A Complete Guide to Orienting Your New Interns

One of the easiest ways to ensure the success of your company’s internship program is to provide a solid and thorough orientation process. Studies have shown that companies who take the time to adequately orientate new interns at the beginning of an internship program often have greater success with productivity and effectiveness. Campus Wichita has experience creating valuable internship programs for students and has compiled a complete guide to orienting new interns. Learn more below! 

Create an Orientation Checklist

Intern orientations are ideal for introducing new interns to your business and familiarizing them with their expected daily tasks. Before onboarding officially begins, compile preparatory materials that will help guide your orientation, such as a checklist of what you wish to discuss during the first day of work. At Campus Wichita, we recommend incorporating the following topics into your new intern orientation meeting: 

• Review your organization’s mission statement. 
• Explain how your organization is structured and detail what each specific department does or how it operates within the overall company.
• Identify and explain any industry or company-specific jargon that will be helpful to know or understand throughout the duration of the internship. 
• Detail specific communication platforms interns will be expected to use. 

Outline Specific Orientation Goals

Internships are intended to provide meaningful contributions to your organization, and by establishing a good working relationship with interns from the beginning of the program, you can quickly put yourself one step closer to converting your interns into full-time employees at your organization. This is why it’s important to hold your orientation on your intern’s first day! Aside from discussing company history and introducing interns to their new team, it’s most important to outline the specific goals you have for your new interns. Some questions to consider when defining the intern’s responsibilities include the following: 

• What is the intern’s role?
• What projects will be assigned to them?
• What training will be necessary?
• What resources will be made available to them?
• Do other employees understand the intern’s role and duties?

Review All Organizational Policies

Before officially letting your interns loose to work on new projects, thoroughly review all organizational policies such as daily standards and procedures. This can include how interns should process requests, how often they will have access to their supervisor, which safety regulations they should abide by, what the acceptable work attire is, etc. Allow adequate time for interns to ask any follow-up questions they may have once you have reviewed all of the organizational policies. It’s best to get everything out in the open early to avoid miscommunications or misunderstandings later!

Make It Fun!

There’s no better way to orientate new interns than with a fun team-building activity! Show your organization’s fun side by planning an activity that allows everyone to get involved, such as a team scavenger hunt, a corporate survivor challenge, or a virtual reality game. Not only will this help everyone to better acquaint themselves with the current staff and build close relationships with long-term employees, but it’s a great way for your new interns to explore the fun and engaging parts of your city!

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