Is supervision important?
Due to the educational nature of an internship, it is imperative that interns are provided with strong supervision. An investment of time will be needed, especially on the front-end, to plan and implement necessary training. It is also recommended that the manager plan weekly meetings to stay up-to-date with the intern's progress.
Use care in identifying a staff member who "buys in" to the importance of utilizing interns, will provide constructive feedback, and manage the intern’s workload. The person should realize that the purpose of an internship is two-fold. Interns will provide some useful assistance for the organization while also gaining on-the-job training that will assist them with their future career search. The time and effort invested early in mentoring an intern can be more than fully gained back as the intern becomes increasingly self-reliant and productive.