It’s no secret that attracting and retaining talent has been one of the greatest HR challenges in the pandemic and post-pandemic era. As organizations navigated the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and a complete reckoning in the age-old “business needs versus employee needs” tug-of-war, HR professionals who recognize the opportunities provided by a well-structured and meaningful internship program will guarantee themselves a strong pipeline of enthusiastic and motivated candidates for their current and future staffing needs.

Like so much in the past four years, the internship game has changed. The bar has been raised as our future employees have lived through one of the most challenging and complex eras in recent history. They have watched their parents struggle with pandemic work changes, job losses, social unrest, and skyrocketing inflation that has impacted nearly every facet of life. Students looking to begin their careers will come into the workforce with a strong desire to contribute in a meaningful way and get something meaningful out of the experience.

So, how can employers build a successful and strong internship program that meets the needs of the company and the needs of the student interns? Chartway Credit Union, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, set out to do just that in 2021. Chartway recognized the importance of internships in supporting one of its core values, Community… as well as the value a robust internship program could provide to the organization and its future goals.

Chartway set out to create an experience that allows interns to participate in completing meaningful work that builds their resume and supports departmental initiatives. As a part of this effort, they developed an onboarding program that includes the importance of the credit union movement, awards the ability to learn about financial literacy, provides additional opportunities for professional growth and development, and provides networking opportunities and social opportunities that connect the intern cohort.

As a part of the intern cohort, interns can utilize the opportunity to learn from the group, leveraging their knowledge of tools, resources, technology, their fresh perspective, ability to innovate, and diversity of thought. Chartway’s Learning & Development team provide interns & their leaders the tools & resources necessary to have an engaging experience.

Here are some of the ways Chartway set out to create the right experience for their interns:

Warm Welcome

• Welcome letter from the CEO
• Finals survival kit mailed the week of their finals, including snacks
• Phone call from manager
• New hire kits mailed to their homes or provided on first day – swag and logo items

Program Features

• weekly learning sessions that equip interns with professional skills
• team-building activities that foster connection to their intern peer group and drive engagement
• networking opportunities to ensure interns have the chance to build relationships with senior leaders and former interns
• shadowing opportunities for interns to learn more about specific areas of the business based on their interests and career aspirations

The program culminates with interns completing a Capstone Project Showcase, where they present their project, research, and recommendations to the senior leadership team. The goal is to ensure that interns thrive during their 10-week experience with Chartway as well as in their future careers.

Program schedule

Week 1: Orientation

Week 2: How to Rock your Internship

Week 3: Building a Powerful Personal Brand

Week 4: Financial Wellness

Week 5: Project Management

Week 6: Presentation Skills

Week 7: Resume Building & Interview Skills

Week 8: Capstone Project

Week 9: Capstone Presentation

Week 10: Let’s Celebrate!

At the conclusion of the program, Chartway’s Learning & Development team solicits feedback from Interns and their managers. Feedback has revealed the most impactful experience took place when there were opportunities for in-person connection and interaction. Interns articulated an ardent desire for shadowing opportunities early and often throughout the program. Interns valued structure and transparency throughout – from the interview process to the project timelines and expectations – they wanted to know what was expected of them and more importantly, how it would align with their career aspirations.

The success and impact of Chartway’s intern program was immediately clear. The credit union has subsequently adopted and implemented many of the projects completed by the intern cohort, including:

• Enhancements to company-wide suggestion program and Internal Q&A portals
• Improve/automate internal process for flagging and reporting fraud
• Revise call center phone scripts for improved member experience
• Creation of dashboards, scorecards, and forecasting to view analytics in several areas
• Reduction of manual data entry to allow more meaningful work
• Assist with developing credit union’s financial wellness program geared towards college students
• Strengthened the member survey program to get meaningful feedback from credit union members
• Various process improvements and added efficiencies in multiple departments

Implementing a strong internship program for your company takes thoughtful planning and intention. Today’s college students are looking for real-world experience that will prepare them to hit the ground running when they graduate from college. No longer will an intern simply be happy doing someone’s filing. College students are creative and well-equipped to contribute to any organization in a meaningful way. We just have to open the doors and provide the guardrails to help them succeed.

Do you have a program at your organization or in your SHRM chapter that you’d like to highlight on the HR Virginia Blog? Contact us!

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