This document outlines strategies for engaging with interns (EPs) after they return from their internship experience to leverage their experience and ensure they have a positive impression of the organization. It suggests forming a taskforce to collect case studies and feedback from EPs, providing certification to recognize their participation, and reintegrating EPs into the organization as members or alumni mentors. The goal is to properly close out the internship, make EPs promoters rather than detractors, and boost future internship numbers. However, it notes the strategies require being implemented smartly and selectively to avoid potential backfiring.
Ethical stalking by Mark Williams. UpliftLive 2024
Returned ep engagement plan
2. Better brand
image of the
organisation.
Proper closure
of the internship
experience of
the EP.
Getting more
raises and
matches !
Making the EP –
a promoter of
the internship.
3. We engage the EP with our local chapter once he returns. We close his
experience, take feedbacks, if he is a detractor we try to make him feel
better about the internship to ensure he is a passive or a promoter, not
only on NPS but in real terms i.e he does NOT bad brand us in the
market but actually refers our product to others.
The basic objective of the plan is to leverage out of the returned EPs as
much as we can not only because as an organisation we need to
service him but also because we can leverage a lot out of him.
4. REPM –
Returned EP
Meeting
REP Buddies
Case studies
distribution
Certification
RnR
Campaigns
Re-integration
(TMP/TLP or
AMs)
Proper
Feedback
Mechanism
Engagement in
delivery of next
cycle of EPs
Personal
Counselling
Sessions
5. You devote a team of 3-6 members (a taskforce, OC etc. depending on the number of
EPs you realized). They contact each EP, talk to them about their experience briefly
and send them a form which asks for material for impact reports and case studies and
ensure the filling of this form from their EPs.
The case studies that you make should be emailed back to all EPs (You can make
cover pictures maybe) and ask them to upload it on social media.
The case studies should briefly describe their experience and the post should have a
registration form link for the internship. This is a way of social media promotions.
Synergize with VP M, you can make a flickr account or an album on facebook which
have only case studies of various EPs. A link of this album can be sent to all your
prospective EPs to show how the experience of others has been.
6. Your EPs should be given physical copy of certificates.
Tell them that they will be certified only when they submit their impact reports case
studies and fill the NPS (tell them about NPS and get it filled by them to ensure a
better response rate)
A proper brand survey and feedback form must be sent to each EP asking in detail about
their experience. The EP buddies should ensure the filling of the form.
One common form can be made for the EP which asks for picture for case studies, impact
reports, and feedback questions.
For example : https://podio.com/webforms/5011689/391890
7. REPM – Once your major number of EPs return you should do a Returned Exchange
Participant Meeting where you deliver sessions in which they introspect their
experience and how it has impacted them. You help them relate to the fact that this
experience has helped them discover their true self and their aspirations in life. (You
can let us know if you want an agenda and sessions for such an EPM.)
The objective of a REPM is to close their experience and once it is done in the right
way you will somehow convince them that they had a good experience all over and
that it was worth it, which automatically makes them a promoter of the internship.
This REPM should ideally be done once they all submit their Case studies, impact
reports and fill NPS.
You can give them physical copy of certificates on this day by your LCP and ensure
that its jazzed up so that they feel the importance of it.
8. This is the most ideal scenario that you should have where atleast 80% of your EPs
are reintegrated as a member or an AM.
It is a synergy project with your VP TM where your job is to ensure that the EPs turn
up for the reintegration meeting and the VP TM allocates them the department they
should be working in.
If your VP TM feels that some EP is not fit to be recruited as a member then you
should consider them as an AM for your CUs.
You can create a ‘Delivery Support Group’ of AMs who can be made EP buddies of
the new raises that you have. This delivery support group will be a very good support
system for the new raises as they have the experience already. This step needs to be
very very cautious as if your EP buddy did not have a good experience then he might
be a bad influence on your new raise. So you need to have a very strong induction
and select only those EPs for this who had a good experience.
9. You can call your REPs who had a good experience on your EPMs for new EPs. This
can help in a lot of ways –
o When your raised/matched EPs will hear the experiences of returned EPs they will be
more excited for the internship.
o They can subtly do all the expectation settings with the EPs that you want to do.
o If your reintegration is done well you can also drive down IXP raises for the coming
cycle.
o They can help in CPS as they have experience of various countries.
o They can be EP mentors for those who are going to the country they went to. Example
– All your matches to Russia can be mentored by a Russia return EP.
10. These are a lot of strategies that you can use to keep
them engaged, brand yourself better and make them
promoters and at the same time leverage out of their
experience BUT you need to be very smart while doing
all of this and pick the strategies that suit your reality.
They have a potential to back fire and create a mess if
not used in the right way at the right place. Usage of
them can really help you boost raises as well as
delivery rate.