Summer intern feedback--from all sides

Summer intern programs are a great way to get quality work for a good bargain (see our post about the new DOL regulations on paying interns here). It's also an opportunity to hone your management skills, methods of providing constructive counseling, and test-driving some of your less experienced managers in roles of responsibility. Yes, for all intents and purposes, your summer intern program can be your managerial guinea pig.

When you're sending out calendar invites for the summer interns' exit interviews, don't forget to schedule a time with your own people about the experience. This an opportunity to improve the summer intern experience for the next class, and this is also an opportunity to develop, applaud and, perhaps, correct supervisory tendencies of your employees. You can also use the post-intern feedback to see if having an intern program is right for your company. Just like evaluations, one size does not fit all, and you don't have to do it because everyone else is.

Check out this article from Entrepreneur magazine for more discussion on slotting an intern in your organization.

Standards for interns? (Hold your jokes, please)

As the summer months are quickly approaching, companies are making final arrangements for those employees and interns who will grace the halls for the few months of summer breaks from high school, colleges and graduate schools. Some schools require students to complete internships, and those are commonly unpaid positions. Well, perhaps until now.

In case you haven't heard, the US Department of Labor issued a fact sheet on the standards it will apply in determining whether an intern must be paid. Probably the most difficult standard will be whether the employer "derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded."

Some may chuckle, thinking that your current employees can frequently impede operations. But seriously--when evaluating an internship program, many employers try to make the experience as "real life" as possible, meaning that the intern is involved in day-to-day operations and experiences as if he/she worked at the company. Fruits of those labors, then, could naturally be seen as advantages to the company.

If you have unpaid internships at your company, you would be well-served to review the fact sheet and discuss your specific program with your counsel.

Good luck, and happy hiring, er, internship-ing.