Background
In Jan of 2021, WARG hired 2 co-ops - it was the first time that this generation of the team had hired co-ops before, and thus the team’s organization of how to hire and manage them was completely thrown off. Sahil Kale developed the WARG co-op program shortly after in an attempt to ensure that co-ops had adequate supervision and had regular reviews and enough work. This document is intended to be the manual for running the co-op program
Before hiring
Before hiring a co-op, it is good to establish a motivation for why you’d like a co-op. New co-op managers tend to underestimate just how much time a co-op can put into the team as it is their full-time job for the next few months.
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More definition is provided when actually hiring a co-op in the Co-op Admin Hiring Process document.
Hiring & Onboarding
WARG has internal documents on how to hire. See here: Co-op Admin Hiring Process
Throughout the co-op period
Daily Contact
Daily contact is something that is mandated by the SDC co-op regulations. This can be satisfied by a standing morning meeting on discord or in the bay, and doesn’t need to be long at all. ~10 minutes is all it usually is.
Monthly Internship Reviews
Every month, a co-op review shall be held between the supervisor and the student. See instructions here. Monthly internship reviews Co-op Feedback
Managing a co-op
Advice for new managers is here: Advice for New Co-Op Managers . Don’t hesitate to reach out to past co-op managers and team leadership for advice and assistance.
Leave Policy
A co-op may take temporary periods of leave provided the co-op manager grants permission to do so. The co-op manager should take into account the following.
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During reading week (if applicable for the term), WARG recommends that co-ops request time off for the week to recharge, as well as . During this week, there is generally reduced availability from managers and team members. Managers are responsible for approving the time off per the leave policy and assessing the factors normally assessed when requesting leave.
Offboarding
For co-op supervisor
Submit the co-op evaluation on CECA
This replaces the final co-op review as you and the student fill it out together
Compile feedback on what we can do better and modify the internship program.
For co-op student
Return all equipment loaned by the team, or provide option to pay for items by shipping replacements to the bay.
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