Why hiring a Intern right now makes 100% business sense
First of all, writing this seems absolutely insane because I am a Learning & Development professional who has found myself navigating redundancy because of Covid-19. However in this article I’m about to highlight some key benefits of hiring an Intern right now over a normal hire!
Adding Value
Throughout the past 21 years of my career I have worked with around a dozen Interns and it has never ceased to amaze me just how much value they bring to the business……most of the time!
An intern, often Gen Z or Millennial, by design has a curious nature about them, asking Why, How, Who in order to learn as much about what you do as possible. It is these questions that have always made me really consider the answers I give, and not just the answer but also the real reason you do something in business. In fact I found that while building a Learning & Development Training App with a business, that the Intern’s input and questions from a completely layman perspective was incredible in landscaping how we changed the build.
Loyalty & Success
Of course the role of an Intern isn’t just to challenge it is also to learn, and any good employer will have a robust plan before an Intern starts with them to ensure both parties get the best they possibly can out of their internship. Allowing your Intern/s to work on projects where they make decisions and feel the impact of their work is a joy enjoyed by all. I have seen this kind of ownership success in Hospitality, Retail, Cruise and Aviation.
And success goes much deeper than feeling good, I have seen some of the most successful people, in the industries I have worked in, work their way up from an internship. They developed into critically senior positions and their sense of loyalty to that business is unrivalled as a result.
So why hire Interns now?
Interns are not just cheap labour, but it’s true they do cost the business less and can be used across various functions/projects. An Intern will not be limited by just adding what their job role says they should, they really will think differently, and I can guarantee that the work effort they put into what they do will challenge the work ethic of your business.
A successful internship should often lead on to a permanent role, this person will have been exposed to various parts of your business and will take on a permanent role knowing exactly what they are letting themselves in for, this drives retention and the aforementioned loyalty too.
There are incredible, incredible Interns who are looking for placements right now and with a number of companies holding off on hiring means that the cream of the crop are available to you right now. Often the best people get snapped up by big corporations but today this isn’t the case and every single business can make use of an Intern in their business.
Taking Action
Having worked in the People business for many many years I have been in contact with so many awesome people who have been Interns. It was as a direct result of the current Coronavirus pandemic that Amelia Holford made contact with me through some of my posts about how life and business is changing.
Amelia has been doing some great things during this strange period and during our recent Zoom call Amelia and I talked about what we see being the future for business.
Amelia is now looking for an internship, ideally in the Human Resources sector and she is a prime example of someone who would add massive value to a business.
After meeting Amelia over Zoom, I suspect she won’t be available for long as her enthusiasm is more infectious than the virus!
If this article has made you consider the use of an Intern, let me know and get in touch with Amelia or Myself to talk some more.