So you’ve decided to bring on some interns to help grow your business. You certainly aren’t alone—as much as 73% of businesses are bringing on interns, according to the SWOSU Blog. But are you treating your interns the right way?

It’s an important question. Interns can be great tools for your business—they probably have some schooling and knowledge of recent trends in your field, and they are eager to learn and impress. But, like most tools, if you aren’t using your interns correctly, they aren’t going to benefit you. Here’s the SuperInterns.com way to ensure you are giving your best to (and getting the best from) your interns!

TRAIN THEM

The first step to getting the most from your interns is training them. Not just with the basics of your office—show them EXACTLY what your expectations are and what all their duties will be. It’s important that your interns have a clear idea of what they will be doing. Not only that but make sure they know where to go if they have questions or need assistance.

TRUST THEM

After that initial learning period, it’s important to let your interns have the freedom to do the tasks you just taught them. If you’ve done a good job training them, they should be able to freely do their work without constant supervision. If they have questions or concerns they can come to you—but you brought them on to help you, not give you one more thing to do. Trust them to get that work done!

TRY THEM

Once your interns have proven what they are capable of, start giving them some real challenges. Assign them projects to work on independently. Ask their opinions in meetings. See what ideas they are coming up with as they work in the company. Push them to see what they are capable of doing when given a little creative control.

Do you have any other suggestions for treating your interns, or what really works to motivate them? We want to hear about it! Tell us in the comments.

Or visit our past articles on interns.

Written by Claire Coons