Empower people
Part of what makes an internship program successful as a recruiting tool is to build the program in a way that provides each intern with a learning experience where they can feel challenged, heard and inspired.
Internship programs should empower employees to chart their own courses by identifying professional development opportunities for individual strengths and interests. Active career development makes a difference in employee morale and retention. In addition, encouraging interns to connect with a seasoned employee (other than their supervisor) to act as a mentor helps them proactively drive their own career development by seeking constructive feedback and resources to enrich their experience.
Create a culture that values all people
Companies should create a magnetic work culture that leads to exceptional employee morale and motivation to stay part of the team. For example, simply changing the workplace layout to be more collaborative can make an impact. By embedding senior staff with junior staff (sitting next to each other), this design removes physical barriers, which may help employees feel more comfortable sharing ideas to propel goals forward.
One former intern describes it this way: “You’re being productive, you feel like a member of the team and you’re doing stuff that matters and makes a difference,” says Todd VanHouten, who started his career at Vertafore as an intern in software development, progressed into a role where he uses his project management and communication skills as a Scrum Master.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is no set checklist for qualities of a strong internship, recruiting or professional development program. Successful companies accomplish this by fostering corporate cultures where ideas from people of all job levels are welcome and all members of the work community are treated with the same level of respect and responsibility. If you are looking to grow your interns into managers, remember to empower your interns and full-time employees with flexibility and ownership of their careers.
Colleen Heathman works for Vertafore, a leading provider of insurance software solutions, in its Okemos, Mich. office, where she serves as human resources director. She can be reached at cheathman@vertafore.com.