Question: Name your best tip for training summer interns as seamlessly and quickly as possible.
Question: Name your best tip for training summer interns as seamlessly and quickly as possible.
Plan Ahead
"Have a plan and lay it out clearly before they begin. Copying interns on emails prior to their start date has proven to be helpful. Also, ensure they have someone to shadow so they can hit the ground running. "
@KickAshMady
Make Everything Transparent
"Provide interns with complete transparency on company initiatives, even if it doesn't relate to their job spec or day to day tasks. I've found companies hold back on what they share with interns. But if you provide the same level of transparency you provide employees, interns tend to learn quicker, feel more tied into the organization and empowered to work harder on their projects."
@azfayad
Automate Training With a Wiki
"Use an internal wiki program such as confluence to put all of your training in one easily accessible place online. Our training is a mix of step-by-step documents and videos so that new interns can go through the materials and train themselves. The live training time is devoted to Q&A instead of walking through the same tasks over and over again. "
@lkr
Know Their Previous Experience
"Just like any other form of learning, training is most effective when you know your audience. Discussing an intern’s topical experience in advance will help allocate your training time and resources while avoiding redundancy and poor assumptions. "
@SpiralStair
Throw Them Into Customer Service
"Everyone at Modify, from our CMO on down, started in customer service. While we share a lot of onboarding material, the quickest way to get someone to learn what we're all about is to get them working directly with customers. They learn our systems, our product line and what it takes to turn customers into fans."
@MosesOfWatches
Keep Them in the Loop
"Rather than just assigning tasks, make sure your team takes the time to explain the larger picture (even when they might not be there to see the full project through). By doing so, they will gain a better understanding of the business and will be better suited to contribute the the company in more substantial ways. "
@oisinhanrahan
Have Them Shadow an Employee
"Have them shadow a person that does a job similar to what they will be doing. It will give the intern a chance to take notes and ask questions about what they are expected to do. It will also help them to establish a relationship with someone within the company that they can go to in the future with questions."
@PhilLaboon
