Probation Reviews: Free Template + Tips to Conduct Them

In the best of all possible worlds, the new employee meets your expectations, enjoys his new team and role, and you both want to continue working together.

During the probation interview, you should highlight the skills, qualities and attitudes you appreciate in the employee. Take the time to define areas for improvement, development and training opportunities, and expectations and objectives for the coming months.

Most of the time, depending on your company policy and the specifics of your employment contract, the new employee will now be entitled to the benefits offered by your company. Remember to detail the steps involved in accessing these benefits.

Then, continue to promote the employee’s integration into the team and the organization. After all, onboarding statistics show that the first few months in a new position play a crucial role in employee retention!

If a recruit does not meet all your expectations, or if you feel that their probationary period has not given them enough time to reveal their full potential, you may choose to extend their probation. As a general rule, this extension ranges from 1 to 3 months.

Of course, the aim is to achieve compatibility by the end of the extension. So focus your efforts on the probationary review and detail the areas for improvement before the next interview. Prepare your meeting in advance to share constructive feedback to help the employee achieve their goals and understand why you decided to extend probation.

Extending a probationary period can cause anxiety or frustration for the employees concerned (indecision, stress, non-access to benefits, etc.). It’s essential to take the time to emphasize their qualities, your desire to achieve job confirmation, and the temporary nature of the situation.

Unfortunately, not every hire has a positive outcome.

You can terminate your professional relationship if the employee doesn’t live up to your expectations, demonstrates a negative attitude, or fails to improve despite your sharing feedback.

In this case, be tactful and respectful, and justify your decision by explaining the reasons for the professional incompatibility. Avoid personal attacks and focus on concrete facts to conduct the probation interview in the healthiest and most respectful environment possible.

After that, it is essential to communicate with the employee’s former team to reassure them of the situation while preserving everyone’s confidentiality.

Employers have specific obligations to meet during the probationary period but also at the end of said:

Conducting effective and constructive end-of-probation appraisals can be challenging. Whatever the context, here are some practical tips to follow to ensure a beneficial interview for both your company and the employee:

For a fair and effective assessment of performance, employees need to know what their individual goals are. Setting clear objectives in the early weeks of onboarding will allow them to meet expectations and improve their understanding of their role and responsibilities.

These objectives will be the common thread guiding you throughout the review and will help you justify your decisions and comments. When setting these targets, you must balance the need to assess the employee’s profile and skills in depth with giving them time to get used to their new work environment. Be ambitious but not too demanding to evaluate the employee’s fit without discouraging them during the onboarding process.

Before the appraisal is due, you have to gather all the information you need to share constructive feedback with the employee. Take the time to study all the elements you have at your disposal, such as feedback from colleagues and notes on their performance and attitude.

Choose the evaluation method you will use during the interview, depending on the role and your sector of activity. As a general rule, end-of-probation appraisals are completed according to traditional criteria (attitude, accuracy, communication skills, etc.) to get an idea of the employee’s qualities and skills and give them time to pursue more strategic objectives in the future.

Probation meetings should encourage two-way communication between managers and employees. Whatever the final decision, practice active listening and be respectful. Encourage the employee to share their feelings and feedback, particularly on the quality of their onboarding experience.

It’s important to provide concrete examples of the employee’s strengths and weaknesses to identify improvement areas and justify the appraisal results. Be clear and precise in your arguments to make your comments and expectations understandable.

Make sure you’re impartial and offer every employee the same probation and appraisal experience. Of course, you must also maintain the confidentiality of the entire probation review process.

Take the time to study the results of your probationary reviews, including the employee feedback you obtained to optimize your future processes. Summarize the key takeaways and your action plan depending on the situation (job confirmation, extension, or contract termination). If you have documents to share with the employee or regular check-ins to schedule, create a checklist of tasks to complete to ensure you don’t forget anything.

Whatever the end-of-probation scenario, it’s essential for the employer to learn from it for the future. Effective probation reviews are great opportunities to improve recruitment, onboarding and training processes for new employees. Your experience and the feedback you get from new hires will help you make better strategic decisions. 

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