How hiring interns can elevate your organisation’s growth?

In recent times, there has been a massive shift in the hiring norms of every organisation. One significant shift, supported by the Government of India, is the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, which encourages businesses to hire more and more interns. Hiring interns is a cost-effective solution which can improve your business’s retention rates and promote your business in a positive light. Moreover, planning and nurturing talent through internships can create a strong pipeline of skilled employees in the long run.

According to a survey conducted by the Internshala, internship opportunities posted on Internshala have increased by 200% in the past five years in India. Needless to say, this growth indicates that businesses have recognised the potential of interns and their role in enhancing business expansion. In fact, offering internships before extending a full-time job offer has become increasingly popular for any business as internships help to gain valuable support and invest in the success of an organisation. So, let’s explore how interns can supercharge the growth of your organisation.

1. Interns pave the way for new and refreshing perspectives

Interns bring unique and innovative ideas & solutions to the table. This generation of interns is tech savvy and adept with the advancing technologies and ever changing social media trends. They can help you create content, manage social media campaigns, and derive crucial data through market research. In some cases, their ideas can even generate new streams of revenue for your business. This can be particularly useful for startups and small businesses, where innovative thinking and resourcefulness are highly valued. This is why organisations of all scales be it MNCs, big brands, startups, SMEs, and even freelancers are keen on hiring interns. You can also leverage interns or freshers for your team growth and fresh perspective by posting a job or an internship on platforms like Internshala.

2. Enhance your recruitment strategy with cost-effective hiring solutions

If you look at the numbers, businesses save a total of $2 billion annually by hiring interns. (Source) This includes saving on hiring costs, bridging employment gaps, and reducing hiring time. Interns come with fresh minds and are eager to learn. With right mentoring, you can mould them in the standard practices followed at your organisation and as per the organisation culture.

Internships are also a great way for you to assess prospective individuals before making a full-time commitment. You may or may not offer a full-time position to the interns you hire based on their performance during the internship. This can be a powerful hiring strategy for you to build a talent pipeline for key job roles to drive your company’s growth in the future. One effective practice you can include in your intern hiring process is to anticipate future team requirements and their skill needs to integrate these skills into your internship programs to eliminate the need for expensive and frantic talent searches. This proactive strategy will allow you to develop a pool of individuals with the necessary skills, reducing reliance on external hires.

3. Interns can catalyse team productivity

Internships help to boost employee retention rates as interns are less likely to leave the organisation once they are absorbed as full-time employees based on their performance. Interns also help to enhance productivity as they can take on operational tasks which allow senior team members to handle more tactical and innovative work. It provides an excellent opportunity for senior employees to focus on more strategic tasks, leading to increased productivity.

Additionally, giving additional responsibilities to the interns, can help you nurture them to take on substantial roles in the future. In order to achieve this, you can design internship programs that provide valuable training and development opportunities for the interns to improve their skills and knowledge. You can also offer mentorship opportunities, implement training sessions, and organise networking events to unleash their full potential.

4. Internship opportunities establish a positive business reputation

Building a strong reputation for your business is a definitive marker of your company’s growth. Your customers are more likely to stay loyal to a brand with a positive image. This can be effortlessly achieved by establishing internship programs. When you provide internships, you demonstrate your commitment to talent development, which ultimately contributes to a positive brand image. Additionally, by running meaningful internship programmes, you can also turn the interns into your brands ambassadors who can boost word of mouth among their peers.

At Internshala as well, we have effectively leveraged the power of interns. In fact, majority of our business functions are being led by a team member who had once joined us as an intern and elevated to leadership roles.

5. Interns help to provide insights about the latest technology and tools

One of the major advantages of hiring interns is their ability to grasp new technologies and trends. Whether it is writing engaging content for Threads, creating short videos in the form of IG reels, or utilising X for topical tweets, they possess strong knowledge of the latest trends.

For instance - Let’s assume your graphic design team is accustomed to creating designs on Adobe Illustrator. They may be aware of other latest tools in the market like Figma, Inkscape, and Gimp but might not be using them until an intern starts to use them to deliver work more effectively. This is how interns can bring in technological change and become the leaders of tomorrow!