Organizational growth and the retention of top talent are crucial for business success. One way to achieve that growth is to invest in current employees and promote from within the organization. Additionally, there is research to support that a higher rate of internal promotions is linked to higher retention rates. To retain employees promoted internally, they must feel confident that they have the skills needed to be successful in their new position. Consequently, implementing training programs to prepare employees for their roles within the organization becomes crucial as well.

When creating a training program, learning and development (L&D) professionals have numerous decisions to make regarding their overall L&D training strategy and selection of specific training program components. For example, the L&D professional may choose to base their philosophical training approach on a specific learning theory, decide to implement a particular instructional design model or combine various instructional design elements. In addition, the L&D professional may choose to utilize one of the many training evaluation methods, such as the Kirkpatrick Model.

Amid so many options, the L&D professional should mix and match training program components to build the training strategy that will best address their organization’s training needs. Sometimes that can be a trial-and-error process. If done thoughtfully, those components can be melded together to craft a training program that will help drive organizational growth.

Developing an Internship Training Program

BlueSprig’s learning and performance development department (LPD) designed, implemented and evaluated an internship training program crafted to help front-line technicians upskill to become certified and licensed world-class clinicians. They artfully combined several training program components, and it all started with one question: “Why?”

L&D professionals should clarify the rationale behind the program to understand its purpose. Ideally, the “why” can be linked to the organization’s mission and values, or at minimum to desired business outcomes. Once the purpose is understood, the path to “What?” and “How?” is more direct.

For BlueSprig, it was essential to understand the importance of the internship program and why it was critical to BlueSprig’s mission and values. BlueSprig needed an internship program that leveled the playing field for all interns, regardless of location or academic institution. It needed to be flexible and scalable across many service locations and types. The program needed to incorporate best practices based on L&D and industry-specific research. Finally, it needed to prepare interns for a clinical supervisor position upon successful completion of national certification. Ultimately, the purpose was to train world-class clinicians to change the world for children with autism.

To accomplish those goals, LPD ensured they fully understood the scope of the training needs by collaborating with other departments and stakeholders, conducting surveys with consumers of the program and hosting focus groups based on survey results. Then, they brainstormed as a team to thoughtfully draft a training that incorporated BlueSprig values and evidence-based learning practices. Once they had a draft, they went back to the consumers to obtain another round of feedback using the Delphi Method. BlueSprig’s LPD department used a roadmap to guide this process that has proved invaluable to all their training programs.

Implementation

After designing the program and confirming with stakeholders that the program was going to address the organization’s needs, the next step was implementation. From a project management perspective, there were critical components needed to successfully launch the program. First, those responsible for overseeing and implementing the program needed to be informed about the program.

To accomplish this, LPD held a series of webinars several weeks prior to the program launch, simply to describe the training program and to set clear expectations for the program’s implementation. This time was also utilized to generate excitement about the upcoming changes. The tools and resources developed were also provided to the consumers ahead of the program launch.

Second, an ongoing feedback loop must be established and maintained between the L&D team and the program consumers. Feedback was solicited during the early weeks of implementation to determine what improvements might be needed and to gain perspective from the “boots on the ground.” Using the organization’s learning management system (LMS), LPD was also able to provide feedback to consumers about the integrity with which they were implementing the program. For a successful program launch, it is critical to have both these project management steps organized efficiently to minimize confusion and to support change management.

Measuring Impact

Successful program launch, however, is only the beginning. Once a program is live, a major question bubbles to the surface: “Did it work?” To answer that question, the next step is to collect and analyze data from the program.

This is where an L&D team can discover what story their data tells.

BlueSprig’s LPD department collected data on key performance indicators (KPIs) from the outset of the program. Recall that the “why” for their program was to produce certified clinicians who were ready for a clinical supervisor position with BlueSprig after completing the internship program. Thus, they chose to measure: 1) the number of newly certified clinicians, 2) the number of interns offered a clinical supervisor position, 3) the first attempt pass rate on the board exam, and 4) program implementation consistency. These KPIs speak to the program’s ability to reliably produce excellent clinicians who can confidently and quickly assume a clinical supervisor role and begin changing the world for children with autism.

In 2021, BlueSprig’s internship program produced 49 newly certified clinicians; 82% of them passed the board exam on their first attempt. Of those newly certified clinicians, 42 were offered a clinical supervisor position with BlueSprig, representing 37% of the total new hires for this position. In 2022, LPD audited 37% of interns who progressed through at least one level of the program. Based on that program audit data, the core components of the internship program were implemented with, on average, 84% consistency. The data indicates that BlueSprig’s internship program is effectively and consistently addressing one of the organization’s major needs: organizational growth. It is doing so by investing in current employees and promoting them internally.

According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report, employees at companies that promote more internal candidates stay significantly longer than employees at companies with lower internal hiring rates. With retention rates always at the forefront of organizations’ minds, exploring internal internship programs is a worthwhile endeavor that can lead to both organizational growth and retention of top talent.

Summary

When creating an internal training program, ensure that the purpose is understood before the journey begins. Create a shared vision with your stakeholders and secure buy-in within the organization. Only when these steps have been completed should L&D professionals begin to thoughtfully design the program based on the why and the shared vision. Once the program is live, measure, analyze and decide if the program is living up to that shared vision. If it is not, make necessary changes, and remember to repeat the measurement-analysis-decision loop.