Treat your intern right!

Chutchapol Youngwiriyakul (@Chutchapol) manages human resources at FMCG and is a consultant at People Matters Co.

Most third-year university students are required to do summer internships, but just what is it they do?

It depends who you ask. Some people say they do nothing, apart from maybe making coffee or photocopying. Others will tell you that interns can save a business more than Bt1 million in their few months on the job.

In the work I do, I can clearly see how important internships are for both the students and the companies.

For students, this is their chance to learn about working firsthand. This is where a high grade-point average is no guarantee of success, and they need to learn skills to survive - such as how to persuade busy people to do what they want.

Interns learn how to identify problems on their own, rather than being handed class assignments or questions for an exam.

And they get to decide whether this is the right kind of job for them when they graduate.

While interns are usually unpaid, some top companies pay handsomely, hoping they'll come back permanently after they finish school.

So it's mostly good for the students, but businesses often overlook the benefits.

Private firms have to decide whether it's worth their time and resources on interns who will only be there for a few months. Many firms merely assign the students tasks of no value - and in the end that's what the company gets: nothing!

But if they take internships seriously, invest in training and offer meaningful projects, they'll be surprised by the results.

First, the money they save on projects assigned to interns directly impacts their bottom line. These necessary tasks normally have no one to do them, so they're perfect for interns to focus on.

Second, the interns bring fresh perspective. The longer someone works for a company, the more likely it is they apply the same repetitive solutions to problems, with ever-reducing effectiveness.

But I've seen many "wow" ideas come from third-year students, from the way they look at problems and how they utilise technology to very creative proposals that actually work.

Third, this is an opportunity for managers to evaluate students as possible future employees. I treat entire internships as interview processes, as in "The Apprentice" (although I don't fire people every week like Donald Trump). Human-resources staff and the interns' coaches have time to assess performance, leadership and "culture fit", which is impossible during normal interviews.

Last but not least, if you handle them right, internships will strengthen your brand equity. Once they're finished their stint, your interns will spread the word among their friends, post it on Facebook and tweet about their experience and their boss.

Handled well, interns will become your company's ambassadors and bring you more talent. On the other hand, interns who do nothing but sit around for two months are apt to tell their friends on Facebook, "I'm bored. Nothing to do. Never think about coming back again. What a waste of my summer!"

Now you see why internships matter!