7 reasons why a good internship programme can help your business thrive

If you don’t yet offer internships, make it happen in 2023! If you do have an internship programme, make sure you’re taking full advantage of all its opportunities. In this article, we share 7 reasons why a good internship programme can contribute to the success of your organisation. We also give a few tips on how you can make your interns happy – and ensure your own success.

1. Interns are very motivated and ambitious

Interns are keen to make their mark on a company in the short time that they’re there. They are hungry for new experiences and eager to show their worth. Since this is probably their first real work experience, they have high levels of drive and motivation.

2. Interns offer a fresh perspective

Offering internships is a great way to welcome a breath of fresh air into your company. Since interns are still in school, they usually have freshly gained knowledge on the industry which gives them original ideas and an unbiased point of view on your business.

Tip: Encourage your interns to share their thoughts, let them know their perspective is wanted. It will give them confidence and a sense of responsibility, and you might gain some valuable and innovative insights!

3. Many hands make light work

Hiring interns is an excellent way to reduce your employees’ workload, especially during busier periods. Interns can take some lighter administrative duties off their hands, but make sure you don’t stick them with all the grunt work. With the right mentoring and supervision, interns can take on more serious tasks as well – and you should let them!

Tip: Give your interns the opportunity to really contribute to your business. Consider assigning them their own project that they can manage from start to finish. This way they will learn more, and have a better feeling about you as an employer!

4. Offer mentorship opportunities to your employees

Every intern needs a mentor. Someone experienced with lots of knowledge to share. Teaching youngsters new to the job and helping them develop their career can motivate employees and reinvigorate their passion for the job. As an added bonus, it gives you a good insight into your employees’ leadership abilities, which is valuable information when the time comes to promote somebody.

Tip: Good mentoring is the key to a successful internship. If you hire an intern through Exellys, we can support you with training and coaching of these interns.

5. Today’s intern can be tomorrow’s starter (and a future leader)

An internship can be a great opportunity to train a future employee. Think of the internship as a trial period that allows you to get to know new talent, train them and make them familiar with your organisation. When they have a positive experience, they might want to work for you after they graduate, which means you’ll get a starter who can hit the ground running. They already knows the business and the team, and you know you can trust them.

Tip: Exellys interns can come work for you as Exellys consultants after the internship. This means they will benefit from additional training and coaching for the first two years of their careers, after which they can become expertly trained internal employees at your company.

6. Raise your social visibility among job seekers

When an intern has a positive experience at your company, there’s a good chance they will talk about it to friends and family. And as we all know, word of mouth is a powerful way of promoting your business and raising public awareness about your company.

Tip: Offering an internship programme can also help you establish connections with colleges and universities, helping you build a steady pipeline of young and qualified talent that can make their way to your organisation.

In summary, there are only upsides to hiring interns. Provided that you put in the effort to make the experience enjoyable and interesting for them, of course. Interns can help carry the workload, are cost-effective, offer fresh perspectives and are informed about the latest information and trends in the field. With the right mentoring they can become entry-level hires upon their graduation, and maybe even the future leaders of your company!

7. Interns are financially beneficial

There are many different types of internships, but no matter how you look at it, interns are always cheaper than employees. Especially in economically challenging times, this cost-effectiveness is a big advantage for SME’s and large companies to hire an intern (or a few)!

About Exellys

Exellys is a Tech Talent Incubator. We bring tech talent into the daily operations of the organisation of our customers and grow them for the innovations of tomorrow.

From the 1.500 tech talents we speak to annually, we select the top 7%. We intensively train and coach them on the right skills and competences. Our (scientifically based) training programs (Start Smart, Grow Smart & Lead Smart) accelerate the growth of our talents, and therefore also the growth of our customers.

We “unburden” our clients when looking for and retaining tech talent. We are committed to getting the best out of talent, while our customers can continue to focus on their core business.

We do this for organisations who want to strengthen their team permanently, as well as those who are looking for a flexible, project-driven solution. Get in touch with us today and find out how we can help.