In this day and age, many companies are looking to do more with less. This often results in taking on non-salaried interns and volunteers to help out on a daily or weekly basis. Regardless of your management style, managing non-salaried team members like volunteers and interns is a different ball game. They are not there to gain a paycheck or a promotion, often they are giving their time to take on a learning role within the company and to gain work experience in their field of interest. This requires lot more of a hands on approach, as they are looking to you for guidance and support. Below are some best practices for managing volunteers and interns in the workplace.

Give Adequate Instruction

The key word overall when managing interns and volunteers is time. As a manager, it is important to map out your time during days you will be managing outside of your employees so that you are able to give your interns or volunteers adequate instruction on their projects. Keep in mind that many interns/volunteers do not have the same level of experience (or any at all) and will need more guidance than an experienced employee. Take time to properly explain their job and be sure you answer all of their questions before getting started. Also, keep in mind that they will likely have more questions once they get started. One way to keep from this being an all day training event is to delegate further questions to an employee. Give your intern or volunteer a “buddy”; one of your staff members that they can go to with questions when they get stuck or need help. If their “buddy” gets busy and cannot help them at the time, then have them refer back to you so they always feel like there is someone to go to when they need it.

Give Constructive Feedback

As we addressed earlier, many intern/volunteer roles are based around hands on learning and experience. One of the best ways to encourage a learning environment is to give constructive feedback. Interns and volunteers need to know what they are doing right, what they can improve on, and how they can get better. This will not only help them grow by adding tools to their belt, but encourage problem solving skills which will help them in future positions.

Give Proper Recognition

Interns and volunteers are giving their time to work uncompensated and should definitely be recognized either as a whole or individually for their successes. As a manager, it is important to be up to date on the company policies concerning non-salaried workers and proper recognition. For example, some companies do not allow monetary compensation of any kind to volunteers or interns. This means that even a small gift card as a thank you or a job well done can put you in a compromising position with your company. If this is a situation you find yourself in at your own company, there are plenty of other ways to show recognition without monetary prizes or gifts. For example, holding an awards ceremony giving out silly or specific awards to each intern/volunteer. Also, throwing a thank you party with cake and a card. Whatever way you think is best, find something within your policies that shows your appreciation and gives recognition for the time and effort they have put into the company.

Having volunteers or interns working in your office could take a huge weight off of your employees as they can help take some of the load off of your team. Giving ample time to give instruction, feedback and recognition while also being kind are a few of the main responsibilities on managing the group. Be sure that they are receiving just as much respect and attention as your salaried employees and in that, everybody wins.