Since joining Lily’s in September, our new interns have been learning how a workplace runs and exploring the part they can play in it. Alongside practical training, they have been asking questions about inclusion, the use of artificial intelligence and what makes a good experience for our customers.
We want our interns to understand what is expected of them at work, recognise what support they can ask for and know that their ideas have a place here.

Getting to know the workplace

Their first week began with an induction covering health and safety, fire awareness, safeguarding and boundaries at work. They were also introduced to Lily’s, how the organisation is structured and how the different parts of the team fit together.

These sessions help give everyone a shared starting point, including understanding responsibilities and knowing where to turn for help.

The values our interns want to see at work

As part of their induction, the interns explored workplace culture and values. We talked about what makes a good, inclusive company and why people should feel able to ask for adjustments that help them do their work.

The interns chose trust, respect, kindness, teamwork, compassion and fairness as values that mattered to them. Our interns based in the office then created the visual below, showing what those values can look like in everyday working life.

Their examples include respecting boundaries, asking for help and giving people time to think and respond. We want these conversations to help interns recognise the kind of workplace they want to be part of, both at Lily’s and in their future careers.

Thinking carefully about AI at work

The induction also included a session on artificial intelligence, or AI, in the workplace. This generated some great discussion about its possible benefits and drawbacks, the ethics and morals involved, and the safeguards needed when using it.

Frank, one of our interns, put his thoughts into writing. His reflections consider accessibility, accuracy, the effect on jobs and whether people should have a choice about using AI. We have included his article in full, in his own words.

 

Should generative AI be forced in the workplace?

By Frank

Short answer: no. But past this (possibly) biased opinion, there are upsides to using it as a tool for accessibility. Some employees or trainees might struggle to comprehend instructions in a certain way, and the manager (or whoever’s leading) might not be able to rephrase it to suit them. Using generative AI could allow for better and more suitable communication to the employees/trainees. If they cannot understand more lengthy/technical instructions, and the manager can’t rephrase it themselves, using generative AI could help tailor the instructions to suit the employees’ learning style. This should respect GDPR, not include any personal information about them, and names used should be an alias or generic.

On the other hand, there is an ethical problem with generative AI, even in the workplace. As you can automate tasks with ‘agents’, certain jobs may be replaced. Although most of the replaced jobs are monotonous and low-level tasks, it still replaces a real person and creates less opportunities for young jobseekers who may not want to pursue higher education (and if they don’t want to work in retail/fast food). Since generative AI can get things wrong, it still means that someone has to check the content’s validity. It may seem like an efficient shortcut, but that efficiency may come at a cost to quality. Jobs that have embraced generative AI, but are not fully automated by it may take longer to do the task, as there is a need for fact-checking. This creates more tasks for a human to do, possibly with no increase in reward/pay.

The tool can be helpful when used correctly, but the ‘correct’ use must not compromise anything else (especially anything to do with humans).

Should generative AI be forced? No. Should it replace humans? No. Should it be used as a tool instead? Yes. Should people be able to opt-out from it in the workplace? Yes.

This article was written with no genAI.

(Footnote:

More could be written, but it would be multiple pages long, and mostly negative.)

Learning together through peer mentoring

The interns continue to come together each month for peer mentoring sessions, giving them time to learn together and discuss experiences from their placements.

At their October session, they explored customer service: what it means, why it matters and how everyday actions affect someone’s experience. This included personal hygiene and its importance when working with food and serving customers.

Understanding customer service helps connect individual tasks with the person receiving the service, whether that is someone ordering lunch or coming in for a coffee.

Understanding the business and contributing ideas

The group also looked at site targets and why commercial income matters to Lily’s. Sales help us keep our workplaces running and support the training opportunities within them, so understanding the business is an important part of the internship.

We explored how interns can contribute to achieving those targets through their own observations and ideas. That might mean noticing a gap in the menu, suggesting a change, listening to customer feedback or thinking about how to improve someone’s experience.

There is room for creativity here. Interns spend time in our workplaces and bring their own perspectives, and we want them to have opportunities to use those perspectives to help shape how things are done.

In these first few weeks, the interns have begun exploring both their responsibilities at work and the contribution they can make. We look forward to hearing more of their ideas as their placements continue.

If you would like to find out more about supported internships at Lily’s, please get in touch. We would be happy to talk through the programme with you.