Strategic Vision for the Next Generation of Talent – Where’s the COVID-19 Crystal Ball for Internships?

By Kathy A. Tuberville

Spring 2020.  Employers are anticipating great summer internship programs after developing creative engagement strategies with university and college partners.  Students are becoming more and more aware of the need to prepare sooner than ever for the lowest unemployment rate in US history.

Then….it happened as we all know.  Covid-19 with its far-reaching tentacles begin to impact all aspects of talent management, including summer internship programs.  In our regional area, this activity hit first with Spring 2020 interns.  In the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, we are pleased to report that many of our interns were given the opportunity to work remotely by numerous employers and we thank those employers for their insight and ability to do so. 

The question now is where do internship programs go from here?  We need to recognize that although we are in the midst of these changing times now, we have been here before.  In the financial crisis of 2008, internship programs were also growing when all hiring hit a sudden slowing in most industries.  The result of that sudden shift of reduced hiring left many employers with a highly impacted talent pipeline for developing preparation for the baby boomers upcoming retirement cycle.  Training, knowledge management, and program structure were all impacted and suddenly in 2011, we saw a tremendous increase in the employer-driven race to develop sustainable internship programs as a key component of talent acquisition strategies

What can we learn from 2008?  Overall, in the 3,000 plus interns and full-time job seekers we have helped to prepare in the past few years from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, our local business community has made tremendous progress in the development of strong and well-designed internship programs.  We thank the employers who have intentionally invested time in developing programs that are built to grow and succeed.  It is critical that we step back now and try to assess our next step carefully based on this important progress.

Critical Steps For Future Internship Programs             

Dr. Robert Shindell, CEO of Intern Bridge, a national research and internship consulting firm, encourages employers to pace decisions and think past the immediate circumstances. “Employers are going to see their organizations return to talent-driven scenarios for multiple reasons.  It is our recommendation at Intern Bridge that we seek to look past the immediate and see the solution as strategic for what new talent will still be needed, despite this current Covid-19 crisis”, Shindell states.

As you read this you may say, that’s easier stated than “done”.   While true, we are in an intentional strategy development period for all talent-related decisions. The important goal is not to panic in the short-term and keep a balanced and focused approach for the future.

What should internship program employers do in the current COVID 19 space?

First, identify your business strategy change for the next immediate period.  Realistically, what change will be occurring?  What is your level of expected talent shifts due to voluntary turnover such as retirement and promotions?  Will you still be seeking talent in the next 15-18 months?  What fallout exists because of furloughs and possible job restructuring?

Second, analyze your internship program growth.  Where were those intern hires most critical to talent gaps in the past year?  Will those gaps be changing significantly, or will they have a rough bump in the third and fourth quarters of this year?  If you can see where your internship conversions (an intern who became full-time) made a significant impact, think carefully before you significantly reduce your internship program scope.

Third, use this time to get creative.  It used to be said that “necessity is the mother of invention”.  In 2020, “Covid-19 is the mother of invention”.  While we anticipate some future shifts in how we work, we will still need strong talent to grow our organizations.  How can you maintain your connections to your internship talent sources without forfeiting your progress?   Look at a few strategies worth considering:

1. Which of your interns could effectively work remotely?  With additional re-structuring and proper tools, this strategy might be highly do-able.  More best practices are being developed to assist employers in this area and the college community is prepared to help employers in this transition.  Using remote strategies can help build a new pipeline of opportunities for internships outside your local area.
2. To ease some of the short-term pain consider shorter internship programs that still allow you to develop valuable talent.  Perhaps full-time summer or fall programs could be reformatted into 20-30-hour week programs or a shorter number of weeks.
3. Consider project-based internships.  These shorter internships allow you to see talent potential in a variety of roles, particularly technical roles.  These shorter internships have also been called “micro internships’, shorter in scope but still rich in experience and development for the student intern. This type project support can help where other areas have been reduced in staffing.
4. Review the potential of talent development programs that can “feed” your future programs.  Public accounting firms have mastered this concept well in the form of short-term initiatives such as leadership development programs.
5. Consider rotating interns among departments to expose interns to multiple departments.
6. Where possible, have departments “share” interns where functionality allows.  This strategy allows for fewer interns but continued exposure to your organization.

College interns are no doubt part of our future talent pipeline.  Before moving forward with a drastic reduction of program goals, first review (or create!) options that could help you transition into a viable short-term strategy that also has a long-term focus.  Your college community is here to help you—collaboration is key for future success.  Now more than ever, collective thinking and creative collaboration can help to develop strong internship programming results.