The ‘Summer internship planning’ season has begun! Symba and RippleMatch partnered to host a community workshop on the topic “Planning a Summer Internship That Maximizes ROI” to help program managers plan their internship programs better and faster!
So, how did this workshop measure up? What were the biggest takeaways?
If you weren’t able to attend, below we’ll cover 5 tips that were shared by workshop participants on what they are doing to increase their program ROI:
1. Set clear expectations for the review process:
Share objectives and key results (OKRs) with all interns from the start so they clearly know what is expected of them and what will lead to return offers.
2. Develop a ‘keep warm’ strategy:
Come up with a strategy to keep interns engaged between when they are given offers to when they start the job. You could host a ‘speaker series’ where newly converted new graduates talk about their experience with your company ranging from recruitment to conversion process.
3. Give interns the gift of exposure to leadership:
One way to expose interns to leadership is asking intern managers to invite senior leadership to interns’ final presentations. Interns could provide a brief 5-minute presentation (in-person for in-person internships or on Zoom/ other video-conferencing tools for virtual internships), focusing on their achievements or outcomes over the summer. Senior leadership should be encouraged to give feedback to the interns. One of the best lines a student can add to their resume is “Conducted a presentation on final project outcomes for senior company executives.”
4. Increase exposure to other lines of business:
One way to achieve this is by having interns participate in cross-functional projects apart from their designated projects. You could sort interns into smaller groups and give them the opportunity to work on a cross-functional challenge that they can solve along with interns from different departments.
5. Introduce interns to ERGs:
To show the company’s commitment to DEI, introduce interns to various Employee Resource Groups (ERG) within the company so they gain an understanding of what the ERGs are working on both internally and externally. Exposing interns to ERGs is a subtle way to let interns of diverse backgrounds know that the organization is supportive and inclusive.
That’s not it! We also shared a goody bag during the workshop that consisted of 3 super actionable resources for internship program managers and other talent leaders. Grab your goody bag now!
- Key Metrics Workbook: A workbook with sample surveys and spreadsheets you can use to track and measure key program metrics, including NPS scores, conversion rates, and more, based on 4 main program goals: exceptional experience, DEI, recruiting ROI and conversion to full-time, and brand awareness.
- Remote Internship Budget Template: This internship budget template will help you account for your remote internship program expenses (including hidden costs you may not have considered!).
- Remote Internship Checklist Template: A checklist for early talent leaders to identify gaps in program resources, get leadership buy-in, and ultimately run a successful remote internship program.
