Internship season is on the horizon, and if organizations want to
The leadership at employee recognition and engagement solutions providers O.C. Tanner came to that realization five years ago, which prompted them to make significant improvements to their internship program. While the effort was long and required
"In the past, we've had interns in every area of our company, and the leaders in those areas would be responsible for recruiting their interns and managing them," says Jackie Stinnett, VP of people and great work at O.C. Tanner. "Was it meeting our needs as far as the work the interns were doing? Yes. Was it a great experience for the interns? Probably not. So we decided to formalize the internship program."
Read more:
Now, the internship process for every department begins with Stinnett's HR and recruiting team, who help the leaders in each division
Data from analytics platform Gallup reports that over 300,000 interns are hired every year. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nearly 50% of employers said they plan to maintain their internships in 2025, and another 23% plan to increase their intern hiring, so it is critical to have programs in place that
"The purpose of an internship is to allow this new generation of the workforce to get an insight into what a professional job looks like, and to get not only practical education but practical experience," Stinnett says. "[Leaders] need to be thinking about how we can set interns up for success within our organizations."
To help leaders better understand how to build an internship program that is effective, Stinnett shared some insight as well as strategies and advice.
How has your new internship program impacted retention?
We have had interns walk out of the building saying, "If you ever have a full-time position, please call me." We have embedded them so much into our culture here, and I can't emphasize enough the opportunity they get to work on real life projects that matter. This is not just busy work that they do, this is work that moves the needle for our organization. For example, in our tech team, one of our interns was tasked with revamping a dashboard for recognition metrics, and it's something that's actually going to be rolled out to our clients here pretty soon.
Read more:
We treat our interns as employees in the sense that, as we're bringing them on, they get all of the same onboarding experience that our full-time employees get when they start with the company. That really helps to foster a connection between them and our organization and a connection to our purpose. As a result, we have about a 50% rate of interns that we actually bring on full time. If you can set these interns up for success in whatever careers they choose, with or without you, they might just choose to come back.
How do internship programs help close skill gaps?
Before the interns are even here, we're already thinking ahead. Practical skills are great if they already have them, but what we're really looking for are people who are inquisitive, creative and willing to think out of the box. Then once they get here, they can take those traits and use them to get more out of the practical skills they learn. For example, one of our legal interns last year was working specifically on reviewing and redlining contracts and got the opportunity to participate in contract negotiations with some of our clients. That was a real practical skill that they were learning from our general counsel, while also asking themselves how do I do it? What are the steps I should take? How do I get good at it? That experience gave them really valuable insights into the negotiation process that they will be able to take advantage of as they go on in their career. A formalized program takes the soft skills interns have and develops them into something they can take with them.
Why is recognition so important to an effective program?
Our purpose here is to help people thrive at work, and recognition is another part of that. We include our interns in our recognition program, just like any other employee. That means we are constantly making sure that leaders and other teammates are recognizing interns for their work. This isn't just "Wow, you did a good job!" This is appreciation for the time and the creativity they've put into it, and it's letting them know this is actually going to be something that we use. The recognition piece is a huge reason why interns leave here thinking this is where they want to be and it does create that loyalty. Even if they're not going to come back — maybe they have another year of school or maybe they have other opportunities — they're telling their friends and family about the experience they had here. That's really what we want. When our talent walks out of our doors, whether it be for the day, for the week or for good, we want them to be able to say that they worked somewhere they were cared for and where they were encouraged to learn and grow.
Read more:
What is your hope for the future of internships?
The biggest benefit of an internship program is growth and development of our future workforce. Unfortunately, I think when it's budget season, one of the first things to get cut in a department is an intern. That's the shift that I want to see. I hope that companies see the benefit of the fresh perspective that interns bring, and appreciate the opportunity to be part of that development. I hope internship programs everywhere not only grow, but become a vital part of the succession planning for both their own companies, but also for the future of business as a whole. The interns that we are growing and developing, if they don't come here, are going out into the world to do hopefully great work wherever they go because of what we've been able to help develop here with them, and that's what matters.
