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Thinking of Hiring a Middle Tennessee Intern? Here’s What You Need to Know

Throughout Nashville, Cool Springs, Hendersonville and Murfreesboro, things are heating up.  Summer will be here in a flash – and you know what that means.  College students will be searching for summer internships to improve their job skills and establish vital employment connections.

If you’re considering hiring an intern, be sure you thoroughly understand the benefits and risks first.  This list of pros and cons can help you make the right choice:

Pros:

  • Get work done.  Interns provide additional manpower for short-term support.  Extra hands help increase productivity and free core employees to complete creative, strategic or other projects you may struggle to complete.
  • Gain brand ambassadors.  Interns will spread the word about your company to other potential job seekers.  If you have an impressive internship program, your interns will share their positive experiences with their circle of influence – which translates into free recruitment advertising for you.
  • Bring in fresh perspective.  New people bring with them novel perspectives, fresh ideas, specialized strengths and up-to-date skill sets.  You can use these to augment your direct workforce and help you uncover new solutions to company challenges.
  • Internship programs are year-round recruiting tools.  By continually bringing in new talent, you create an ongoing pipeline of potential employees.
  • Internships allow you to essentially “test-drive” a potential employee.  You can assess how he performs on the job, and how he fits into your corporate culture, before extending an offer for employment.

Cons:

  • Planning and properly administering an internship program is time-consuming.  If you do not have the resources to adequately orient and manage interns, your program will not wind up benefiting anyone.
  • Unpaid internships are not without their risks.  Recently, state and federal regulators have been debating whether or not unpaid internships are legal.  Notably, high-profile media outlets have been targeted by class-action lawsuits brought by interns who claim they are actually employees.  Claimants allege that by misclassifying workers as interns, employers denied them “the benefits that the law affords to employees, including unemployment, workers’ compensation insurance, Social Security contributions, and, most crucially, the right to earn a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.”

Not interested in the legal exposure associated with interns?  Temporary and contract employees are a great alternative.  They deliver all of the advantages listed above, without the risks.

If you want to increase productivity, free your workforce to focus on more strategic priorities, or bring fresh perspective to your organizational challenges, Wood Personnel’s temporary and contract staffing services for Middle Tennessee employers may be just what you need.  Contact us today to learn more.

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