Finding talented young employees can be a problem. Integrated Marketing Solutions has found a way to cope with this — working with young Russian students to train them and ease them into the company.

When Integrated Mar-keting Solutions (IMS), a marketing-outsourcing firm, came to the former Soviet Union, they began their work with a meager staff of 25. However, as time went by, they found that number climb to 190 employees, and they began to run into difficulties recruiting fresh middle-management staff. Executive staff could be imported, but mid-level professionals were either hard to come by, due to the insufficiencies of Russian-style business education, or very expensive. So, the company opened a graduate-intake program to help talented young students learn the ropes.

If students at Russian universities speak English, are fast learners and communicate well, then they have a shot at joining the company and learning the skills it takes to make it in the marketing world, firm management said. “I wouldn’t say that people [in Russia] lack skills; it’s just that it’s a new industry, and people have only been exposed to it recently,” said Michael Green, general manager. The company’s Graduate Training Program (GTP) gives fifth-year Russian university students the chance to gain a lot of experience they wouldn’t normally be exposed to early on, while IMS gets a chance to see how the young graduates perform.

Green said that Russian employees just need a chance to develop and make mistakes, something Western businesspeople have had an opportunity to do all their lives. “They just need a chance to learn and make mistakes. For the last 10 years people here have grown up with businesses and they are just starting to become familiar with them… We [in the West] went into businesses and learned what a good and bad office were.” In August 2001 IMS, launched its GTP, giving students the chance to earn a little money at the same time the gain the practice they need to complete their university diplomas. There are now 14 students in the program. All the firm asks of applicants is that they have a higher education, knowledge of English and the ability to learn quickly and socialize.

“Russians aren’t less capable, in fact, in many ways they are better than their Western counterparts,” said Green, noting that Russian managers are on average five to 10 years younger than people who hold the same positions in the UK. Yet, there were other reasons for his firm’s decision to implement its own program. Not only are Russian educational programs not as developed or specific to a Western business environment, but it was difficult to win over employees from other firms. “We found that we couldn’t poach them [middle managers] from other companies… Experienced people from other companies are more expensive, and, sometimes, people who have already worked three or four years have higher expectations and a higher market value,” Green said.

Similar problems have been encountered by other international firms over the years, since graduate-intake programs are affordable and allow firms to tailor employees specifically to their own needs. But the 1998 crisis put a halt to several companies programs and internship programs have only recently begun to make a comeback. Several fast-moving consumer-goods companies, which make up the bulk of IMS’ clients, offer training programs and internships. Gillette offers a short-term program, and Procter and Gamble recently re-introduced its internship program, which was stopped after the 1998 crisis.

In some ways, Russian graduates outstrip their Western colleagues. The dearth of trained talent means that companies have to look to young employees with “the ability to learn,” rather than experienced professionals, and it’s not uncommon for professionals as young as 25 to manage accounts as large as $2 million to $3 million. Interns have the chance to work in the company at all levels during their 18-month term. They spend three months working in departments of direct marketing, digital communications and accounting and also receive seminars and hands-on training on industry topics. Course materials include classroom training, plus training sessions.

One student spent four months working with Gillette — a client of IMS — and the program organizers were impressed with how well the situation worked out. They say he not only learned a lot, but was also able to build a strong rapport between IMS and their client. The intern, 22-year-old Konstantin Smirnov, said that the experience with Gillette gave him a chance to work directly under top-management professionals and learn how to communicate with them, a skill that will help him when working with clients in the future. “One of the advantages of working for a client is that it can shatter people’s illusions of working with a multinational. A lot of them find out that it isn’t all that different,” said Green.

Overall, the company says the program has been successful so far, but they caution that they are still learning and that the participant retention rate hasn’t been perfect. Of the original 10 students who began in August, five are left, but all of the eight that began in December have stayed. Green explained that the company had been “more strict” when selecting interns the second time and making certain the students understood the time commitment. “We’re learning as well,” he added. Overall, he said they don’t anticipate a high dropout rate and expect to retain nearly all the employees that take part in the program.

But the firm isn’t worried that some participants will later find jobs with other companies. “Either way it’s good for our reputation,” said Green, explaining that graduates can show off their skills at other firms. They said plan to expand their staff by 40 people by the end of next year and hope that 15 of them will come aboard via the GTP program. IMS might increase the length of the program in the future. “We all sort of think that two years is a better period of time,” added Green.