One of the ways to effectively scout candidates for a job position is having an internship program, which is why companies provide internship programs. It’s a hassle to find people to do the job and only to find that they’re not cut out for the job.
However, internships can be a useful avenue to do a trial run on prospective talents without having to officially onboard an employee. Even so, you still need to pay your interns properly. Here are some of the reasons why you should compensate interns:
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1. Follow The Laws
Legally, you should really be compensating your interns. It’s part of the labor laws that interns must be financially compensated at least minimum wage. As Adam Smith says, there’s no such thing as free lunch. If your company wants the services of an intern, you need to pay them for it. So, avoid any violation of labor laws by paying salary to your interns.
On the other hand, if you can’t financially pay them, you can give them goods in exchange for their services. You can also provide a stipend for interns.
Essentially, don’t let your interns work for free. Give them something in exchange for what they contribute to your company. Otherwise, you might start facing lawsuits and litigation that’ll cost your company money.
2. Improve The Company’s Reputation
Financially compensating your interns will not only benefit your interns, but it’ll also benefit you as well. Giving what’s due to your interns says a lot about your company. Your company will be thought of as one that looks out for their employees–even their interns.
In addition to that, making sure that your interns are happy will build good rapport for the company. After this internship, your interns will be going back to their colleges then they’ll be talking about their experiences in the company. If you treat them right, feedback from your previous interns might sway more competent people to apply to your company. Your former interns can also sell your company to their friends, which also saves you from a lot of recruitment costs.
3. Investing in the Company’s Future
As mentioned, hiring interns will be a good opportunity for the company to explore individuals without officially hiring them. If they’re good at what they do, the company can decide to hire them full-time once they graduate.
Paying for these interns will be an investment in the long run. When it comes to good interns, they’ll have multiple offers when they graduate. Also, you won’t have to spend on training costs as the intern has already worked for your company. Additionally, in the mind of the intern, your company might be more favorable due to the financial compensation they received from your company.
4. Support Your Interns
Rather than having your interns distracted at work worrying about expenses, you’d prefer for them to focus on work more and be more productive. Another reason why you should compensate interns is to ease their worries, helping them focus on work.
In addition, financial compensation from the work they do can help you support your intern’s living expenses or even their student debt. It’ll help them a lot if you could help even just for a little bit.
Another kind of support coming from compensating your interns also affects the emotion and sense of belonging of your intern. Paying them right will make your interns feel like you want your interns to be part of your company and team. This will also help build your working relationship with them.
5. Attract and Retain Good Talent
By offering a stipend or a salary, your company can attract more competent and talented students who can become your employees someday. Students who are competent will be more attracted to companies that offer a salary or some kind of compensation for an internship. This shows them that the company shows and knows their value as student interns.
Furthermore, it can also open your company up to a bigger pool of talent. Students who can’t afford to work will still be given the opportunity to work for you. Financial capacity shouldn’t be a hindrance to good talents to be in your company. Don’t miss out on these kinds of talents by offering a good salary to your interns.
Providing compensation is a way of telling your interns that you’re committed and open to developing their talent. It’ll influence interns to continue working in the company after their internship. In turn, it’ll save your company a lot of resources and time going through resumes, interviews, and training someone entirely new.
6. Motivate Interns
Paying your interns will keep them happy. When interns are happy and excited to show up for work, they tend to be more effective and productive.
Naturally, people are motivated and pushed to do better when they’re incentivized. You can incentivize and motivate your interns by paying them well. Motivation can make a big difference on how your interns perform at work.
7. Increase Accountability
With compensation involved, you’ll be fostering a culture of increased accountability. One of the biggest barriers when it comes to interns is the lack of accountability. This is prevalent because interns will only be in the company for a few months, which can be frustrating for management.
To manage the expectations of interns, compensating them will make them feel more accountable for the things that they do in the company. Compensation will seem like a reward for good work. Moreover, paying your interns will influence them to show up for work every single day and be on time.
Conclusion
A company’s intern pool can be one of the biggest talent pools in a company. Even though it’s inexpensive, you should still find a balance between compensating interns and as it’ll have some perks for your company.
As mentioned, both the interns and the company will be advantageous in this kind of program. It’s all mutually beneficial by helping improve the company’s reputation and help to support your interns.
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