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Small Business

Employee Policies Series:

Probationary Period

Special Report From: EasySmallBusinessHR.com

Once you’ve gone through the process of finding and hiring the right

candidate, the last thing that you’d expect is the need to fire your new

employee.

Despite thoroughly interviewing and checking references, it is not out of

the realm of possibility that your new employee will not be a good fit.

Problems during the first several months can range from a personality

mismatch, to performance issues. Whatever the reason, it is essential that

you have an employee policy in place that will support the need to

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terminate your employee if job related issues do occur during the early

stages of your new staff members’ employment.

The probationary period, also called an orientation and review period is

essentially a trial period for both you and your new employee to determine

whether the job match is a good one.

The average orientation and review period is 90 days, as this is often

considered a reasonable amount of time to determine how well the new

employee is performing in most jobs.

Although there should be a standard probationary period for all

employees, depending on the role, a 90 day probationary period may not

be enough time to determine whether the job is a good fit based on the

natural learning curve required for the job.

In cases where it may take longer to become acclimated to a particular

role, or in cases where the employee may not have all of the tools needed

to perform their job effectively, up to a 6 month probationary period may

make sense.

What is absolutely essential regardless of the length of time allotted is that

you have an official policy in place before applying the probationary

period standard to your new employees.

There may be roles within your organization that warrant a probationary

period longer than the established standard. This type of exception should

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be made part of your official policy. A simple sentence that references

that there may be a few positions that warrant a longer probationary period

at management discretion should suffice, but if you are unsure, consult an

employment lawyer.

Transparency is key. Best management practice dictates that you

determine prior to even posting your job and interviewing candidates what

the length of your probationary period will be and if there are some jobs

that will require a longer probationary period.

Once you’ve established your criteria, put your probationary period policy

in writing and share the policy with all of your potential hires during the

interview process and at the time of your job offer to your final candidate.

Be sure to update your employee policy and procedures manual on your

website or in any employee handbooks. Send an email to your current

employees to make them aware of the policy.

Lastly, add a few sentences that reference the probationary period policy

in your offer and confirmation letter to your new employee.

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