How an Internship Program Impacts Employee Retention

When AgCareers asks employers what their top method is for attracting new graduates, they overwhelmingly report “a formal internship program.” Why are we jumping into retention if we’re talking about recruiting students and new graduates to internships and entry-level roles?  

Interns who become full-time employees are retained at higher rates than other new hires. According to the NACE 2023 Internship & Co-op Report, 76% of interns are still with the organization after their first year on the job, whereas 52% of non-intern employees are still with the organization after their first year. We also know from AgCareers annual survey of agricultural employers, the Agriculture & Food HR Review, that retention is the most concerning human resource matter in 2025.  

If you’re concerned about retaining employees, you’re in it for the long haul. Keeping top talent on board starts with finding and hiring the right talent in the first place. Internship programs are an ideal recruiting strategy for you to test-drive talent and for them to test-drive your organization as an employer…it’s a win-win! 

However, an internship program does no good if you aren’t measuring your success and making improvements. Do you ask your interns what they really think? And secondly, do you think they are really honest with you? 

We know some organizations conduct exit interviews or surveys of their own interns. However, students often hesitate to provide direct feedback to their employer, especially if it’s not all rosy. With the AgCareers Internship Program Benchmark, we survey your interns anonymously to get the real story. You simply forward an email to your interns—it’s that easy!

We provide you with a report during the internship and a final afterward. You also receive results in an industry benchmarking report to see how your organization stacks up to other employers (anonymously, of course).  

We invite you to take a data-driven approach to maximizing your internship program and employee retention. Find out more about the AgCareers Internship Program Benchmark here: https://www.agcareers.com/internship-benchmark-survey-cfm.cfm#gsc.tab=0