Their First to Fifth Month

Meet on a Regular Basis

Communication is an essential part of the supervisory process.  Having a 1:1 meeting on some regular basis to check in on progress and answer questions can be especially helpful to new employees.

Provide Informal Feedback

New employees will be anxious about how their performance is perceived by their supervisor, so it’s important to provide frequent informal feedback.  Consider a portion of your 1:1 meetings to tell your employee what you would like him or her to start doing, stop doing, and keep doing.

Introduce Performance Development

Have the employee explore the Performance Development website at http://hr.williams.edu/staff-development/perf-dev/ .

  • Review the Position Description with the employee.
  • Explain they will have a 6 month review check in, and share the Performance Development Evaluation Form – 6 Month.
  • Discuss the annual Performance Evaluation Process and tell the employee which performance development schedule your department is on.
Set and Document Goals

As the person settles in it will be possible for you to set slightly longer-term goals with your new employee.  You will be doing a mini-review of your employee around the 90-day mark, so this is a good time frame for goals that you set with them.  It is important to enlist your staff member in formulating and assessing the goals that you set together.  These should include not only deliverables and project deadlines, but also learning goals that will help to build the capacity of your employee to offer more and more value over time.  Document the goals in an email or memo, remembering to use the SMART formula (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound). For more information about goal setting, check out the course materials for training session “Goal Setting for Supervisors“.

Address Any Performance Concerns

If the employee’s performance is unacceptable and you need assistance to manage the situation, bring HR into the loop early.  Call Richard Duncan, Human Resources Coordinator at x3716.  Richard will take some initial information and refer you to an appropriate person to assist you. Also, you can reach out to your HR Business Partner.