Transcript (Auto Generated)

00:00:00 Mollie

Hello everybody and welcome to 10,000 feet the Vervint podcast. My name is Mollie Hill and today I’m joined by Robin Kleinjans-McKee, we’re here to talk about one of our favorite topics, the Vervint internship program and the impact it has on our people, our clients and our community.

00:00:18 Robin

Hi, Mollie. Thank you so much.

00:00:20 Robin

I’m super excited to talk about this and intern season is actually one of my favorite times.

00:00:25 Robin

Of the year, yeah.

00:00:26 Robin

Mine too. So every summer we generally do summer internship programs and we see this wave of new talent that walks in through our doors. So they’re always curious, full of ideas and really ready to make a.

00:00:36 Robin

Difference, it’s probably one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. It’s become such a cornerstone of who we really are as a company, as Vervint and we’ve really made a real commitment to growing this team both through local talent pools and with our connections that we have with the universities in the area. And we really stay connected to the next generation of talent. And it’s not just good business.

00:00:57 Robin

For us, it’s actually part of how we give back, it’s how we invest in our the in the future of our industry and also back into our community.

00:01:04 Mollie

Yeah, I love what you started there. Robin, cuz that why investing in our local talent is really what drives everything we do on the House.

00:01:12 Robin

Side so yeah, on that say a little bit more kind of about your role valley and what you do with our internship program.

00:01:19 Mollie

Yeah. So my role is about bringing all those things to life, making sure our interns have a meaningful experience while they’re here with us for this summer when that helps them grow as consultants and professionals. It’s not just about.

00:01:33 Mollie

You know, giving them a summer job. It’s how we invest in the future of our industry and in the future of our interns.

00:01:41 Robin

And actually, you’re really great at it too. So congratulations, because last year you won one of our Vervie awards that was an appreciation for all of the hard work that you put into the program. So I know it also takes a lot of work on your side. It’s super fun to hear about the, you know, the the to see like the previous interns, they actually talked about Mollie and.

00:02:01 Robin

The impact that her and the program really had on them, they’re now employees and they talk about how much they like the program and then all the work you put into it as well each year. So we definitely appreciate all the.

00:02:12 Mollie

Work you do, Mollie. Yeah. Thank you. And I love the interns. Every year, I’m worried that.

00:02:16 Mollie

Yeah, I’m not going to like the group as much as the last, but they surprise me every time.

00:02:23 Robin

That’s awesome. So one of the things that it was we talked more about the program, I’ll share share a little bit about some a personal experience for me. My daughter is a freshman this year in college and so I’m always curious about things that might help her out as she like looks at and decides really what she wants to do.

00:02:42 Robin

The other day I heard Simon Sinek say that one of the main differentiators for college graduates is going to be their ability to talk to strangers, which sounds really weird, right? Like who’s telling their kids to, like, talk to strangers?

00:02:55 Robin

These days, but really what he’s talking about as he expanded upon that thought is, is really being able to interact and have a conversation with people that you don’t know. And I do see, right, we are all guilty of this of of being on our phones or just texting because it’s easier instead of actually having, you know.

00:03:15 Robin

Conversations or being able to talk to somebody that you don’t know and doing that in person and.

00:03:22 Robin

So he was saying that having the ability to do that with college graduates, with going for a job interview or whatever that looks like will actually make you stand out versus other people because it’s a skill that not everyone has anymore. So have you seen that to be true as you’re recruiting interns and and looking at people to, you know, kind of joined?

00:03:40 Robin

The program, yeah.

00:03:41 Mollie

Definitely. I would say, you know, around the times of COVID where students were doing school from home and not physically showing up to a classroom, we could definitely see that impact in more of those soft skills and just the ability to have an in person conversation or even do like some, you know, cold outreach to new coworker.

00:04:00 Mollie

Years, I would say that we’re definitely seeing that starting to increase and get a little bit better now that students are back in the classroom having more of those soft skills and and having good conversations.

00:04:14 Robin

That’s good. That’s good to hear. So I definitely encourage my kids to do that, make sure that they’re having those conversations and I’ll say our internship programs obviously provide that opportunity as well.

00:04:24 Robin

Students, really, they come in, they can, they can comfortably and confidently kind of connect with people both. I mean from a lot of different perspectives is where those connections are right with their, with the fellow interns, that they’re in the intern group with with our Vervint employees. And actually our customers as well as they work on the work for our customers. So and the cool part is too is they actually.

