Recruitment processes aren’t always perfect. You can try your best to establish the right criteria to select the candidate that will best fill the position you advertised for and still be disappointed a few months down the line. And that can be the case for both sides, the company as well as the employee. Getting to the core of someone’s attitude, skills and personality is difficult to do in just a few hours of interviews. Same with getting the right idea about what the job is about and what will be expected of you.
That is why the recruitment process really only kicks off once the person has started at your company, i.e. the probation period. It is designed to mutually examine the fit as for both parties, the new hire and the company. Too often, however, this is not taken seriously enough, the probation period passes and a few months or even weeks down the line one wishes they could turn time back to when an easy separation would have still been possible. Like in relationships, it is better to get out when the stakes are still low than to let it drag on not evaluating whether there is an actual fit, whether both parties are happy and feel they will thrive from this engagement. It is crucial that probation periods are taken seriously. Too often, unfortunately, they are not. And that can come at a high cost.
HR teams can help facilitate this process by reviewing a manager’s recent hiring decisions with them and engage in a conversation about it. How are things working out with Laura? Is she settling in well in her team? Did your expectations from the interviews meet your expectations? Do you think Laura might need any kind of support to feel even more enabled? These are just a few questions that can help trigger the most important part of hiring good talent, the probation period review. Same goes for the other side of the equation. Managers and HR checking in with the new hire on how they have been getting on is equally as important. It will not only provide you with the opportunity to anticipate any upcoming issues but also help you establish a personal relationship with them by engaging one-on-one.
Not sure how to set up probation period reviews to help your company thrive? Get in touch and find out.