Well actually, no.  That’s not the best way to manage a probationary period. 

So what is a probationary period anyway?  Some businesses have them, some don’t and they are often for three or six months after starting a new role.  This is after the selection has taken place and a business would still like time to gauge a person’s suitability to a role. 

Some people like them, others don’t.  They can be viewed as an opportunity to keep a person away from their benefits for that little bit longer, but there you go, many businesses do have them.

If you decide to have a probationary period as part of the employment contract, it is worth having some kind of structure in the process.  Decide who meets with the newcomer and when and have a clear plan for training and introducing a person to their new role.  Consistency across people is always a good approach too to avoid claims of discrimination wherever possible. 

The job description and person specification can be used here to plan the probationary process.  What can a person do to demonstrate their suitability for a role and how is this going to be measured. 

The idea is that people pass their probation period as recruitment is such an expensive thing to do.  If there are any obstacles in performance these can be ironed out here and benchmarks may be a good idea too, ie what are industry norms, what are expectations during the first few months of a role?

You may like to have more than one person managing the probationary period too.  This may reduce any bias that could exist with line managers and can give a new member of staff another person to communicate with during this critical time.  This would also be an opportunity for a business to bring in other factors such as culture into the probationary period and not have it focussed purely on tasks and performance.  You can have a think about that one … what are you expecting from people?

Whatever is decided, clear communication is key.  Records should be kept and people should be given a fair chance to prove their suitability so extra training should be given as well as looking at job design if appropriate.  HR systems can be used to manage processes so that notes are kept in relation to performance targets and this can then be signed off by a line manager and their manager to ensure consistency and fairness wherever possible.

If a person is not going to be suitable for a role then this should be managed fairly and this should be explained to the person involved.  Notice periods during a probationary period should be in the contract of employment.  The successful completion of a probationary period should be confirmed in writing as well.