Here's a question we received from an HR professional:

Q. Hi, I have read a lot about how and what interns need to do during their internship, but I would like to know more about what a company should do to ensure the internship is a beneficial and rewarding experience for itself too in the process. – Selma K.

A. Hi Selma, very interesting question indeed. Also considering that the internship season is upon us, this question is a relevant one to ponder over.

Having an internship program holds many benefits for the employer. Here are a few:

- Hiring interns is a great way to infuse new talent and fresh perspectives into your company. If done right, interns can help your business discover new insights into old-standing problems.

- By promoting your internship program at university career fairs you are also reaching out, and marketing your company to a future generation of consumers.

- Companies can enhance their image within the community as a supporter for fresh talent.

- An internship program is a great way to find your next star employee in the talent pool.

- Hiring interns is a good solution to overcome the HR needs for seasonal or one-time projects.

Having said that, it is also important to make sure that your internship program is not uninteresting, or worse– exploitative. Based on what students are looking for from an internship, here are some ‘shoulds’ your company should follow so that your internship program is a mutually beneficial experience:

1. Have a planned agenda for the duration of the internship. There is nothing worse than spending three months of internship on something mundane, like labelling envelopes. If an intern has agreed to join your organization, make sure they gain valuable skills from this experience (especially if your internship is unpaid). The top agenda for interns in the region is to develop and learn new skills, according to the Bayt.com ‘Internships in the MENA Region’ poll. Prepare a ‘learning agenda’ for the intern. A good idea would be to rotate the intern on different tasks – for example, researching leads with sales team, brainstorming on new campaigns with marketing team, helping the HR team filter CVs etc. This will allow the intern to identify where their interest lie, and benefit your departments with an extra set of hands (and brains).

2. Assign a mentor. The intern should be mentored by a professional from the organization who will guide him/her with their tasks, and explain how things function in the company. The mentor can help answer their questions and introduce the intern to others in the organization. Although our poll data indicates that a majority of professionals were mentored during their internship, about 44.6% professionals say they received either no help from their mentor, or worked under little or no supervision.

3. Make sure the intern reaches his/her specific academic goals. Many educational institutes have a mandatory internship requirement for their programs. In this case the educational institute would specify what the internship should include, especially if the student will be awarded credits at the end of it. A company has to make sure that these requirements are adhered to and built into the educational agenda. About 77% professionals in the region say they found their internship exp... to their future endeavours and extremely challenging, compared to 23% who found their internship irrelevant and unchallenging.

4. Make clear of your intentions. Hiring interns (paid or unpaid) should be no different from getting a full-time employee onboard. Draw out an offer letter that specifies the different aspects of the internship – such as is it paid or unpaid, the work timings, the duration (3 to 6 months), job duties, etc. Depending on the jurisdiction, you may also need a temporary work permit. Prolonging an internship indefinitely is not a good idea and should be avoided.

These guiding points should hopefully help you draw up a successful internship program for your organization.

Does your company have an internship program? Do you have any success stories or challenges to share? Let us know in the comments below.