How many times do you look at an under-performing employee and wonder how that individual was hired? An even more disturbing thought is wondering how that person stayed employed with your company for so long.

The answer to both questions lies in the fact that management most likely did not carry our their responsibilities properly.

It’s likely that management did not do a good job during the recruitment process; in many instances, they did not do an in-depth scrutiny of references.

Poor management and poor recruitment aside, employee probation is the topic on the agenda this month.

What should probation be?

The Oxford dictionary describes probation as follows: “testing of a person’s conduct or character.” One should add to this description: “testing of a person’s competency, knowledge and skills.”

The basic idea is determining whether an individual has the ability to perform the work required and fits with the culture of the organization.

How can this be done?

I would suggest that whenever an employee is hired, at the outset of his/her employment, the hiring manager should spend some time with the employee informing him/her of the standard of performance that is expected of an individual in the given position.

As part of the discussion, the manager should set clearly described goals that are expected to be achieved within given time periods. Those time periods should not all be scheduled for the last week or month of the probationary period; goals should be set for the first month of employment. Similarly, objectives should be set for the second and third months and etc.

Managing the probationary period

When an employee is hired and told that he/she will be on probation for six months, it doesn’t mean that employee has to be retained for that length of time. The probationary period is set so that management has the opportunity to appraise the work of the employee. It allows management to see whether he/she is fitting in with the company’s values and culture. It also gives the employee the opportunity to determine whether this is the right job for him/her.

Unfortunately, in too many organizations, there is a sense that a three-month or six-month probation period is a guarantee of employment.

When a manager realizes that an employee is not working out and suggests that he/she be released well before the end of the probationary period, the manager often encounters resistance to such a move from the Human Resources department or similar function.

HR will often suggest that the probationary employee has not been given sufficient time to learn the new job. If the manager has not set goals for the probationary employee, he/she is hard pressed to defend his/her position, and as a result, is often persuaded to give the employee more time.

If one assumes that the operating manager knows and understands his/her workforce, then when he/she is cajoled into allowing the probationary employee more time, the company is incurring an unnecessary direct cost as well as an opportunity cost.

The probationary period

Some companies have a policy stating that a probationary employee can be fired at any time during the probationary period without notice or pay in lieu of notice. This is basically correct, providing that the probationary period is not longer than three months. After three months, the Employment Standards Act requires that an employee is entitled to one week’s notice or one week’s pay in lieu of notice.

However, legislation regarding probationary periods does have some obscure facets. As a result, it is always best to specify in a new employee’s contract or letter of employment the fact that the employee must successfully pass the probationary period, and that his/her employment can be terminated at any time without cause and/or notice subject to the Employment Standards Act. The length of such period should be spelled out. Make sure that when describing the length of a probationary period, you stipulate that it is only for the time worked.

Performance review

A manager should mark on his/her calendar the date when employees’ probationary periods will expire. A notation to this effect should be made at least a month before the expiry date. The reason for making such a notation is to ensure that a performance review will occur prior to the expiry date. Preferably, performance reviews will have been conducted earlier and on a regular basis prior to the end of the probationary period.

Unfortunately, many managers don’t do this. Even more unfortunate is that too many managers don’t review performance even at the end of the probationary period. The result is that you inherit incompetent employees causing you to wonder why they were ever hired in the first place.