00:04:44 Robin

Bring us ideas and we love that.

00:04:45 Mollie

Oh.

00:04:46 Mollie

Yeah, absolutely. They bring such a fresh perspective. Sometimes they’ll look at something we’ve been doing for years.

00:04:52 Mollie

Be like, well, have you tried it this way? And it’s like, yeah, we should do that. And we’re listening to them and we’re implementing their ideas.

00:05:00 Robin

Yeah. So that actually brings a like they’re bringing something to us, right? So it sparks that innovation, it’s such it’s, we call it like the mutually beneficial relationship. So they gain the hands on experience and real world exposure and then we gain that fresh energy and new way of thinking that actually pushes us forward.

00:05:18 Robin

So that part becomes really exciting. I think on both sides and our clients notice it too. So they love seeing that we’re developing the next generation of consultants and bringing those new ideas to them. So I will say like you know, for me, if I think about it, that mutually beneficial internship program and for both like the company and for the intern.

00:05:38 Robin

I wouldn’t be where I am in my career and doing what I do if it wasn’t for an internship program, so I was an intern.

00:05:45 Robin

Barn at BDO, which is a public accounting firm. I was going to Grand Valley State University at the time and was really getting to the point of my junior year. And as people know, as you get to your junior year, you really have to hone in on the classes that you want to take and what is going your major going to be and what is where are you going to work.

00:06:06 Robin

Every day and without having that experience of being able to go to a company and spend 12 weeks, it was a 12 week program, spend 12 weeks in the job that I thought I wanted.

00:06:20 Robin

I might not have gone into what I went into. I went into it, I loved it. I could have hated it, but I figured at the time it was probably best for me to figure out what I wanted to do and find it earlier on so that I could then shift or change or adjust over that time frame. But I loved it and it wound up being the career.

00:06:39 Robin

For me, so yeah. Better to find out then. Then after I graduated. So. And if I remember correctly, you also started your career as an intern.

00:06:49 Mollie

I did. I actually went through our internship program here at Vervint.

00:06:54 Mollie

Almost six years ago. Wow. That feels like a long time. So I was finishing up my senior year at Grand Valley and had just started to get into my core HR classes, and I wasn’t quite sure like which area of HR that I wanted to pursue. I was really transparent about that about, you know, my limited exposure.

00:07:14 Mollie

Of the real life work side.

00:07:16 Mollie

Of things and my team is awesome. They created a rotation for me where I was able to spend a couple of weeks under each specialist, learning more about recruiting and payroll and benefits and our communications and that really helped pave the way into my current role now, which is an HR generalist where I’m still touching on each of those areas.

00:07:36 Robin

It’s such a great way right to figure.

00:07:38 Robin

Out what you enjoy.

00:07:39 Robin

Doing areas you want to focus on for your next steps, whether it’s in school or for your career kind of really helps you fine tune where you want to go and what.

00:07:49 Mollie

You want to do? Yeah. And that’s what I love about our program is it allows the interns to learn about the whole business. But we’re also giving them the opportunity to explore specific areas that they might be curious about.

00:08:01 Robin

And I will say the other thing too is we look at the internship programs here at Vervint. It’s it’s one thing is that the interns learning, right, they’re learning, developing and growing. And then the other part that’s really great is that internally for us, for our employees, it gives them the opportunity to actually grow and develop leader.

00:08:21 Robin

You know leadership skills. So they get to coach and teach and guide someone who’s just starting out.

00:08:26 Robin

so that’s leadership development for us and kind of mentorship and action if you would. So it’s not a workshop, it’s not a training, it is real on the job growth for all the people that are.

00:08:38 Mollie

Involved. Yeah, absolutely so.

00:08:40 Mollie

With our program here at Vervint, each of our interns, they have a mentor and a manager and the mentors.

00:08:46 Mollie

Are individuals who have a few years of experience in their career and might be ready for that growth or leadership opportunity. So they’re working closely with the interns every day.

00:08:56 Mollie

Way and they’re simultaneously learning themselves alongside the intern as they’re stretching their, you know, their growth opportunities and how to mentor someone else. So they’re focusing on like, the personal and professional development and just really being that safe space for the intern to go to and ask questions. And then the manager on the other hand, they’re really helping.

