Good People Are in Short Supply

The war for talent is real.  It is global.  It is getting progressively worse each year.

One issue is highly skilled, experienced workers are retiring in large numbers as they age.

The other issue is, quite frankly, most companies talk about their culture more than they actually invest in it.

So great people who could join your organization, are more inspired to consider other companies where they get more individual attention, growth opportunities, and can work better on teams.

The prediction that older workers will retire in great numbers may seriously impact your organization more than you realize.

Their departure hits you on the top end as senior, highly skilled, and knowledgeable people leave your company.

It also affects your hiring because finding people to make a similar impact can be challenging.

Plus, their retirement hits you in the middle as skilled mentors and intellectual property gurus are no longer available to develop less experienced people.

The Benefits of Interns

Internships are an ideal way to "test drive" young potential employees doing real work for your organization.

The students gain because they work in career-related positions for experience and skill development.

Employers win because they get to try out top-notch talent temporarily and then pursue a longer-term relationship based on results.

In brief, there are 5 key benefits that interns bring your organization:

1. Test Drive:  You can hire very bright, apparently results-oriented students yet still fail to hire a long-term employee.  Internships during the summer, other school breaks and/or during the school year give both the student and company opportunities to experience each other prior to making a long-term commitment.

2. Entry-Level Assistance:  Interns want to work on real projects yet lack the skills and experience with your products/services to take on full responsibilities.  Therefore, allow interns to contribute through small, important projects that should not be done by billable resources.  Structure their work as clear, measurable goals with specific milestones to confirm progress.  You get stuff done while the intern experiences meaningful work.

3. Candidate Pipeline:  An internship program is one of the most effective tools you can use to fully develop a pipeline of top college graduates to join your company.  Rather than just identifying potential talent, internships give employers a chance to see students in action on real projects so you can judge their true capabilities.

4. Networking Power: Interns that have a positive experience working for your company become evangelists for your organization on their college campus.  Enthusiastic interns promote your company to students, family, friends, other people they meet, and anyone else who is willing to hear about their future plans.

5. Hiring Plan:  Good interns work for your organization one or two summers, return to school in between, and then if you offer them a full-time position can start as an employee after earning their degree.

Identifying top talent that is serving interns enables you to better plan how you are going to meet your long-term staffing needs.  People who have performed well as interns become billable resources more quickly when they become full-time employees.

Does your organization have an internship program?

Visit www.hirethebest.co to learn more about why you must have an internship program.

This blog was originally posted on Hire the Best on 6/11/24.