Simple steps for keeping your interns engaged

1. Getting the Best from
Your Interns
Simple steps for keeping your interns engaged
MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT www.meadpm.com

2. Plan ahead to
keep interns
fully engaged
2MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Create Context
 Establish Expectations
 Push Policy
 TripleTask
 Set the Schedule
 Monitor Milestones
 Express Gratitude
Relax!
If you didn’t have time to
plan ahead, there’s still
plenty of time to retrace
your steps and get your
intern engaged.

3. CreateContext
3MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
“I’m a millennial. I do my
best work when I know I
am making a meaningful
contribution.”
 Tell your intern how their
work fits into the big
picture
 Make it meaningful,
relevant, and fun
 Sometimes work isn’t fun.
In that case, bring in
doughnuts

4. Establish
Expectations
4MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Set performance standards
on Day 1
 Describe the quality and
quantity of work expected
 Offer one or two specific
examples of exceptional
performance
“Tell me what to aim for
and I will aim higher.”


5. Push Policy
5MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Communicate clearly about
policies for attendance,
attire, computer use and
social media use
 Explain consequences
 Enforce infractions
immediately – and gently
“Your work environment
is completely foreign to
me. I don’t want to make
any mistakes.”


6. TripleTask
6MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Provide tasking on Day 1
 Assign at least 2 short-term
tasks and 1 long-term,
background task that your
intern can work on between
short-term assignments
 Specify a written output for
each task
“Give me more than you
think I can handle. I need
to stay busy.”


7. Set the
Schedule
7MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Provide the deadline for
each task
 Explain how much daily
progress you expect to see
 Incorporate interim
deadlines for early drafts
7
“I need to know when I
should be asking
questions.”


8. Monitor
Milestones
8MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Check in periodically
 Review the work
 Provide course corrections
 Bring in doughnuts
“Krispy Kreme classics,
please!”


9. Express
Gratitude
9MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT
 Thank your intern at the
completion of each
milestone
 Offer guidance on areas for
improvement
 Provide a final evaluation or
written testimonial about
their performance
“I want to know that my
hard work is appreciated
and on target.”


10. Contact
Call Kristin Miriam Mead at (703) 508-1425
or email kmead@meadpm.com
MEAD | PROJECTMANAGEMENT www.meadpm.com
Could you use a little more structure in your approach to
performance management? Let’s talk.