Business Education

Summmer Interns Tanking Your Team?

Here are the Secret Fixes You Need to Know!

Summer interns can bring fresh energy to your team, but what happens when they fall short of expectations? From lackluster performance to disengagement, managing underperforming interns is a challenge many leaders unexpectedly face. It’s a nightmare scenario no business owner wants to deal with, but one that can erupt into an ever-expanding problem. So, read on to learn more about how to deal with such a situation.

Managing Summer Interns Who Just Don’t Work Out

Summer internships can be a great opportunity for small business owners to bring new vigor into their workplace while offering students valuable experience. However, not every intern turns out to be a perfect fit.

Some struggle with responsibilities, others lack motivation, and a few may disrupt workflow rather than enhance it. When an intern isn’t working out, small business owners must balance professionalism, mentorship, and business efficiency. Here’s how to handle the situation effectively.

1. Identify the Core Issue

Before making any decisions, assess why the intern isn’t meeting expectations. Common issues include:

Lack of skills or experience. They may not be equipped for the assigned tasks.
Low motivation or engagement. They don’t seem interested or invested in learning.
Poor attitude or professionalism. Consistently late, unresponsive, or disruptive behavior.
Misalignment with business needs. Their strengths don’t match what the business requires.

Understanding the root cause helps determine the best course of action—whether training, adjusting expectations, or letting them go.

2. Provide Clear Feedback & Expectations

Interns, especially those in their first workplace experience, might not realize they aren’t performing well unless you tell them. The key is direct but constructive feedback:

Schedule a private conversation. Avoid embarrassing the intern publicly.
Be specific about concerns. Instead of saying, “You need to do better,” explain the exact problem (e.g., “Your reports are missing key details that affect our client presentations.”).
Offer solutions. Provide guidance on how they can improve. If an intern struggles with time management, suggest better planning techniques.
Set expectations for improvement. Establish a timeline for progress, giving them a fair chance to adjust.

Interns should leave these conversations knowing exactly what needs to change.

3. Adjust Responsibilities If Necessary

Sometimes, an intern isn’t outright failing but is simply struggling with tasks that don’t match their strengths. Instead of removing them entirely, adjust their role:

If they struggle with independent work, assign them team-based projects.
If they lack technical skills for a task, give simpler responsibilities.
If they’re better at research than client-facing interactions, shift them accordingly.

Adapting the intern’s responsibilities can turn a difficult situation into a productive one.

4. Know When to Part Ways

Despite best efforts, some interns won’t meet expectations, and keeping them may do more harm than good. When it’s clear they aren’t a fit, let them go professionally:

Have a respectful conversation. Avoid making them feel personally attacked. Instead, frame it as a misalignment rather than a failure.
Be clear about the reasons. If they’re not meeting expectations despite guidance, explain why the internship is ending early.
Provide constructive feedback. Help them understand how they can improve for future opportunities.

Interns should leave knowing it was a professional decision, not a personal judgment.

5. Learn from the Experience & Improve Future Hiring

If an intern didn’t work out, reflect on whether the selection or onboarding process could have been better:

Did the job description set clear expectations? Ensure future postings specify required skills and responsibilities.
Were interviews thorough enough? Consider refining the questions to assess work ethic, motivation, and strengths.
Could onboarding be improved? A stronger orientation process might prevent confusion and misalignment.

Using the experience to refine intern hiring practices can minimize future mismatches.

Final Thoughts

Not every intern will be a perfect fit, and that’s okay. The key is early identification, clear feedback, and decisive action. Whether you guide them to improve, adjust their responsibilities, or end the internship professionally, maintaining a respectful and solutions-oriented approach benefits both the intern and your business.

Internships are learning experiences for everyone involved, including business owners. With the right strategy, even a difficult intern situation can be an opportunity for growth.

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You can call us for your free appointment at 480-739-3146, or, if you prefer, send us an email. You can also visit us at Waters Business Consulting Group to learn more about us and the services we offer.

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How to Deal with Employees Who Don’t get Along

