ISE employer members share their advice on how to best measure the performance of interns.
Internships often act as a vital pipeline for permanent roles - according to ISE’s Student Recruitment Survey 54% of former interns go into graduate jobs - so it’s important that performance measurement is robust.
How to best measure the performance of interns became a hot topic on ISE’s Finance Sector WhatsApp group, so members were quick to get together to share current challenges as well as solutions.
The group included Amy Lawford at Bank of England, Anri Kimura Bushby at Bloomberg, Michael Nathan at Isio, Teodora Cowie at Norges Bank Investment Management, Claire Hill at PKF Francis Clark, Laura Anderson at HSBC and David Oram at BNP Paribas.
The discussion mainly centred around summer internships, lasting around 8-10 weeks. Experiences were rotational or fixed, with interns sometimes allocated to a particular team or project.
1. Set clear goals and expectations
It’s important to define specific, measurable objectives for the intern's role and to align tasks with learning outcomes that meet what the role and the company needs.
Both the intern and manager(s) should understand the goals, and expectations laid out right at the offset. Early communication ensures that interns understand how their performance will be measured and the key skills required as well as opportunities to feedback. This is also a great time to explain how good performance could lead to a full-time role.
2. Implement structured evaluation tools
Set out what success looks like with structured tools such as performance evaluation forms or scoring guides that include both quantitative (e.g. task completion rates) and qualitative (e.g. communication skills) measures.
A set of criteria used to assess and evaluate the quality of the interns work and performance is useful for all stakeholders.
3. Provide and encourage regular feedback
Schedule regular check-ins, such as weekly or biweekly, to understand what interns are doing. Encourage self-reflection - ask interns to reflect on their performance, challenges, and growth. This will help identify if they are falling behind and where any additional support may be required.
This is also an opportunity for you to feedback how they are getting on. Feedback should be constructive, setting out how they are progressing and areas for improvement. It will help you to put everything in place to give them the best opportunity to end on a high note.
4. Assess key competencies
Evaluate skills such as teamwork, initiative, adaptability, and professionalism. Monitor how well the intern applies academic knowledge to real-world tasks. This could include group projects, product pitches or a presentation to a senior staff member.
This is also a great time to assess how they might fit into your culture, their levels of commitment and if they have a real interest in the sector.
It’s importance to review competences annually so that they align with business needs and objectives. It can also be useful to place different weightings on different skills, for example you might give 5% to presenting and 10% to analysis.
5. Solicit feedback from all stakeholders
Try to avoid relying on one line manager for measuring performance. Gather input from all stakeholders to get a broad view of the intern’s contributions. This could include colleagues who work with the intern, a mentor, buddies, senior management or HR.
This approach helps you to cross check perspectives, particularly if one manager is particularly negative but the rest of the feedback is positive.
Manager checkpoint calls – getting managers together on a call at different touchpoints – can be helpful, so that they can share experiences and perspectives.
6. Talk the same language as the business
Evaluating the performance of each intern should be on a case-by-case basis, and a useful final question is around whether the person is ready for a promotion. But, the language used has to be meaningful.
One example included, rather than asking managers if the intern is ready for a graduate programme or if they’d recommend them, ask if they would hire them as a band x in their team.
7. Set key evaluation points
Try to have at least a couple of key evaluation points. These are typically mid-way and an end-of-internship review to summarise performance. Discuss accomplishments, learning outcomes, and areas for future growth.
This is where your structured evaluation tools come in. Keeping records of the intern’s work, achievements, and feedback sessions will support the key evaluation points and help with any reference letters.
Robust performance measurement helps to ensure that the best people possible transition to permanent roles and that everyone is measured fairly. It also means that once an intern steps off the programme, you really understand them, enabling the right development programme to be in place if they return as future graduates.