00:09:17 Mollie

Guide the project work, making sure that the intern is contributing meaningfully, not just doing kind of busy work on the side and this really gives them the intern space to ask good questions, be able to reflect on their accomplish.

00:09:30 Mollie

Minutes and stretched themselves without getting that overwhelming feeling.

00:09:35 Robin

That’s fantastic. I remember when I was just starting my internship or even just thinking about your first job opportunity. Right as you think about it, it’s like scary. You’re like, where do I even go for lunch? Like, what do I do? You know, it can be a very scary thing. So being able to have both that mentor and like a manager, that’s kind of, you know, coaching you along with kind of.

00:09:55 Robin

There’s kind of your career journey and mentoring you and like this is how she used.

00:09:58 Robin

To handle the situation where you should go to.

00:10:00 Robin

Along with having somebody that’s mentoring you in the work and guiding you in the work from a manager perspective too is is awesome. So I love that model really gives employees a chance to kind of step up as leaders and then both people are growing, which is amazing. So can you tell maybe a little bit more about the program itself and how it how it works? If I’m an intern and I’m coming in to be a?

00:10:21 Robin

Vervint intern.

00:10:22 Mollie

Yeah. So when we designed the program, we really wanted interns to really understand what consulting looks like, not just by watching, but by doing. So, we provide 12 weeks of full time work where we build upon the technical and professional skills of the college students. So we’re starting with orientation day one. We’re setting the tone. They’re coming into our office.

00:10:44 Mollie

We have a panel of previous interns and early in career employees that they’re introduced to right away and it kind of helps settle the nerves a little bit of like, OK, these people have done this before. They’re here. We have just an opportunity to ask questions, I’ll guide them through kind of some curated questions.

00:11:01 Mollie

And then each of our previous interns are those entry level employees are just able to share advice like, hey, I really wish I would have reached out to other people sooner or make sure you schedule time with this or that person. So it’s really fun to see those.

00:11:17 Mollie

That piece of advice given, we also have a business etiquette session.

00:11:22 Mollie

And I think that’s really important. It just helps us set expectations early. It clarifies what we’re looking for and what it means to be of Vervint team member. So we like to do that as well and then we end the day with a happy hour, just some mixer with all of our employees, just a more casual way to introduce yourself.

00:11:42 Mollie

And be able to mingle a little bit without having to jump right into work so.

00:11:47 Robin

That’s awesome.

00:11:48 Mollie

After first day, then we’re launching into our training. So our executive team members each host a session.

00:11:56 Mollie

Covering topics like intros to consulting, understanding sales business 101, making sense of finance, and not only did these help the group learn more about the business, but it’s also giving that interns an opportunity to sit down with our leaders and ask questions, learn more about their careers, their sharing. You know, when I was early in career.

00:12:16 Mollie

Here’s how I did it or how I approached it. So seeing that you know you don’t start right off as a CEO.

00:12:22 Mollie

Sharing that business journey and.

00:12:24 Robin

Sharing maybe things not to do too right?

00:12:25 Mollie

Yes, yes, exactly. And then we also have some of our managing consultants, they host sessions like human centered design or agile workflows and our newest one is AI and business. So these are just giving a more holistic view of who we are and what we’re doing here at Vervint.

00:12:43 Mollie

And then my favorite session, we also invest in a strength Finders Workshop which really helps the interns understand how they naturally show up on teams. And it’s really cool to help them understand you know, where their strengths may come from and how they can leverage them in their careers.

00:12:59 Robin

That’s awesome. I love strength finders. It’s one of my favorite things. So.

00:13:03 Robin

It’s really great to know what you’re good at, so a lot of you know a lot of things when you do like a leadership training or you do an assessment and you’re doing, you know where what you do that focuses on the.

00:13:12 Robin

Things that you need to quote UN quote change or get better at and strength finders kind of flips that a little bit and says you know, these are the things that you’re good at. And then how do you use those to your advantage basically like leaning into the strengths that you have and then you get to understand and know other people’s strengths. And so if you’re going to work on a project and you.

00:13:33 Robin

You know, one person has a strength in one department and like you can find that other person. Maybe you’re a little bit weak in that area. You can find that other person. So understanding that and knowing about yourself, it just builds a great.

