Why are some interns retained, others not?
Moses Ssesanga
What you need to know:
The management trainees join with almost zero experience and are then purposively developed and exposed in various operational areas of the organisation and, over time those who exhibit the required competencies would be appointed into management positions.
Some interns in my company are given opportunities to work while others are not retained even when they are good at what they do. What do companies base on to retain interns? Fred
Dear Fred,
Internship is meant to help students acquire practical skills and learn how people behave and relate to each other in workplaces.
When organisations are resourcing talent for future development, they will not look for experienced people. They will instead seek out potential talent whom they will develop and mould into career high-fliers. This is especially true when organisations are recruiting management trainees.
The management trainees join with almost zero experience and are then purposively developed and exposed in various operational areas of the organisation and, over time those who exhibit the required competencies would be appointed into management positions. When young people get an opportunity for internship, it is advisable for them to find answers and be able to articulate to others the following questions in addition to applying their theoretical knowledge: What is the reason for this orgnaisation’s existence, what were the founder’s dreams at its inception, how does the ogranisation make money/what is the source of funding for its programmes, what are the organisation’s future plans in the next 3-5 years, what are the major challenges this organisation is facing, what kind of culture and relationships exist in this organisation.
What makes a difference on what intern to retain is the one who understands and stands out in the following areas: those who think in terms of solutions to identified problem rather than focusing on problems themselves; always meet/exceed your deadlines and work on personally improving themselves; those who take feedback seriously and work on it; those who deliver outside of your job description or what’s assigned, that is, those who take on more than they have been allocated; those who thirst and keep on learning on everything going on in the organisation.
Moses Ssesanga
Head Human Resource
NMG - Uganda
[email protected]
