Any conscientious employer will carry out a probation review when the employee is coming to the end of their employment. Some companies do it at the mid-point. Some employers do it after the probationary period has ended (although I would not recommend that).
Employees make up their mind about their employer within the first 2 weeks. Therefore, setting a date for your probation review meeting when carrying induction on the first few days will leave a lasting impression on the employee. It will set the tone of how they can expect to be treated by their employer. They will feel valued from day one.
What happens if you are on holiday or perhaps on paternity leave when the probation review meeting is due?
The options we have are:
- I do the probation review meetings before I leave (which will be before their probation review period has finished).
- I do the probation review meetings on my return (which will mean they have slightly longer probations than the 6 months in their contracts).
- Someone else completes the probation reviews in my absence at the correct times.
Best practice would be to carry it out early. If you have any issues with their performance, you are getting on top of the issue early too so that it can be addressed and reviewed.
The key point to remember is to never leave an employee in the ‘not knowing’ state of mind. It creates anxiety and insecurity which you want to avoid. Employees need to always feel valued as that is one of the ways you will retain them.
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