Internships in the Time of COVID-19: How Brightree continues development of young professionals

Internships are a key stepping stone on the path to success for college students and recent graduates, but many have seen that important growth period deferred or taken away amid the COVID-19 crisis. Brightree, a software company based in Peachtree Corners that caters to post-acute healthcare, wanted to find a way to continue their thriving internship program in a safe, beneficial manner for both the interns and the company.

The 2020 Brightree Internship Program

“We had to step back and say, ‘How do we want to approach this internship?’ And it was a challenge, because most of our managers (who are part of the internship program) are used to managing people on-site. It was a huge adjustment,” said Trish Nettleship, Vice President of Marketing at Brightree.

Valid concerns were raised regarding working remotely with interns who may require additional guidance. Nettleship and other leaders felt strongly that providing learning opportunities in a real business environment was something that needed to go forward despite the extra challenges that a virtual internship program would present.

This is the fourth official year of the Brightree internship program, though Brightree has intermittently employed interns prior to that as needed. It’s typically a 10-week summer internship program from mid-May to late July, with all interns starting at the same time and collaborating on various work projects. Students in the program were treated just like any new hire, with orientation and being assigned a buddy to assist them and show how team dynamics work at the company.

“(The internship program) has become more and more crucial to our business, quite frankly. The interns, they are younger, they are in college, they are coming in with a fresher perspective than what we have,” said Nettleship.

The Fabulous Four Interns

The number of interns that Brightree took on for the summer was reduced to four individuals, as opposed to the standard 10 to 15 people. Kamryn Taylor served as the Marketing Sales Rep Intern, Aneta Foss was the Graphic Design Intern, and the two additional Marketing Interns were Briana Anderson and Lexi Mellott.

“I was actually really grateful that Brightree was still having their internship,” said Foss.
Every day, the four interns met with the marketing team on Zoom for a daily stand-up to see what had been done on their on-going projects. Foss’ role was more visual and instructional, working on e-book informational guides and supplemental graphic design projects as they arose. Taylor worked directly with clients, as well as cold calling, hoping to walk through interactive tutorials of Brightree’s software offerings.

The two marketing interns “assisted the team in areas of marketing communications, marketing research, and digital marketing. That translates to researching the industry to provide insight for content for the blog and the website, and to provide insight into the brand’s digital footprint,” according to Anderson.

The main issues that came up had to do with longer task completion times simply due to working in different places, as well as having to relay complex information such as new software techniques over the phone versus having the luxury of a manager talking through it face-to-face. However, the four enterprising women rose to the challenge and steadily improved as the weeks went on.

“The company did a really good job, because they scheduled one-on-ones with each member of the team, trying to get to know me and I’m getting to know them. I could reach out to anybody if I needed help,” said Foss.

Taylor also expressed positive views about how the internship program was run. “I would say, despite being online, everyone has been really helpful and really good with communication,” she said.

Anderson had this to say about her time at Brightree: “I’ve learned so much during this internship, but I think the things that have meant the most are not the technical skills but rather what I’ve learned about what I want in a work environment. Brightree has shown to me how much I value the collaborative work environment. Everyone is involved in ideation and planning, even if they won’t be involved in the creation of assets until later down the line — and I love that!” Anderson said.

What to expect

The future for these young ladies looks blindingly bright. Taylor is a rising senior from the University of Georgia who plans to continue her career in sales. Foss is a junior at Georgia State University with aspirations to land a graphic design position with a company similar to Brightree after graduation.

Mellott, a local graduate of Wesleyan School, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Georgia Tech. Anderson is entering her fourth year at Georgia Tech and currently deciding between the career paths of UX/UI Design or Marketing.

With the current state of the worldwide business marketplace so in flux because of COVID-19, it is encouraging to see a Peachtree Corners company standing behind the workforce of tomorrow, giving them a foundation to build on.