August 13, 2020 No Comments

You may have some terrific employees who always deliver on their promises and go above and beyond expectations. They intuitively know where to pick up on certain projects and how to get the job done right. You wish that all your employees delivered the same high quality work, but you’re content that you have enough to really help make your company stand out. There’s just one problem — they don’t get along. It’s a real shame, because when teamed up, they ostensibly could do so much more. However, putting them together in the same room sets off a series of bickering and arguments and the whole thing becomes counterproductive. So, how do you deal with employees who don’t get along but are otherwise great assets to your company? Disagreement Can be a Good Thing While you’d like everyone to get along and work in harmony, you’ve got to remember that differences of opinion can be quite helpful. Call it devil’s advocate or thinking outside the box, but whatever it is, it can help you see certain things you would not otherwise consider. After all, different perspectives can help stir creativity and lean to solutions that you wouldn’t have thought of before. Managers face a sticky problem when confronted with two adults in the same office who won’t get along. The tension between the two employees affects their work as well as the work of others in close proximity to their conflict. Employees become stressed because just coming into the office feels uncomfortable. —The Balance Careers Disagreement can even lead to resolving issues that previously could not be solved. Sometimes, revisiting old problems can help people see others points of view and they become friends as a result, with a good working relationship. Of course, this magical moment doesn’t always happen, and it’s much more common than employees hold on to their differences instead of putting them aside to work together without strife. How to Deal with Employees Who Don’t get along The one thing you can’t do is ignore it and let the conflict fester. It will only worsen and that will eventually cause it to spread to other people. It could easily destroy company-wide morale. So, deal with it right away, by doing the following: Meet one-on-one. This is a great way to learn about the conflict from each person’s perspective. It will also give you a sense of where each individual is coming from. Plus, it will help you identify the real source of the problem. Meet together. After you have a better understanding of what’s going on, then you can meet together. Then, take the time to go over what each said to you separately and ask if what you recapped is a fair assessment. If so, you can work out one or more solutions. Follow-up regularly thereafter. Of course, you can’t just assume that will fix the situation for good. You’ll need to follow-up with both parties and do so routinely (at least for the foreseeable future). Be prepared to take additional action. It’s quite possible you’ll need to take more action. (It could even result in dismissing one or both of them. Or, some form of discipline, if necessary.) Should you need to devote more time, then it is definitely worth asking yourself if it’s worthwhile or descending into an unnecessary distraction. What other suggestions do you have for dealing with employees who don’t get along? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences by commenting and giving others something to consider. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Can Hanlon’s Razor Help Your Business Cut to the Core or Nick the Quick?

December 12, 2024 No Comments

There’s certainly no shortage of tricks to use to get at the heart of a matter, Occam’s razor being one of the most famous, it’s a principle that states the simplest explanation tends to be the right one.

5 New Product Rules Every Entrepreneur Should Know

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Consumers are truly creatures of habit. In fact, the average family purchases the same 150 products again and again, which accounts for a whopping 85 percent of all needs, according to a study conducted by Harvard Business School. Of course, that means when a new product appears on the market, its got to somehow work its way into those recurring purchases. It’s no secret that consumers are quite brand-loyal, so, this presents an even larger challenge. When you stop to consider your own purchasing habits, you begin to realize just how loyal you are to certain brands. Carving out market share is difficult enough, but, even more so when a product comes from an unknown or relatively new source. 5 New Product Rules every Entrepreneur should Know There are some 250,000 new product launches globally on average, per year. Obviously, very few make it past the first couple of years, as clearly evidenced by the nearby quote. What’s more, companies often fail to recoup development costs. In the grocery industry alone, the failure rate is even higher, ranging from 70 percent to 80 percent, according to research done at the University of Toronto. …the fact remains that the success rates of new product introductions and innovations have improved little over the last 20 years. Booz & Company reports 66 percent of new products fail within two years, and Doblin Group says a startling 96 percent of all innovations fail to return their cost of capital. —Fast Company For small-sized American food businesses, the success rate is even more sparse, coming-in at just 11 percent, which regulates an eye-popping 89 percent to failure. The top culprits of failure are poor product quality and design, but overestimating demand, bad pricing and timing, as well as incorrect positioning also make the list. The statistics go on and on when it comes to new product failure, so, it’s important to know what makes products get past their introduction to the public and sell. Here are five new product rules every entrepreneur should know and follow: It must have at least one solid advantage. There are several advantages a product can have and among the most persuasive are value for the money, prestige, effectiveness, convenience, and high-quality. If you look over this list again, you’ll find at the heart of all these is providing for want and need. For instance, the iPhone revolutionized the mobile phone industry — it fulfills a need, is a high-quality product, and provides many conveniences. The product must fit into consumers’ routines. If a product won’t easily fit into consumers’ routines, it won’t sell on the market. A product must be able to accommodate buyers’ routines because, as mentioned above, people are creatures of habit. Some products are able to break this rule, but these are few and far between. It’s got to work right out-of-the-box. American consumers love convenience, and, are very annoyed when a new product proves to be anything but convenient. Most people cringe at the phrase “some assembly required,” because of past experiences. Make a product that works right out-of-the-box and it has a much better chance of success. The benefits should be obvious to consumers. When consumers can readily identify the benefits of a product, they are more likely to buy it. Stop to consider the last time you were shopping for a specific type of item and compared brands. It’s highly probable you purchased the one you could easily spot its benefits. It can be given away for nothing (or part of a promotion). The Clorox company began marketing its first cleaning products to businesses and this approach failed. However, one owner’s wife saw that it had marvelous residential use potential. She gave small bottles of it away and soon after, sales skyrocketed. When consumers are given the opportunity to “test drive” products for free or at a low cost, they are more apt to purchasing it again and again. Though these elements will all increase the chance of success for a new product, it’s important to understand the market and to have an executable plan to be successful. We have several Clients that have new and innovative products that are succeeding because they have followed these five rules. Let us know your new product ideas and make certain yours meets these five new product rules. Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]