00:13:44 Robin

Foundation. Lots of confidence, I think too, before you even get into some of the project work. So it’s a good connection to everyone, which is great.

00:13:52 Mollie

Absolutely. Yeah. So and then once they’re ready, we are getting them right onto real client projects. So they’re not, you know, filing papers or running to get coffee. They’re contributing to work that makes a difference. And it’s it’s really cool when they see their work out in the world and realize that what they’re doing is really impacting people and businesses.

00:14:13 Robin

I love that it’s such a defining moment for them, right? You can see how it changes the way they think about their careers. I mean, it’s so impactful and we take a lot of pride in teaching that those core consulting skills, right, communication, problem solving, adaptability, teamwork, looking someone in the eye when you’re having a conversation. Being on video when you’re on a teams call.

00:14:33 Robin

All of those things, it’s on the job and in the work and fundamentals that make someone successful no matter where.

00:14:39 Mollie

Like Oh yeah, and and we also make sure that the experience goes beyond the project work. So there’s a lot of focus on community and connection. We’re touching base often as a group. So the interns, you know, can talk more about the projects they’re working on. And we also do fun meetings. So we’ll play games over lunch. One time I brought my switch in. So always finding ways to have that connection.

00:15:00 Mollie

We also send them to the Hello West Michigan intern connect, which is 1/2 day conference for interns in the Grand Rapids area where they go and get curated information for interns. And they’re also creating connection with other interns and they always have really liked that event. It’s a fun opportunity for them.

00:15:20 Mollie

And then my favorite part of the summer, we also do a volunteer day and an intern outing. So each year the group they get to decide what we do. We’ve done boys and Girls Club. We’ve volunteered at kids, food basket, hope Community gardens was this past year.

00:15:24 Robin

That’s great.

00:15:37 Mollie

So we’ll do an outing for about half a day and go give back to the community. And then after that, we’re going to do something fun as a group. So we’ve done escape rooms, we’ve gone bowling, we’ve done Craig’s cruisers racing each other on the golf carts. So it’s a lot of fun. And and it’s really fun to see the interns kind of outside of that work setting, seeing how they’re interacting with one another.

00:15:50 Robin

Awesome.

00:15:59 Mollie

And there’s usually a good like inside joke or two that will bring back, and we’ll still giggle about for the rest.

00:16:04 Robin

Of the summer, love that and that community aspect, right? That’s huge. I mean that. That’s really what it’s about. The connections with each other, mentors the community.

00:16:13 Robin

Really makes that experience for an intern very, very powerful.

00:16:16 Mollie

Yeah. And we’re even hosting interns from our parent company, Koniag, and that brings a lot of valuable perspective on Alutiiq culture and our broader mission. And it creates just a rich and diverse learning environment.

00:16:29 Robin

And that’s a great reminder. So you might be wondering.

00:16:31 Robin

Who koniag is.

00:16:33 Robin

Koniag actually is our parent company. It’s an Alaska Native Corporation, or ANC.

00:16:38 Robin

Our shareholders are actually Alutiiq people who originate from the Kodiak Island region. So our profits that we make here at Vervint, they go directly to benefit shareholders and their descendants. So and what that does is then we’re able, they are able to offer things such as educational scholarships, elder benefits, dividends and other critical services.

00:16:58 Robin

For the Alutiiq people. So it’s really great to be a part of an organization that’s making a direct difference in people’s lives. So what we do it just it really matters. And our interns get to be a part of that too. So that’s that’s a little side note there. But just wanted to make sure that when you said, you know, good Koniag as to what that actually was and what that meant.

00:17:13 Mollie

Yeah.

00:17:14 Mollie

Point.

00:17:16 Robin

So. So you’ve talked a lot about the, the trainings and the work and community events and of course some of the fun. Anything else in the program?

00:17:25 Mollie

Yeah. So at the end of each summer, we’ll wrap up with final reviews and and final presentations where the interns are able to showcase what they’ve accomplished and the projects that they’ve worked on throughout the summer and.

00:17:37 Mollie

I feel so much pride when they stand up in front of the whole company because you can really see how much they’ve grown throughout our program. They’re confident in their work and they’re able to show it off to everyone.

00:17:49 Mollie

And not to mention public speaking, but that’s really scary to stand up in front of your coworkers. But it’s a great skill to develop and to continue practicing throughout your career.

00:17:59 Robin

I love that.

