Managing a team of interns – Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
About the Author: Deepti Arora turned her entrepreneurial experience and personal belief in non-conventional therapies into a new venture, Healclinic, which provides healthcare solutions remotely through alternate therapies. She talks about her learnings from this journey.
Generally, when we talk about interns we picture young bubbly college students, but at Healclinic when we say interns, they can mean anybody ranging from a young college student to a middle-aged person who wants to learn a new skill or try her hand at working for the first time. We are a small setup and look at optimizing every resource that we have. Depending on the nature of the job, we have hired interns (some short term and some long term).
Why do we go for interns?
We love working with interns for a variety of reasons like:
• There are roles like content writing, graphic designing, and social media which require a specific skill set and have varying load factors for short periods.
• It is a win-win situation as we get resources within our budget and the students get to earn while studying in addition to developing practical skills.
• The interns are young and dynamic, bringing fresh perspective and energy in the environment.
• It’s a great way to test someone’s potential and skills who can then be converted into a full-time employee down the line.
We have had a good run with the interns with some good output. However, there are some downsides too which need to be solved in the long run like:
• Commitment issues, wherein a few have quit on a day’s notice.
• Some have to be micromanaged to ensure that output is as required.
• Recurring leaves without any notice.
Learnings:
Our ongoing experience with recruiting and working with interns has taught us quite a few lessons like –
• Attitude matters more than skills. Skills can be picked up but not the attitude.
• Setting expectations right in the beginning about the work expected from them and their responsibilities helps a lot.
• Continuous engagement at regular intervals ensures that things are in line. Don’t hire interns if there is nobody to supervise.
• As founders of a new company, we are like a mother who can’t see any fault with her baby. The interns bring a fresh perspective and challenge the way things have always been done.
Most importantly there is a lot of responsibility which is needed when you hire interns. They should be given projects which add value to the company and can help in sharpening your mentoring skills too. The onus is on us as a company to utilize their full potential and add value to them as individuals. When an intern leaves a company, she should feel that she has contributed and learned something which will help her in the future.
After all, an intern who has felt valued will always be your brand ambassador.
If you are looking to hire interns, please post your requirements here.
