No one can clearly ascertain how great fit a candidate is for a particular position at the time of interview. It does help in ascertaining the capabilities and skills of the candidate to a certain extent but not entirely. So, this is why whenever an employee is appointed for a particular position, he is kept on probation for a few months, typically 3 to 6 months. If the work matches the expectations of the company he is given an appointment letter.
If the expectations are not met, the employee is, in most cases, given a probation extension letter. It is basically extended to the employees to help them prove themselves in the extended time frame. After that, they are terminated, if the performance is not found to be satisfying enough.
So, yes, the probation period is important to check the worth of the employee. Without it, you may end up hiring the wrong candidate and then not even be able to terminate him. But, the probation is not just there to test the employee but also the management and HR. Make sure you are supporting the employee and motivating him well.
The probation period is also important to separate the chaff from the wheat. Otherwise, you may end up having a not so skilled workforce. So, here is what you must know and do.
What is an employee probation period?
Probation can be defined as a trial period for new employees. Basically, during this time, the employees are exempted from certain benefits like enjoying any earned leaves and pension benefit, etc.
Your HR and recruitment management software can also provide notifications to you at the time of changing the status of an employee from probation to permanent employee.
Probation is there to correct your hiring process mistake
A common reason for having a probation period in place is to correct the mistake that the company may have committed at the time of hiring. For instance, if an employee under performs, he can be accessed and the right action can be taken like termination or handing him a probation extension letter.
Employers can anytime realize how necessary it is to discover how well the employee is able to perform and to check if he was just bragging about himself. Here are a few pointers that would prove the same-
- Don’t have the skills they said they have at the time of interview
- Have poor management skills in terms of work and time
- Are not the right fit for the culture of the organization
So, what if an employee is not performing well?
Ideally, the best course of action is to send the employee a probation extension letter. This will not come off as something very rude and will also allow the employee an opportunity to improve. Besides, the employee will also pick the hint to look for some other job in the meanwhile.
So, make sure you manage the employees well during their probation period. Also, don’t be very rigid with your probation period expectations. Remember the real aim of the probation period is to keep the right employee on board.
