My probationary period at MAD-HR – Victoria Smith

Some of you may already have read my blog “My first month at MAD-HR” (and for those that haven’t it’s worth a read!). Fortunately, it is now safe for me to say I have successfully completed my six-month probationary period! Phew!

The next six months!

As a lot of people will experience, a probationary period within a company can be a daunting time for someone. Somewhere niggling in the back of your mind is this looming 6 months deadline of your probationary period. In your head you can try and rationalise that ‘my previous reviews have gone well’, ‘I believe I am doing all that is required of me’, ‘they seem happy with my work’, but until you hear the words “Congratulations, I am pleased to say, you have passed your probationary period” there is always that little voice of doubt in the back of your mind.

What a relief though when you do, and you get that letter confirming you are now “officially” a member of the team!

In all honesty, I can’t quite believe where the last six months have gone and all that I feel I have achieved in my new role. I am getting to know and work with some fantastic clients, learning all about their businesses and how to support them, building some great relationships and working with the fabulous MAD-HR team, along with contributing to our Feefo reviews by receiving some personal 5* reviews, which I am incredibly proud of.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all sunshine and roses; there have been some situations that have taken me outside of my comfort zone that I have had to work through, second-guessing myself, talking as part of a panel in front of a bunch of strangers at a Future50 event, having to stand in front of a camera talking, (definitely not in my comfort zone, but here is a sneak peek if you want to see…  and moments where I have reflected to see what I could do differently another time.

As the saying goes, “you learn something new every day”, and I believe that to be true! We are all learning, every day, whether you are a Managing Director of a company or just starting out on your career journey, there is always something.

So, for those of you completing a probationary period review with an employee, make it count! It really does matter and make a difference, and for those of you who are in your probationary period, we have all been there so keep going and make every day count!

What does the probationary period really mean?

I have been fortunate to have had a great experience during my probationary period, being given the opportunity to really embed into MAD-HR’s culture and values and learn about what we do and how we do it. I’d like to think the days of being given a phone and desk and left to get on with it are a thing of the past, however through many conversations with my growing network are suggesting this is sadly not the case.  As such, we at MAD-HR will continue to reinforce the importance of an induction and onboarding process and that it extends beyond that first day, week or month.

It is all too easy to become complacent with processes especially when you are not the person on the receiving end. We forgot how it might affect someone and play on their mind and what it actually means to them as an individual being in a probationary period. The importance of having a great probationary period works for both the business and the person and for those of you who might question why you have one, these are some of the reasons why:

• To give you the opportunity to invest in your people right from the beginning
• Increase the probability that your employee succeeds in their new role
• Review performance and review key objectives
• To get feedback from your new employee on their experience and improvements that could be made for future new team members
• To identify any development needs early and deliver solutions to help the individual to contribute to the organisation more quickly
• To rectify any issues on either side before they escalate unnecessarily
• Not all reviews end happily but as long as you ensure you practice a fair process and give someone a chance to deliver what you need them too, you will be minimising the risk to your business and protecting your reputation.

Recruitment is a timely and costly process so why waste time getting it wrong, when you could spend time getting it right. Support your new team members, like I have been supported, and if you are unsure of how to do that, then feel free to contact a member of the MAD-HR team who would be happy to support you with the process. We really do practice what we preach!

Find out how to join the MAD-HR team…