Here's how you can give effective feedback to interns for their professional growth.

Set Goals Setting clear goals helps interns stay focused during their internship. These goals should align with their learning objectives or research interests. Additionally, establish expectations and ground rules to provide a structured framework for their activities.

During the intern's first day, not only do we need to understand the intern's character and strengths/weaknesses, but it is also equally important for us, as a leader, to set short-term and long-term goals for them. This allows them to have a better understanding of the goals during the internship and it makes them easier to ask for assistance, when completing a certain goal.

When providing feedback to the interns, besides having a fixed feedback session with the interns, where we are only able to suggest the points of improvement for the week/month, we should also consider other feedback methods. One of the methods that works for my team would be a one-to-one session in a more casual setting, for both parties to comment on improvements.

When pointing out mistakes or points of improvement that can be avoided on their day-to-day tasks, we should describe how they can impact the team and how they can be avoided moving forward. Not only that, it would be good if the leaders can provide examples of their past mistakes and make it a 反面教材 (cautionary example).

Encourage Dialogue Feedback should be a two-way street. Encourage interns to provide feedback on tasks and other aspects of their experience. Regularly ask them to present their learning journey weekly or bi-weekly. This helps in understanding their progress and areas of interest. Offer specific feedback on their strengths and areas for improvement. Use a positive tone and choose your words wisely, remembering that we are guiding the leaders of tomorrow. :) In my experience, setting clear goals and fostering open dialogue are vital. One of my favorite practices is to have informal coffee chats with interns to discuss their progress and feedback. This relaxed setting often leads to more honest and productive conversations.

Speak practically. Highlight the area of improvement and deliver it clearly. However, it is important to provide guidance on how to practically solve the problem and deliver a better performance. Also, ask for recommendations from the intern/ employee. Once the issue is clearly and objectively specified, ask your intern to give suggestions on how to fix it, which will enhance their engagement and add value to their professional development.

"The Sandwich" approach can support delivering feedback effectively. We all have resistance, to a certain extent, towards negative feedback, yet we need it to improve our performance. To facilitate receiving that feedback, we can give a compliment about a good performance, deliver the requested corrective action, then end it with a positive comment. Accordingly, the intern will be able to understand what they are supposed to improve and without negative emotions.