4 Benefits of A Solid Internship Program

There have always been several different schools of thought with regards to the hiring of interns. Some may view interns as “free labor” who serve no other purpose than to get coffee and photocopy documents. Whereas other view interns as more than just bodies but a source of fresh talent and ideas.

Here’s 4 reasons why a well-planned and structured internship program would be a good investment for your organization.

1) Source of Potential Talent

It has been said many times over and over, good talent is both difficult to attract and retain. Introducing an internship program is a useful method for organizations to search and develop talent which over time will prove to be beneficial to the organization.

Most internship programs last for about 3-6 months at a time in which interns are assigned to a department and given a set of tasks to complete. During this time, interns are usually placed under the guidance of a staff member who provides supervision and mentorship. Throughout the internship, interns can expect to work with other members and departments within the organization.

This approach has the benefit of providing interns with real-life working experience and acclimatizing them to the organization’s culture. From here, HR professionals can scout for talented individuals who can later be offered a position within the organization and to also assess the candidate’s compatibility with the organization. By searching out and developing talent at such an early stage, the organization is able to attract and retain skilled potential candidates via their internship program rather than going through a lengthy hiring process.

However, all of these initiatives require a significant investment of time and effort on the organization’s part. Ill-planned internship programs with no clear goal in mind or a lack of participation from the organization’s members will serve no purpose other than creating frustration and difficulty for both parties.

2) A Chance To Test The Talent

Almost every HR professional or hiring manager has experienced the frustration of going through the process of hiring and training an employee only for them to hand in their resignation 6 months later. This is where the time and effort taken to implement a good internship program really pays off.

Internships can be seen as a trial period for potential employees of an organization. During the course of an internship, interns are exposed to the inner-workings of the organization and are given the chance to observe the culture and nature of the work within the organization. From here, an intern can determine if he/she is a suitable match for the organization’s culture and if they are interested in pursuing a career with the organization.

HR professionals can also use internships to assess whether the interns would be a good fit for the organization later on. For example, by observing the interns mannerisms and work ethic, HR professionals are able to make educated guesses as to how effective this potential employee would be. Interns that are often tardy and seem disinterested in the tasks assigned to them are a surefire sign that hiring them would be a bad decision.

However, HR professionals also need to exercise some degree of neutrality and understanding as most interns often lack real world working experience. Hence, interns may not understand certain aspects of workplace etiquette and should not be written off immediately. Instead, HR professionals need to take the time to educate and correct such behavior lest the organization lose out on hiring a talented candidate.

3) A Fresh Perspective

Experienced workers may have more practical experience and require less training than a younger worker but they are often too set in their ways of working and are not able to cope with new technological advances. In a day and age where more and more organizations are leveraging to the benefits of new technology and innovations, an organization that prefers only experienced staff will find itself left behind and no longer relevant.

An intern should not and was never meant to be a replacement for a fully-fledged employee. Instead, interns are meant to be a breath of fresh air for an organization; with their lack of practical experience and unjaded mindsets, interns should encourage organizations to adopt a different mindset and approach towards problem. This is known as the inexperience advantage and this advantage can be used to bring about positive changes in the workplace.

Rather than assigning interns to menial tasks like data entry and photocopying, leaders of the organization need to view interns as a means of introducing fresh ideas to the organization. For example, interns should be invited to participate in departmental meetings. During these meetings, interns should be encouraged to speak their mind and present their opinions on ideas that they may have on how a particular issue should be tackled.

More seasoned employees tend to be jaded and are usually shackled by preconceptions and biases which in turn could affect their decision or mindset. Whereas a relatively inexperienced intern may be able to provide a fresh perspective to an age-old problem.

4) Creating Brand Ambassadors

For a student, an internship represents an opportunity to gain meaningful experience and at the same time build up relationships and form networks. Whereas for an organization, interns are not only a viable source for talented workers but also a means to gain brand ambassadors for itself.

Unfortunately, the term internship has negative connotations about it with interns often feeling unhappy, unmotivated and underutilized. This is because internships are regarded by some as a means for organizations to bolster their ranks with cheap, disposable labor. The organization’s, internship program is viewed as a hindrance and a joke by employees of the organization and are not taken seriously. Oftentimes, interns in such organizations are assigned to laborious, menial tasks and given little to no supervision or mentoring from their more senior colleagues. Consequently, these interns end up feeling unappreciated and leave with a negative perception of the organization.

On the other hand, HR professionals and leaders within the organization can opt to work together to ensure that interns working within the organization have a rewarding and meaningful experience within the organization. One way of doing this is by implementing a mentor-mentee program which pairs interns with an employee who has volunteered for the role. This is beneficial for the organization as employees with strong leadership skills can be identified and the intern is assigned to a person willing to guide and mentor them.

By taking such steps, the organization ensures that interns have a rewarding internship experience which builds up good will and allows the organization to potentially gain a brand ambassador. In all likelihood, the intern will spread word about the enriching internship experience they had and this may encourage family/friends to use the company’s product and services or even apply for a position with the organization.

Internships are opportunities for organizations to source for talent, build networks and even improve themselves. HR professionals should never underestimate the importance of internships and the value that it can bring for an organization.

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