Why start an internship program at your business

Benefits of starting an internship program

• Find future employees - An internship program is a year-round recruiting tool. Implementing an intern program means you have an ongoing pipeline of future full-time employees. 
• Increase visibility on high schools and college campuses - Student interest in your program will grow and become competitive once the quality of your internship is established and well known.
• Test-drive the talent - Hiring someone as an intern is the most effective way to evaluate their potential as a full-time employee. Internships will help you to makes fewer hiring mistakes when it comes to full-time staffing.
• Increase productivity - Setting up a paid internship program allows you to take advantage of short-term support. The extra sets of hands increases employee productivity and gives employees an opportunity to get direct and meaningful support from another team member.
• Improve your employee-retention rate - According to the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers') 2017 survey, the retention rate for former interns was 19.3% higher than the retention rate for hires with no internship experience at the one-year mark. At the five-year mark, the retention rate for former interns was 16% higher than the retention rate for employees with no internship experience. Starting an internship program helps you both recruit and retain top talent long-term.
• Enhance perspective - Interns bring more to the table than just an extra set of hands. Especially in smaller organizations, new people bring novel perspectives, fresh ideas, and specialized strengths and skill sets. Include interns in brainstorming sessions to maximize this benefit.
• Affordable labor - Interns are an inexpensive resource. Their salaries are significantly lower than staff employees, and you aren't obligated to pay unemployment or a severance package should you not hire them full-time. Moreover, while their wage requirements are modest, they're among the most highly motivated members of the workforce.
• Give to the community - Creating an internship program is an excellent way to bolster the local economy and support economic growth.
• Support youth - Internships provide youth numerous perks: They gain experience, develop skills, make connections, strengthen their résumés, learn about a field, and assess their interests and abilities. Internships help to develop the workforce of the future!
• Apply the latest in techniques and technology - College students learn cutting-edge strategies, techniques, and technology in their field. Implementing an internship program gives you direct access to recent developments. As much as your interns will learn from you, you can also learn from them.
• Enhance your social media outreach - Young talent often comes with well-developed social networking skills and make great additions to the team in terms of applying those skills and expanding your social media presense. 
• Foster leadership skills in current employees - Mentoring and supervising interns provides excellent leadership opportunities for current employees. Mentoring and guiding others often motivates employees to hold themselves more accountable and become effective leaders. Adding interns to your company has the potential to enhance and multiply leadership.
• Diversify and strengthen office culture - Interns often bring enthusiasm, motivation, and positive energy. This work ethic and positivity can easily transfer to others, improving the overall culture of your company.

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