Add Print Interns. Grow Print Revenue.

(This special post is based entirely on content shared by Gina Testa, President, Gina Testa Consulting, during this webinar: “7 Result-Generating Ideas You Can Implement Today.”)
Wherever you find your ideas for generating revenue, you need enough people to make them happen. For many organizations, that’s getting harder and harder to do. If you’re an in-plant manager or own a print business, here’s an idea: bring in some interns. Start with one, or bring in more if you’re ambitious.
Two-year junior college students, four-year institutional students and graduate students all seek ways to build their resumes, learn something new and get job experience. They’re looking for you, whether you’re in sales, marketing or operations. As interns, students get hands-on experience in the real world. What a fantastic chance to see actual print environments and get excited about a career. Good for you, and good for them.
You’d be amazed at how much they know already and how hard these millennials work. They’re technologically savvy, and bring creative energy, too. What’s also appealing about students are their flexible hours. They don’t have to work 9 to 5. They might be more available for evenings or weekends, and that gives you more options.

Check Local Schools for Print Intern Candidates

If there’s a print or graphics school nearby, you’re really in luck. A good resource for finding such schools is the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation. You’ll find lists of U.S. schools that have programs in graphic communications. Another suggestion is to investigate your own local colleges and universities. This is a good time of year to put out the word. Your employees might also have a son or daughter who would be interested in an internship.

How to Use Interns in Your Print Business

If you’ve got a bottleneck in your back office, maybe bring in an accounting intern. If your sales operations staff is lean, that’s another area to consider placing an intern. One printing company did something very clever. They brought in an intern who actually did research for sales calls and prepared background reports on particular prospects. That way the sales reps, whose time was more expensive, didn’t have to do that work themselves, and they were out in front of that client.

Feeder System for Print Industry Workers

Here’s what else an intern program does for your print business; it’s a feeder system for future employees. There’s not an industry around that doesn’t say one of their biggest issues is finding qualified employees. It’s not just graphic communications.
Interns give you a way to screen for potential employees. The internship is a trial run that lets you check them out in action. Anyone can fool anyone in a one-hour interview, but no one can sustain a false front for three or four months. You’ll find out what their work ethic is really like. They’re checking you out too, to see whether they like your company culture. Does your organization have a higher purpose? Can I fit in here?

Try More Ideas for Generating Revenue

If you do one thing to increase revenue, try bringing an intern on board. You can flexibly augment your staffing capabilities short-term. That might give you the added bandwidth and brainpower you need to tackle some of the other ideas in this on-demand webinar: “7 Result-Generating Ideas You Can Implement Today.”