Developing probation plans (PPs) is something that a lot of practice managers feel is something they should do but often don’t get around to, particularly when they’ve just recruited a new team member and need to onboard and train them, plus get the usual workload done!
In this article, we look at why your investment in probation plans will really pay off over the longer term…
And most importantly, how having PPs in place will establish a clear path to getting your new team members up to speed, identify any issues early and give them the best possible opportunity to succeed in the role.
What should you include in a probation plan?
Your PPs should include:
Expected competency goals to be reached by the end of the probation period.
The training and support that will be provided to achieve these.
When progress reviews will take place.
What will be measured at your formal reviews.
The process that will be followed when goals aren’t being met, such as further targeted training, etc.
The team member and their manager will meet to review the document, ideally within two weeks of commencement in the role, and commit to and sign off on the plan.
This establishes clear expectations of your team member (and those training them) right from the outset and makes the probation period proactive and productive.
Why else should you put time into creating probation plans?
It’s pretty much guaranteed that just when a new team member starts, somehow your practice that was already busy suddenly gets a lot busier, and the people responsible for training them are swamped. Training becomes a bit haphazard, and before you know it, you’re a couple of months into them being with you…
It’s often around the 6 to 8-week mark that challenges or issues can start to pop up. By this stage, your expectations of the team member’s capabilities are a lot higher, their allocated training time has often finished and you’re likely wanting them to be able to just get on with the job.
Whether this is realistic or fair will depend on how much training they’ve actually received and whether this has covered everything required in their role. Keep in mind, too, that a part-time employee working only a couple of days a week appears to have been around for ages, but a calculation of the number of days they’ve actually worked shows why their training needs to extend over a longer period. Plus, even your experienced recruits will need thorough training on ‘how we do things here’.
Having PPs in place helps keep everyone on track, no matter how busy the day-to-day gets. They help you all focus on actual progress made, as well as what support and action is needed to ensure it will be made moving forward.
When you review progress against agreed competencies, you’ll also flag issues early. Strategies can be developed and implemented in a timely manner to address them. Then, should you get to the end of the probation period and the team member is not performing at the level required, you’ll both know that you’ve made every effort to get them there. There won’t be any surprises.
Where do you start?
Start by reviewing our list above of what’s included in a probation plan document, and create the competency goals based on the team member’s position description. Then:
Identify the training they’ll need to reach these goals and what is a realistic time on the job for the team member to be trained and become confident and capable of independently performing each task.
Organise and commit the resources needed for each training item.
Arrange their formal probation plan meetings. We suggest three – one within two weeks of commencement in the role, the second approximately midway through the probation period, and the third a couple of weeks before the end.
Determine how regularly and when, outside the formal meetings, you’ll check in with the team member on their progress. Agree to these with them and put all these dates into your calendar/schedule.
Finally, ensure you keep on track with their training, reviewing progress, the meetings and updating the probation plan document. After each formal meeting, make sure you get the team member to sign off on what’s been discussed and agreed upon, provide them with a copy and save it to their confidential HR file.
In summary, while there’s an initial time investment needed to get your PPs set up, you’ll save time and money over the longer term by having team members up to speed and productive faster and by reducing turnover due to insufficient/incomplete training. Plus, you’ll identify issues early and give each new recruit the best possible opportunity to do their job really well.
And, at the end of the day, people who do a good job are more likely to stay!
If you’d like help developing your probation plans, position descriptions and other performance improvement documents and strategies, get in touch for a free initial consultation.
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision-makers in many key areas, such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success.
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