What Is the Value of Using Probationary Periods for Employment?
As much as human resources professionals must rely on resumes, past work experience, recommendations and the interview process in making hiring decisions, there’s no way to guarantee an applicant will adequately perform in his new position or fit the intangibles of a team environment. Because of this, many large organizations require new hires to undergo a probationary period during which supervisors evaluate them based solely upon on-the-job criteria.
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Delaying Contractual Job Protections
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Many large organizations hire workers into positions protected by collective bargaining agreements that offer workers protections from sudden, potentially arbitrary layoffs. By incorporating a probationary period into agreements with unions, hiring managers and front-line supervisors receive the flexibility to terminate a new employee who doesn’t have the skills necessary to perform her job duties or is a disciplinary problem. This allows seasoned workers to maintain job protections after proving themselves in the workplace without undermining managers’ ability to manage new employees.
Setting Expectations
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A probationary hiring period allows managers to set expectations and long-term goals for a new employee. By calling attention to the process through labeling it a probationary period, managers can immediately identify any areas of job performance, such as attendance or workplace attitude, that need improvement, and assess the employee’s skills. During this probationary period, managers should provide feedback and define performance standards for an employee, using the probationary time as a developmental period, during which new workers aren’t held to the standards of veteran employees.
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Developing Skills
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It’s unlikely that any new employee will begin her job with all the skills necessary to function in the new role, and every new employee needs time to learn workplace procedures and formalities. Managers should use a probationary period as a chance not just to determine if the employee can perform in her job, but as an opportunity to fine-tune her skill set and introduce her to the job. While supervising a probationary employee in this manner requires more work from management, it ensures she’ll have all the skills and tools necessary to perform independently at the end of the process.
Creating a Progress Plan
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A probationary employment period shouldn’t be a make-or-break period for employees to blindly prove themselves in the workplace. Human resources managers and supervisors often use probationary periods as a time to develop a progress plan for employees who aren’t perfectly meeting expectations of the job. While this process may be informal, on-the-job skills coaching, supervisors may also take a more formalized approach and develop an improvement plan for the new employee. These improvement plans should be geared toward helping the employee meet expectations by the end of the probationary period.
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