In today’s competitive business environment, often it can be difficult for small businesses to get started. More often than not, they will need to hit the ground running to catch up with local competitors, and make a name for themselves in a very fast-paced market. Every little bit can help you get an edge on the competition, and one of the most valuable things that you can do is hire interns to boost your small business’ productivity.
Interns let you focus on running your business
One of the biggest ways in which interns can help better your business is by handling the minor tasks that would have otherwise required your attention and additional micromanagement. Sometimes your employees will need coffee or they will need additional filing done. Hiring an intern to handle the tasks that take away from the productivity of your more mindful employees can help you stay on task and focus on the goals at hand.
Additionally, internships offer a very interesting employment opportunity where you do not have to rely on an interview or references to see if a potential employee is available for your business. You will be able to see this employee in action under your company’s rules and regulations, and you will be able to make employment decisions based on their compatibility in the field. Internships have become an incredibly effective tool in finding future talent. Recent surveys have found that over twenty-five percent of all employers have hired half of their employees as interns.
While these internships can offer a very useful trial period for you to assess the potential that the intern has in joining your company, internship programs can also be an excellent screening process in helping you identify the qualities that are ideal in your potential employees. Internship programs are often extremely competitive, and only the best and the brightest will be chosen to work under your business. As such, you will often find only the brightest, most highly motivated, and best organized individuals applying to work for you under such an internship employment program.
Hiring interns boost your business reputation
In recent surveys employers have found that over sixty-four percent of business owners have found that their reputation as an employer very strongly affected their ability to find the most qualified candidates for employment. That is to say, the more prestigious your small business is, the more higher-qualified people will be interested in employment opportunities with you. One constantly overlooked thing, however, is that regularly hosting interns can actually build your company’s image as an excellent employer.
When you hire interns and provide for them a positive working experience with your company, they are more likely to spread the word to their friends and peers. This is especially valuable if they are students, as word of mouth marketing is free and invaluable when it can be spread to wider audiences. With today’s social networking technologies, more people will learn about your small business, which will in turn provide more business opportunities for you. Recruiting interns can help broaden your horizons, in terms of business and potential employment of other quality individuals.
Discover hidden gems
Perhaps the most important reason for hiring interns is that they usually have greater staying rates than other types of employees. During the internship phase, you have the opportunity to build a stronger rapport with the intern, and he or she will also have a better sense what work will be like with your company if they are interested in full-time employment. Choosing your intern for an employee at this point will be an informed decision on both of your parts and higher rates of successful cooperation can be expected in the future.
About the Author: Joshua Turner is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to business. In this article, he describes a few benefits of hiring interns and aims to encourage further study with a UC Masters in Curriculum and Instruction Online.
Photo credit: Andrew Hitchcock
