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Orientation Probationary Periods Self Assessment - Exercise - Perspectives - Examples - Back to the Toolbox
Exercise: Every Day Observations - The Express Lane The next time you're ready to check out at a grocery store, pay close attention to your fellow shoppers waiting in line. If the Express Lane is closed, how do shoppers with one or two items react once they approach the checkout area? How do those same shoppers react if an Express Lane opens while they are waiting in a longer line? If an Express Lane is open, how many shoppers with a limited number of items will bypass the Express lane to wait in a longer line? Relate your observations to the experiences of new hires at your organization. Do you think new hires, especially top talent, would rather "wait in line" before being considered a full-fledged employee, or would they rather move through the "Express Lane" where they are immediately empowered and trusted and are fully rewarded for their contributions? Perspectives Most organizations will tell you that the purpose behind a probationary period is to weed out candidates who are not fit for the job. However, during the typical 20-30 day "courtship" of a candidate, his/her resume/job application has been reviewed by several parties, multiple interviews have been conducted, and perhaps multiple tests, both for skills and for personality fit, have been administered to the prospective employee. Why, then, do employers need an additional 3-6 months to "weed out" the wrong candidates? Not only does such a period seem redundant, assuming that the recruitment and selection process was thorough, but such an experience can produce a negative effect with respect to quality of work of the new hire. For one, a new employee may be overstressed by being under such close scrutiny that his/her performance will not be as good as if he/she were made to feel more comfortable right away. On the other hand, upon completing the probationary period, he or she may also see fit to "relax" as the pressure and scrutiny is lifted. Perhaps the issue is trust. Employers don't want to invest too much into a new employee if he or she is likely to leave within a year. But if your organization is hiring people who are likely to leave in a year, is the issue really trust? Or is the issue more how you're recruiting and hiring? 78% of NorthCoast 99 winners use some sort of validated skills or personality tests in the recruiting process. Yet, fewer require reference checks and drug testing to be performed on all potential new hires. With a sharp focus on the type of people and skills they need, NorthCoast 99 winners appear so confident in their hiring practices that fewer of them see a need put their candidates through additional "hoops" before making a hiring decision. This carries over into their employment as well. On average, the winners provide new hires (less than 1 year of service) up to approximately 2 weeks of paid time off (including vacation, sick time, and personal days). Typically, most organizations won't provide 2 weeks of vacation until an employee has worked at least 1 to 3 years. Nearly all also provide new hires with a work station and all necessary tools and equipment to begin working from day one. On that first day, over half even schedule new hires to meet the organization's top executive! If you currently put your new hires through a probationary period, you may want to reconsider its value by taking a harder look at your recruiting and selection practices and observing the impact it has on how your new hires feel about the organization. After all, just like when the Express Lane opens up at the grocery store, if a candidate has the option to work for another organization who immediately provides them with the same benefits and rewards as their current employees, it could potentially be enough of a reason for them to "jump lines" and decide not to work for your organization.
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