I joined I told my manager I was really interested in the 2012 sponsorship and by networking with the right people I was lucky enough to join the committee. I also put myself forward to join the Womens Network and the Green Team. There are loads of opportunities to raise money for charity. This year I have raised over £2000 for the British Heart Foundation (the banks charity) by helping to organising fundraising activities such as tombolas, auctions, sponsored bike rides. I also participated in the Corporate Markets Challenge which was an amazing day involving kayaking, cycling and caving!