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My name's Terry Irwin and this is one of TCii's best business practice videos.
The topic is "How to run an effective internship programme".
Starting an intern programme has many benefits. It's a good way to test out
potential employees. It helps you establish ties and a recruiting edge with
your local community.
It helps to generate conversations about your company,
as the intern you bring on will likely become your
brand ambassador.
Intern programmes are first and foremost for the benefit and education of the
intern.
The work they accomplish for you is offset by the planning, training,
supervising, coaching
and extra work that goes into creating a positive experience for both your
company and the intern.
If your motivation for starting an intern programme is to give a student an
opportunity to explore career options
and practise their business skills, then you're most likely to
have a rewarding experience
with your interns.
We've identified eleven steps
to building an internship programme that works for both employers
and interns.
Number 1:
Write a job description, as this will help you better understand how you will use
the intern
and what you want them to do, and will give your interns a clear sense of direction,
responsibility and goals.
Number 2: Set beginning and end dates to help the intern schedule and plan
their life.
Because most interns are enrolled in educational institutions, consider
dates that coincide with the terms for local universities or colleges. It's also
helpful to ask your student for their exam schedule and plan accordingly.
Number 3: Create an intern manual. Because interns have no previous experience
of an office environment, they may not be aware of office decorum or etiquette.
To avoid drama and distractions in the workplace, give your interns
a training manual that brings them up to speed on what's expected of them and how
things are done at your organisation.
Number 4: Recruit and interview. Post internships on your own site, job boards,
and through the internship or career offices of local colleges and
universities.
Once you've got the candidates, interview them and put them through a recruitment
process similar
to what you put your own employee candidates through.
Number 5: Predefine
the selection criteria. This helps to avoid
employees, executives, board directors and the like sending over their nieces and
nephews
"to be considered", which can result
in undue pressures of all sorts.
Number 6:
Reserve a cubicle or a workstation,
because interns, like employees or contractors,
need a dedicated place to work. And unless the job is manual labour, they'll also need a
computer, a company email address, a login and password to access your network,
a phone, etc.
Number 7: On-board your intern with a day or two of planned activities.
Make sure your interns have meetings with each employee
they're likely to interact with.
The employee can explain how they contribute to the company and its goals.
Also take time to familiarise your interns with the company's processes, systems
and culture.
Number 8: Pay your interns,
because they'll be more highly motivated
and act more responsibly.
There's also a fine line between
unpaid interns and unpaid employees.
Number 9:
Assign one person
to manage the intern,
because when interns don't get the guidance they need
they often choose to be unproductive rather than risk
making
mistakes.
Number 10: Give your interns meaningful work,
not just one-time, short assignments such as making copies or filing invoices.
They want responsibilities:
long-term areas of ownership or projects such as coordinating a programme,
managing your company Facebook page, or creating a library
of customer
testimonials.
Number 11: Set your expectations. Set them fairly, and be prepared for
inconsistency
in the quality of work,
and a mishap now and then.
Use the mishaps to help the intern
develop personally and professionally.
Also, never rely on an intern
to complete a critical or urgent project. Use employees for mission-critical work!
Your final obligation to the intern is then to write them a letter of
recommendation.
If you are interested in finding out more, call me, Terry Irwin,
on 020 7099 2621
020 7099 2621
or download
our free paper on this subject from our website at tcii.co.uk.
tcii.co.uk.
tcii.co.uk.