Build an Internship Program
Create high-quality internship experiences that work to create tangible business value.
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Contributors
- Cecilia Salazar, Talent Acquisition, Dell
- Gemma Jimenez, Talent Acquisition, Dell
- Laura Hansen-Kohls, Senior Manager, Info-Tech Research Group
- Derek Jaiko, Student Advisor, Cooperative Education, University of Waterloo
- Sarah Dawson, Team Coordinator and Career Counselor, Student Success Centre, Western University
- Craig Ingram, Associate Director & Career Advisor, Ivey School of Business
- Andrea Remark, Career Advisor, Ivey School of Business
- Stephanie Shrum, Career Advisor, Ivey School of Business
- Kyla Brooks, Career Advisor, Ivey School of Business
- Danielle Devries, Client Relations Associate, Ivey School of Business
- Helen Topor, Senior Vice President, Director of Human Resources, Salem Five Bank
- Brian Garside, IT Manager, Info-Tech Research Group
Your Challenge
- Internships are on the rise. Companies that face a shortage of skilled labor with key competencies use internships to build their employer brand and strengthen talent pipelines to high-value candidates. Meanwhile, prospective employees facing a difficult labor market covet internships as the means to gain work experience in a new field or industry.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- A high-quality internship experience is one that maximizes shared value. Firms maximize shared value when they create economic value for themselves in a way that creates social value.
- The tangible business value of internship programs all hinges on ensuring that the intern has a positive experience. Design the program carefully, align organizational goals and learning objectives, and supervise the intern effectively to ensure a positive outcome.
Impact and Result
- Get the project done quickly and carefully by focusing on goals and outcomes. Internship programs fail when organizations are not clear about the goals of the program or its learning outcomes, and when they fail to mentor and supervise interns effectively.
- A successful program does not need to be time-consuming so long as key elements are in place. Internships that work have a clearly defined work-plan, a diligent recruiting process, and an effective framework for intern supervision and mentoring.
1. Make the case to decide whether an internship program is right for your organization
Decide whether the program is right for your organization.
2. Design an internship work-plan
Build an internship work plan that identifies projects and responsibilities, learning outcomes, and work-relevant candidate skills.
3. Prepare and conduct interviews, and onboard interns effectively to integrate them into your team
Recruit and onboard interns that work for your organization.
4. Manage interns diligently to ensure the creation of shared value
Put in place an effective management process.
5. Transition effectively to assess the continued success of your program
Record lessons learned to improve the success of the program.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is a five call advisory process.
Call #1 - Make the case for the internship program
Make a concise case for the program. Understand how internships create shared value for businesses, interns, and communities. Assess whether you have the resources to support the program, and identify program goals and metrics.
Call #2 - Design an internship work plan
Identify potential projects, intern responsibilities, and learning experiences. Outline the learning outcomes that you expect the internship program to create, and identify relevant skills that internship candidates should exhibit.
Call #3 - Prepare and conduct interviews, and onboard interns effectively
Prepare a reliable recruitment process and job description, develop an onboarding plan, and prepare an onboarding survey.
Call #4 - Manage interns diligently to ensure the creation of shared value
Put in place a reasonable intern management plan that will improve your chances of success.
Call #5 - Transition effectively to assess the continued success of your program
Prepare an intern exit survey, and record lessons learned to improve the future success of the program.
Book Your Workshop
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Make the case
The Purpose
- The success of your internship program hinges on the shared value it creates for the business, the interns, and the community.
- Standardize and document Service Desk Supported Systems to better maintain the organization.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Go/no go decision.
- Business goals for the internship program.
- A clear and concise case for the program.
- Reduction of response and resolution times for recurring service requests.
- Creation of service request workflows.
Activities
Outputs
Establish program goals.
- A decision of whether the program is right for your organization.
Realize potential intern goals.
Establish success metrics.
Indicate program resources.
Module 2: Design an internship work-plan
The Purpose
- A good internship program will ensure the assignment of a wide variety of challenging programs and tasks.
Key Benefits Achieved
- An internship work-plan.
- Relevant skills for recruiting internship candidates.
- An analysis of compensation options.
Activities
Outputs
List potential projects.
Indicate intern responsibilities.
- An internship work plan that identifies projects and responsibilities, learning outcomes, and work-relevant candidate skills.
State learning experiences.
State learning outcomes.
Module 3: Prepare and conduct interviews, and onboard interns effectively to integrate them into your team
The Purpose
- Recruit interns in broadly the same way as regular employees to ensure the business value from the program.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Recruitment process and job description.
- Interview plan.
- Onboarding plan and survey.
Activities
Outputs
State work-related intern skills.
Realize specific intern goals.
Indicate learning outcomes.
Ask questions for onboarding survey.
- Recruitment and onboarding of interns that work for your organization.
Module 4: Manage interns diligently to ensure the creation of shared value
The Purpose
- Effective supervision and mentorship are the cornerstone of your internship program.
Key Benefits Achieved
- An intern management plan.
Activities
Outputs
Establish management plan.
- Establishment of an effective management process.
Module 5: Transition effectively to assess the continued success of your internship program
The Purpose
- Effective off-boarding begins with effective supervision during the second half of the internship.
Key Benefits Achieved
- An intern exit survey.
Activities
Outputs
Establish questions for the exit survey.
- Recorded lessons learned to improve the success of the program.
