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If you are still defining internship responsibilities as fetching coffee and making photocopies, it’s time to change that. As businesses go online, the way corporates work has changed drastically and the internships arena is following the trend as well.
With the convenience of technology, companies can now hire and manage interns without needing them to come to the office every day. A remote internship is an outstanding solution for business to make the most of an intern talent even when the academic sessions are in full swing.
There are many benefits of hiring remote interns for your company. One of the primary benefits is that interns are no longer called out for menial tasks and are engaged in specific projects thereby increasing the efficiency of both the company and the intern. A remote internship also allows the employers to evaluate the interns more effectively where the evaluation is based on what an intern can bring to the table versus his ability to follow the orders for clerical jobs.
Here are a few benefits of remote internships that are compelling companies to hire remote interns more than ever:
You Can Hire the Best Candidates From Anywhere in the World
Remote interns mean you do not have to settle down for anyone available in your vicinity. Instead, you can hire the best candidate regardless of his residing location. What is even better is that you can have interns working from different locations and even different countries working on the same team. A diverse team means diverse ideas which will result in a richer project environment and unconventional solutions.
It’s Easy to Manage Them
When interns work remotely, you do not need someone to manage them all the time. With the correct usage of organization software, one project manager will be able to oversee multiple interns. In the case of on-site interns, the training and orientation is usually done one-to-one and takes a lot of time. However, in the case of remote interns, you can schedule the training for all the interns at one time and can do that over a Skype call or a Zoom meeting.
Also, unlike on-site interns who walk into your office whenever they have a question, a remote intern usually collects all the doubts before sending them through an email. You can address the issue over the email or phone call without being interrupted again and again.
Interns are Accountable for Their Productivity
In the case of an on-site intern, the onus of their productivity often relies on your office, its infrastructure, the project manager, etc. However, when interns work remotely, they are accountable for what they are delivering. Because tasks are assigned digitally and there is a proper task management software used by the employer, it becomes the responsibility of the interns to handle their own schedules and finish the tasks on time.
Since there are no office breaks or no fixed working hours that they need to fulfill, the interns are more focused on completing the tasks so that they can do other things.
As an employer, it is your responsibility to set clear and practical deadlines and incentivize the interns when the goals are met.
Save on Resources
If you are a fast-growing startup, it can be challenging to have enough space for the current employees. In such cases, remote interns can be a great way to get the work going without making the office space too crowded. The remote interns do not use office space, office supplies, parking space, and even office computers thus helping you save a lot on resources.
Also, the money you are saving on resources by hiring remote interns can be used to scale up the hiring process and have maybe four interns instead of two.
Interns Can Work Round-the-year
Thanks to the innate flexibility of remote internship, a student can work on an internship even when the academic sessions are going on. A typical internship wants the intern to be present in the office from morning till evening, limiting the duration of internships only to summer and winter vacations. However, in a remote internship, the student can work around his schedule to manage both the college classes as well as the internships at one time. Which means, the remote internship can go around the year.
Remote internships are the new norm helping employers to reap the many rewards of internships without worrying about the academic sessions of the students. With proper management and a realistic deadline, productivity will be high. So, its time to upgrade yourself and enjoy the many benefits of hiring remote interns.