Interns? Yes, but….

By Kareen Emery

For your interns to gain real-world knowledge from their time in your organization and for you to benefit from it, a little planning is required.

Clear your calendar, prepare your trainings and coach them: summer interns want to work and they want to work for you. Do you remember the end of college and university terms? The excitement of new adventures, the promise of the next chapters? They are crucial for these young talents who want only one thing: to gain experience in your field.
And for the internship period to be successful, no matter how long it is, from a few weeks to half a year, you need to be properly trained. In this article, we guide you through the best practices to be efficient, concise, and caring.

Get to the point: build your training program so that it is understandable with clear and attainable objectives. You are the little boost that punctuates their studies or concludes them, you must guide them through the projects they will be involved in and explain the skills they will have to develop during their internship. It’s simple: be honest and transparent in your expectations.
A pro tip: find who, within your team, would be the most qualified to become mentors. The people you designate must be generous with their time, attentive and approachable. It’s exhilarating and a bit intimidating to step into the unknown, so make sure they fall into the right hands. If your top employee who is on every project puts his or her hand up, it may be tempting to say yes, but at the risk of repeating ourselves, these chosen people must be available and not have an already full schedule.

Do everything you can to create places and times that are conducive to exchange: organize learning workshops, teamwork sessions dedicated to collaboration that will stimulate creativity and build relationships between employees and interns. Don’t make an internship out of boring and uninteresting tasks and involve them in assignments that will have a real impact on the company and their journey. This will increase their commitment and learning.

If communication is not continuous with them, it is essential for their learning that statutory meetings are planned on a regular basis. You create safe spaces to gather feedback and assess their progress, and the meeting points are also the perfect time to discuss the issues they are facing.

Finally, ensure a positive and humane work environment conducive to learning and success. Encourage honest and open communication, mutual support and respect between interns and other team members. Cultivate an environment where ideas are welcomed and valued to foster innovation and personal and professional growth.

By following these best practices and adopting a candid and honest attitude, you will provide these young talents with a rewarding experience and contribute to their professional development. In addition to creating ambassadors for yourself at the end of the internship, you will have gained access to the next generation of talent, with a fresh perspective on your industry and your challenges.

Do you feel that your internship training is lacking a little guidance and magic? The beauty of working with us is that we are available to you for all your HR coaching needs, with our attentive and proactive approach, we get you the results you need to create the right learning environment for your summer interns!