00:18:00 Robin

So I love seeing and hearing those final reviews and presentations. It’s always like I get super proud of them too and it’s always a bit sad because then it’s like, wait, what? I feel like you just got here and it’s like already over already. So it’s a bit sad as well to know that the program is ending, but it’s really great to see what everybody accomplishes in such a short amount of time and how much they learn.

00:18:19 Robin

Yeah, it’s so fun.

00:18:20 Mollie

Yeah, it’s a little bittersweet, but one of the most exciting parts is when an intern decides to stay with.

00:18:26 Robin

Us, yes, absolutely. And when that happens, we’re, you know, we’re bringing on someone who already knows our business. They know our culture. They already know our clients. And in fact, about 10% of our employees that we have right now actually.

00:18:39 Robin

Started as interns.

00:18:40 Mollie

Yeah. Yeah. So there’s no single path after the internship.

00:18:44 Mollie

Ends. Some interns will continue working with us part time through the school year as they’re going back to classes. Others received the full time offer after graduation and some head back to campus, you know, with, but with a ton of that real consulting experience under their.

00:18:59 Robin

Belt. And that’s right. What is so special about the program? It’s really not just about who.

00:19:04 Robin

Days. It’s about how that each person in turn grows and from our people perspective, the growth of that. The people here have as well. By mentoring and training some of those entrants too. So even if they don’t join us full time, we still want to see them succeed. That is, that is the point of the internship program. So and we often connect interns with other opportunities.

00:19:25 Robin

That might not be here at Vervint because their success and whenever it happens still reflects that we’ve invested in them and we want to support them as they go.

00:19:33 Mollie

On their journey, absolutely. And and we take their feedback seriously. Every year we gather comments and suggestions and we’re actually using them to improve the program year after year.

00:19:44 Mollie

And as we talked about before, I was an intern myself. So over the past five years I’ve been refining and evolving the experiences based on what each group is telling me that they really enjoyed or maybe didn’t see much benefit in. And that continuous improvement each summer is really stronger than the last. We’re continuing to fine tune things and iterate on different experiences.

00:20:06 Mollie

Being more intentional, more hands on and finding more rewarding opportunities for both the interns and our teams.

00:20:13 Robin

That’s awesome. And that’s a great one of the things from a core value perspective of growth minded, right, being open to feedback being open to continuous improvement. So that’s one of our core values that we have here at Vervint. So it definitely really shows. And when I look around and see former interns leading projects and mentoring new hires.

00:20:32 Robin

And really shaping our client relationships, it’s a really clear signal that this program really works super successful and it’s creating leaders who understand both the technical side of consulting and then the human side of teamwork.

00:20:43 Mollie

As well. Yeah. And that’s what it’s all about. You know, the cycle of learning and teaching is what keeps our culture so vibrant.

00:20:50 Robin

And when I think about the.

00:20:52 Robin

Impact of the program, right? It goes far beyond one summer of what happens over a summer. So every year we see new ideas, new energy, new perspectives come in, and they don’t just shape the interns. They shape us too. So the learning, collaboration and curiosity they bring really make the team stronger in our culture here, even better. So they have an impact.

00:21:13 Robin

On us.

00:21:14 Mollie

Yeah, absolutely. Every summer I love that they come into the office and they’re really contributing to who we are and they’re just bringing that new energy to our space and impacting, you know, everyone that’s here.

00:21:27 Mollie

Their curiosity is pushing us to think differently. Their creativity sparks new ideas and their enthusiasm just reminds us why we love what we.

00:21:36 Robin

Do absolutely well, said Mollie. Definitely reminder that when we invest in people, we all grow right? Our interns, our teams and our communities. So it’s not just about filling those short term roles.

00:21:37

OK.

00:21:46 Robin

Is about creating better consultants and stronger leaders, meaningful experiences. And then we see that and watch that ripple outward.

00:21:54 Mollie

Yeah. And that’s really what keeps me excited to do.

00:21:56 Mollie

This work year after year.

00:21:57 Robin

Here and I will say that is the perfect note to end on. So thank you for listening. And here’s to another great summer.

00:22:04 Mollie

Ahead. Yeah. Into all of our current or future Vervint interns. We can’t wait to see what you build.

00:22:09 Robin

Next awesome. So until next time, keep learning, keep growing and keep leading with curiosity.