Poor communication is a leading factor in failed internships, according to talent

Young professionals who are currently undergoing an internship expect communication-strong executives. In practice, however, they often experience the opposite. 

This is the result of the "Future Talents Report", for which the firm CLEVIS Consult surveyed 7,664 talents who completed an internship or acted as a student worker. 

According to these data, 79% of the respondents state that communication with their executives is important to them in their internship. Another 40% would like regular feedback. In everyday work spaces, however, the employer's communication style has plenty of room for improvement. In turn, according to the largest study of this kind in Germany, 77% of respondents currently do not receive any coaching during their employment relationship. 

Overall, satisfaction outweighs the young talents - nine out of ten study participants would again apply to the respective employer - but in the communication with leadership category, many employers apparently have some catching up to do. Example: 39% of trainees do not receive final feedback and 54% miss an introductory event when they start their new position.

"Whether young talents are satisfied with their internship depends primarily on how they manage their employment. Our study shows that young executives who are satisfied with their manager can imagine applying to the respective company again. Conversely, the proportion of those who would not re-apply to an employer is greater if weak leadership has previously been their experience."

Kristina Bierer, Study Operator, CLEVIS Consult. 

Clear leadership structure suggests flatter hierarchies 

Generation Y as well as Generation Z, which is currently aspiring to the labor market, are often said to prefer flat hierarchies in order to be able to assume project responsibility at the beginning of their professional lives. However, this is only conditionally valid for the internship - 41% of study participants classify flat hierarchical structures as rather unimportant. The integration into concrete projects meanwhile is given either way. According to the "Future Talent Report", every third trainee already works overtime. In many occupations experiencing worker shortages, the proportion is even higher: accordingly, 40% of mechanical engineers, 41% of industrial engineers, and as many as 52% of chemists work longer than agreed in their employment contract during the vocational training phase.

"Future Talents are extremely keen to be noticeably and actively promoted at the beginning of their working lives. Anyone who assigns responsibility to them and thereby demands and promotes self-employment is rewarded. Content-based training and methodological training can then help to bind the young talents," concludes Bierer. 

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