Interns get very nervous on their first day at work and it is understandable but making them comfortable by setting up processes to make them feel welcome is vital. Most interns are usually still in college and the internship is part of their course units, so they are only temporary staff for some months or a year. At the end of their internship, you may have identified some of them who are smart and diligent that you would want to retain. Creating a warm environment for your interns tells a lot to them about how you value your staff equally and this could make them want to come back in the future. What are some of the ways to create a warm and welcoming environment for your interns?
Formally introduce interns to the team
Imagine coming to an office the first time and you are given a seat but don’t know anyone. It could be very disconcerting especially if you are the only intern that started on that day. If the interns are more than one, they could start some bonding discussions amongst themselves because they know they are all in the same class of ignorance as per the company’s way of life. It is important to always introduce your new interns to all staff. It shouldn’t be left to them to do this. The introduction should cover some basics like:
- Names of all the members of staff and what they do
- The different teams within the company and which teams they will be joining
- Who they need to go to when they need something like office supplies or tech supports
- Where the bathroom is located
If the intern is working remotely, this formal introduction can be done via a video call.
Creating guidelines for your new interns
There is nothing as important as penning down a source of direction for your interns. They are in a new environment and just like in college, they will want to know what they should be doing and how to behave in their new surroundings. As a company, it is essential to create guidelines for your interns so that everyone knows about the rules of the company. Things like resumption time, break time, the process of communicating a future absence from work, work habits, desk orderliness, email etiquettes, and the like are some of the points to be fleshed up in such a guideline.
All these will explain to the intern what the employer wants from them and what the employer can offer them. The company can create these guidelines as a permanent template or file and they can be shared with any intern that joins the company. Guidelines and rules of a company could be large files depending on how it is drafted. To be able to share those files with your interns easily, you can zip it up to compress it and make the transfer faster. For the interns to have access to the contents of such files, they can unzip files after downloading them.
Consider including them in learning and development opportunities
Interns will feel more welcomed when you create an aura of inclusiveness around them. They know they are temporary staff and so do not expect too much in terms of what the company offers its permanent staff. The company can erase such thoughts by making them undertake some activities that are for the permanent staff. You can enroll them in the learning and development courses for the organization especially if you hope to retain such staff in the future. When you make the interns forget that they are temporary staff, they tend to feel more relaxed and have more sense of responsibility towards their roles in the office.
Do regular check-ins with your interns
Some organizations totally forget their interns after their introduction on the first day until when they are rounding up their internship. The intern might feel welcomed on that first day of introduction but start feeling secluded afterward. They may have had challenges but because they don’t feel comfortable with the silence around them, they decide not to seek solutions to such issues. As a manager, it is important to do regular check-ins with your interns to know how they are doing and what their challenges are. You have to remember that you may need their services full-time in the future.
Allow them to do presentations in meetings
Sometimes, you get to know the skills of your interns that may be in high demand when they graduate from college by giving them the opportunity to take on some permanent staff duties. You can include interns in your regular video calls especially if they are working remotely. Tell them sometimes to champion such meetings. They don’t always have to be taking minutes. They can lead meetings and from there you can notice a thing or two about their leadership qualities.
Whether you are retaining an intern or not, it is necessary to always make them have a warm welcome and a conducive environment to work. You need to know that they could give their reviews about your company on some online platforms and that could go a long way in informing prospective candidates about your company. When your interns feel welcome and enjoy the freedom with other permanent staff, they will be more relaxed and of course more productive.
