Managing your interns
Assign an internship coordinator: Ideally your company should have one person in charge of your internship program. This person will act as a mentor and will be in charge of coordinating interviews, providing work and space for the interns, providing an intern induction and monitoring their progress during the duration of their internship.
Outline your program: Ask yourself and other employees what you want to accomplish by hosting an intern. Create a simple mission statement, i.e "To provide interns with hands-on experience running and managing a business. Daily tasks will include brainstorming, necessary organisational and administrative tasks, social media, press releases, and marketing campaigns while taking their future interests into consideration".
Plan the role: Make a Job Description for your intern and list of the types of tasks that they will be responsible for. Each task delegated to an intern should be of assistance / benefit to the employer and a positive learning experience for the intern.
As an employer you must assume that most interns come into the workplace with little to no prior experience. Therefore, any filing, copying, phone answering, database sorting, cold calling, pitching, sitting in on meetings, typing up reports are all acceptable tasks for intern.
Try to keep the personal errands and coffee runs to a minimum. Interns are definitely a convenience in the office but try to assign them to tasks that are mutually beneficial. Having an outlined list of acceptable tasks will help make sure that all employees understand what they can and cannot ask of their interns.
Know your intern's goals & strengths: Ask your interns if they have any work-related knowledge of particular software programs / websites / social media networks, etc. Many interns have already incorporated different social media sites into their lives and can easily bring this knowledge and use it as an asset to your company. Many companies rely on interns to run their social media campaigns and profiles. It’s also important to know your intern's career plans and tailor their experience to suit their future plans.