It’s intern season! Let’s think critically about your internship program:

• Do your interns come away from the program polished, professional and employable?
• Do your interns absorb what they need to, organically?
• Do they need more training and development?
• Does your team have the capacity to deliver the quality of training that your interns deserve?
• Do you empower your interns to conceive of, develop and present original ideas to the wider team?

These are the central questions to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of internship programs, regardless of field or industry. The answers are almost always heavily predicated on the communication skills of each individual intern, along with their task-specific knowledge.

Internship programs are usually created to act as a training ground for potential future employees. For these programs to work, they need to function as a symbiotic relationship between interns and organizations. Companies must benefit by getting new ideas, perspectives and output from this part-time workforce. In return (along with payment and/or school credit), interns must learn, grow and become more employable.

LatimerNext coaches young professionals in intern programs, as well as management teams that run those programs. We have learned a lot from that unique position, and have carefully studied how to create the ideal symbiosis needed. This has led us to develop a solution that empowers interns with must-have professional skills, and that provides value to organizations by developing their talent pipeline.

Your company can already provide each intern with exceptional value in terms of real-world industry knowledge. But there is more to day-one professional preparedness than just industry knowledge.

Based on working with thousands of clients, our advice is for teams to stick to their strengths when running internship programs. Rather than sapping your team’s bandwidth attempting to prepare your interns fully for each vital workplace skill, consider outsourcing the keystone skill that is communication to LatimerNext. The time given back to your mangers is well worth the limited cost.

If business communication is vital to the success of your team, and necessary for any future hire, consider a LatimerNext intern development program. They are designed to get the best out of your interns today, make them desirable hires afterword, and to prepare them for long careers.