How 4 Companies Took Their 2020 Internships Virtual

I recently caught the replay of the webinar "Adapting Internships Into Extraordinary Virtual Experiences"* by the online platform degreed which generated great conversation among 4 directors of early career talent development from Citigroup, with 2,000 interns, represented by Jennifer Gabriele; PepsiCo, with 980 interns, represented by Byron Johnson; Ford, with 630 interns, represented by Lena Allison; and Mastercard, represented by Jawanda Staber.

Here some of the golden nuggets shared:

How did employers go about deciding whether to move their face to face internship program online?

1. Making safety and health #1 priority. For roles that usually require face to face interaction with customers (such as in the retail industry), what would be possible for interns to do online?

2. Do we have the technology to support this experience?

3. Would hiring managers be able to manage interns effectively?

4. How can we ensure that we provide a consistent positive internship experience for all? In an example, Citigroup decided to shorten its internship experience by several weeks to make it less stressful for interns, while still paying interns the full salary amount of a 10-week internship.

5. How can we create online opportunities for interns to engage and connect with one another? How can we enable interns maintaining their social connections?

6. How can we convey the company culture in an online environment?

7. What would be the ideal size of the intern cohort?

8. How would coaching happen in the online environment?

9. What learning experiences would we provide? How do we ensure that they are effective online? How would the interns learn about the business?

10. (At global companies) How is the pandemic impacting different parts of the world and, thus, how would it impact the internship program?

11. How would we ensure the use of confidential company information?

12. How will we evaluate intern performance?

What are these 4 companies doing to generate intern engagement? I loved learning about the engagement techniques these companies have implemented, including: creating Facebook groups, in which interns interact with one another, social challenges with prizes, virtual fairs to connect interns with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), with the opportunity to join ERGs for the summer, intern panels, interns buddy assignments, TikTok challenges (? Wow!).

* login required

What do you think? Does this provide inspiration for what you can do with your internship program? Share your thoughts below!

Since 2014, Carmen L Bonilla has been teaching Millennial and, most recently, Gen Z students on topics such as professional development skills, leadership soft skills including emotional intelligence, presentation skills, among others. Through her consulting company, she provides early career talent training to organizations.

Get in touch to explore how she can support your internship program this summer.

#internship #talent #development #leadership