Who you gonna call? There are many ways to approach identifying possible places to visit here are some ideas:

• Are you new to your organisation or area? If so, it might make sense to start with organisations who are already working with careers - find out what's going on in your area
• If your organisation has an employer team, see if they have ideas about who it would be useful to visit
• You might want to target areas (geographical or occupational) that you know are popular or tricky for your particular client group
• Check local papers to get a feel for what's going on in your patch
• Does your local council have any regeneration initiatives, or industry link people - talk to them - perhaps they could be your first visit
• Have you been approached about advertising a vacancy - this could be a great lead to follow up
• Don't be afraid to do visits where you've always been curious to find out what goes on whether that's a fire station or a castle.

Most people are pleased to talk to others about what they do if the interest is genuine

There's no magic formula for identifying possible places to visit, often its more a matter of the four T's!

Time

make time to do this important work

Tenacity

be courteous but be consistent and persistent, in following up potential leads and

Truthfully

it's common sense, think about what your clients would like to know, what you need to know and

Take it from there!

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.

First impressions matter, before picking up the phone you should have done your homework and know who you want to call and why. Lots of people get nervous about calling up, but with preparation and a positive approach it should be fine! Think about doing the following:

• Write down the name and role in the organisation of the person you want to speak to
• Be prepared to introduce yourself, who you work for and the purpose of your call
• Check it is a convenient time to talk, it not, rearrange
• Discuss the services you can offer and the reason(s) you particularly want to visit
• Encourage the person to identify things they might like to find out from you (perhaps about qualification structures, training or employment legislation)
• Arrange a visit if appropriate - be specific about how long, where and when, who should be involved
• If the speaker can't help, ask if they can recommend someone else in their organisation or elsewhere who can
• Whether or not a visit is the outcome of the phonecall Thank the contact for their time, follow up with confirmation email or letter

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.

Planning is everything! Some things to think about might be:

• Decide on a flexible agenda for the meeting, what exactly is it you want to find out or gain from the visit, and what will you offer?
• Clarify whether an individual or group visit is more appropriate - and agree who should attend and why
• Reconfirm the visit a couple of days beforehand if appropriate
• Put together an information pack of materials to take with you - as a minimum take some headed note paper with your company's name and contact details on it to leave behind
• Pay attention to health and safety - make sure someone knows where you are going and when you will be back

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.

A visit to any organisation should be a two way process. So be polite, smile, stick to time and answer questions as well as asking them! Think about what you want to say. Some organisations will give you a complete sales pack to work through, or you may have a very fluid approach. Some ideas and strategies:

• Don't forget to arrive on time and smile
• Thank the employer for their time
• Re-introduce yourself
• Explain the purpose of your visit
• Ask if they have any issues they'd like to raise
• Agree an agenda and timings
• Explore the topics raised!
• Don't forget to summarise
• Agree action points at the end
• Stick to time
• Don't forget to leave your contact details and employer pack if appropriate

Services you might want to offer include:

• Vacancy advertising
• Work experience
• Professional development placements
• Linking to training providers
• Advice on legislation
• Psychometric testing or staff development support
• Outplacement / redundancy counselling
• Creating user-friendly LMI for young people
• Disseminating better understanding about their occupational area
• Involvement in employer days (might be a staff development opportunity for their staff)
• Access to young people or job seekers
• Clarification on e.g. current curriculum and qualifications issues

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.

Too often the benefits of visiting an employer are lost if you don't follow up properly, so don't forget to:

• Thank the employer to keep good will
• Make sure you do follow on any points you agreed to
• Disseminate and share what you found out
• Keep up to date by maintaining contact
• Log your visit so the employer isn't overlooked if future opportunities for collaboration arise
• Update any company records
• Make any relevant others in your organisation aware of the visit outcomes (e.g. employer link team)

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.

Who you gonna call? There are many ways to approach identifying possible places to visit here are some ideas:

No doubt you will continue to work with employers and other opportunity providers in the future, so you will want to improve your practice. Take some time out to jot down your thoughts and reflections on the visit. In particular was there anything that made you feel out of your depth or that you wish you'd handled differently.

As a minimum, why not keep a log in you own space within this learning resource (mike make a link for display or give http address for handout) and add any reflections or top tips in the discussion area for this section of the LMI learning resource - if you do though, please remember to respect confidentiality, do not name employers or individuals without the relevant permissions.

Where you have concerns talk to your colleagues, mentor or supervisor. Have you identified a broader training need or is a skill you can work on with practice and support?

There is a fuller treatment of these points in our grid for evaluating employer visits, introduced in the evaluating employer visits section.