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Supervising and hiring an intern offers many advantages to both the intern and your organisation, provided that you take into account a number of conditions.
Are you considering offering an intern a place in your company? We can imagine that, because the benefits are many:
That probably sounds like music to your ears. But you know us. We write our blogs for good reason, we want to share knowledge!
So read on, because we have drawn up a step-by-step plan for anyone who is considering one or more to hire trainees.
It may seem very easy: such a motivated person in the house who pays you little or nothing. Make no mistake. An intern is entitled to good guidance. At a great internship, where new knowledge and skills can be gained. And that requires an investment in time, attention and therefore money.
Calculate that before you open an internship. If you do not do that, there is a good chance that the intern will drop out prematurely, or will score a big failure on the course. Of course, no one is waiting for that. Make sure you have a good internal internship supervisor who likes to teach someone the tricks of the trade and who can also set aside enough hours in the agenda. Involve the supervisor in the selection process as well, so you can be sure that there is a mutual click.
There are still some formal snags at an internship, which are worth investigating before you decide to embark on the internship path.
Do you want to offer space for a VMBO or MBO intern? Then you must comply with the conditions that are set for an approved training company. It is therefore necessary to go through a few extra steps before you can actually recruit and hire an intern.
Such recognition is not necessary for higher professional education or university students. However, this does not alter the fact that the course sets requirements for the content of the internship assignment and the accompanying guidance. So be well informed before making commitments to a candidate. Of course, a good intern often knows everything about it, but it doesn't hurt to also contact the university or school yourself.
It is also possible that, as an internship provider, you are entitled to a subsidy. Check whether this is the case in good time, and especially do that before you actually record things, to avoid fishing off the net.
Record the agreements with the intern in an internship agreement. You usually not only conclude it with the student, but the school or university is also a party to the contact. Is your intern under 16 years old? Then the parents must also sign. In any case, include the following parts in the agreement:
Of course, it all has to be legally correct, but it doesn't have to be higher mathematics. Not at all! Opt for clear readability, so that everyone really understands what is written and what is expected of all parties.
See your intern as a 'real' employee! An internship supervisor is not an employer; an intern is also not a staff. Indeed, you have a different relationship with each other. But that does not mean that an intern also has rights. To name a few:
Of course, apart from the legal frameworks, it just feels good to act as a pleasant, responsible employer. With the added advantage that, by arranging it neatly (or even more than that) now, you immediately give a boost to your employer branding.
Talk about a win-win situation!
Keep in mind that, as an internship provider, you are often the first real “workplace” for your intern. It is often a young newcomer to the labor market who still has a lot to learn about relationships of authority and fulfilling agreements. Sometimes even the coffee machine or printer still has secrets that need to be explained.
Therefore, make sure you have a permanent supervisor and a good induction program.
Don't take too big steps. Give your trainee enough space to learn. It is important to explicitly invite you to mainly ask questions, with the premise that stupid questions don't exist, but stupid answers do.
Also, check regularly whether your guidance is still sufficiently in line with the internship assignment. Do you doubt it and the intern can't figure it out himself? Then a little extra support and guidance wouldn't hurt. Then feel free to contact the contact person from the course together with the intern.
Of course, you can write down a lot in your notebook or a document on your laptop. But it can also be so much more convenient. There are many options: make use of a online platform where you can chat, keep track of developments and pop-ups appear when important deadlines approach. Feel free to ask us to think along with you! Take contact on for a free brainstorm.
