Why paying interns
makes good business sense? No one wants to work
for free, yet it seems to be the only option for many young professionals seeking
a foothold on the career ladder. Unpaid internships are fast becoming the
necessary prerequisite to full-time employment.
Before setting up my own business, according to Heidy Rehman, I
had a long career in the most vilified industry going. Investment banking. It
has a terrible reputation but it pays its interns, and I pay mine. Many businesses don't.
It's perhaps not surprising given rising company costs, especially healthcare.
Economies need to be made elsewhere and so why wouldn't a company take
advantage of a free and widely available resource? Free interns are simply the
cheaper option but not the better one. There are downsides.
As with anything, if we
don't pay for it, we're more likely to waste it. This is why many companies
hire more interns than they need. These unpaid interns then end up spending a
lot of their time doing tasks that add no value, such as running errands or
making cups of coffee, simply to fill the time. The result is lower company
productivity that reduces the chance you'll identify potential talent. How
could you know what someone is good at if they're not given the opportunity to
demonstrate it?
This will also
frustrate the candidates who are looking to grab whatever valuable experience
they can for their future resume. There's a good chance of infighting if they
have to compete with other superfluous people, which is never good for team
morale.
If a company has to pay
interns, it will hire more selectively based on a proper job description.
Companies will only hire when they actually need to and will want to ensure
they get the right person. That individual would then be directed to spending
their time on jobs that add value and improve company performance, resulting in
a stronger team. Overall this seems like the more cost-effective solution.
In my experience, I've
found paid interns are more motivated. This makes sense. If they are paid and
given tasks that utilize their skills, they will feel valued and recognized.
They will have a vested interest in making the business work -- a genuinely
symbiotic relationship. A person who isn't paid for their work is less likely
to care and more likely to be resentful -- a situation that can be damaging for
any company.
On top of all this, and
what must not be overlooked, is that paying interns opens the door to all talent.
Unpaid internships are, by definition, economically self-selecting, which
disproportionately hurts ethnic minority applicants. Most candidates will carry
the burden of student debt without the generosity of wealthy parents or
patrons. To find paid work, they may be forced to look outside their chosen
profession. If they are talented this would be a loss to that industry. Paid
internships open the door to this talent.
What companies must
always keep in mind is the risk of negative publicity. As the world's largest
generation, the opinions of millennials matter.
This is a generation with a strong sense of social consciousness. They are
often referred to as conscious capitalists, which means that they are drawn to
businesses that serve the interests of all major stakeholders, including worker
and employees. Millennial have the power to punish a company if they consider
it to be transgressing on their values.
The irony to much of
this is that it is the large companies that can afford to pay that are the ones
that opt for free labor. Interns are more willing to accept their lot with
these companies for the sake of a resume; embellished with a distinguished
brand name. I have come across major fashion brands that practically run on the
labor of free interns.
After
the Harvey Weinstein allegations, Tom Hanks has called for a film and
television industry code of ethics. I would ask that this code be extended to
include all industries and all forms of exploitation. Let's embrace fair
working practices. Let's pay our interns. #DubemickyInspiringGreatnessDaily.
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