At the start of employment…
The probationary period at the beginning of an employee’s role is designed to enable the employee to be inducted into their position, get to know and work within their team, learning the necessary skills and procedures to carry out their role effectively independently. Most staff have a probationary period of 6 months. During the probationary period the employee should complete the induction plan (both national and local) including the priorities set for the probation period within the 1 to 1 Initial Support Agreement Conversation.
Within the first two weeks of employment the line manager should meet with the employee to discuss the 1 to 1 Initial Support Agreement. As part of this there should be a conversation around the induction period; the whole induction plan should be shared with the employee (and sent electronically) and priorities should be set for the end of the probation period. Where appropriate, one of these can be to complete the ‘skills sign off’ which is included within the induction plan. These priorities will vary depending on the role and the wider context. Other examples of priorities could be:
- Build strong working relationships with those within your hub team
- Hold a caseload of X families
- Have met with X number of church leaders
These priorities should then be reviewed within regular one to ones and any concerns in relation to meeting the priorities or in relation to character, chemistry and competence should be discussed with the staff member at the earliest opportunity. They should also be discussed with your line manager as part of your regular one to ones (or if needed, seek an additional meeting).
Concerns of issues that have arisen about Character and Chemistry are often harder to address but just as important. It is important that conversation about culture and values and challenges for the new employee in these areas form part of one to ones during induction as this will lay the groundwork for this conversation at review.
Examples that might give concern re character & chemistry include:
- How disagreements are handled: an employee questions a particular process or policy that is different from previous and circumnavigates line management channels to raise this / complains about policy or practise to others.
- Work ethic: employees’ approach to out of hours work, sharing responsibility with others, picking up tasks for other people when the wider team is stretched.
- Values: Not able to prioritise Safe Families and Home for Good values, these are not values that the person would find themselves celebrating or being willing to hurt for
One month before the probation review, the line manager must speak with their senior to discuss the likely outcome of the probation period. If the probation period is likely to be extended, or failed, please speak with the People and Culture Team. Prior to the meeting, there should be a clear understanding of any concerns, and what needs to be seen for probation to be passed at a later date.
Information probation check-in
Towards the end of the probationary period, the new staff member will be sent a feedback form through the staff database and a member of the People and Culture Team will have an informal ‘check-in’ with the employee. This is to hear how the induction period has been, answer any questions the employee may have, and hear feedback on how we can grow and develop as an organisation. This feedback is then fed into a quarterly report shared with SLT.
Probation Review Meeting
The probation document can be found here
The probation review is a time to evaluate where a new employee is up to within their role and set priorities going forward. There can be three outcomes of a probation review – probation period completed, probation period extended and probation period failed.
A member of the Leadership Team should be present at the meeting (where the LT member is not the line manager), along with the line manager and the new staff member. As previously stated, there will have been regular conversations between the line manager and senior staff member throughout the probation period; the Leadership Team member therefore being present, is to show value and care to the team member. To, where appropriate, celebrate any success, and support amidst any challenges.
The probation review has two ‘types’ of questions. ‘A’ questions are to be completed by the employee prior to the review meeting and then ‘B’ questions by those ‘reviewing’ during the meeting as discussions are taking place. The ‘reviewers’ are then to make any additional comments and give the outcome of the review period.
The questions are framed to allow opportunity to consider the 3 “C”s – Competence, Character and Chemistry
If a probation review is extended a date should be set for when the extension review will be completed, clear priorities should be recorded for the extension time period and agreed actions should be documented. This includes actions for line manager or wider team members to complete.
Once any probation review is completed (regardless of the outcome and if the first or a further probation review meeting) the line manager should upload the document onto the staff database and complete the review period outcome (this is in the review tab on the left-hand side of the employees profile). More information can be found here.
If passed the staff database will send an automatic email to the staff member to confirm the outcome. If the review period is to be extended or failed; please contact the People and Culture Team and a letter will be sent to the staff member outlining the outcome, and where needed, the actions agreed in the meeting and a further review date.