Trial Period Review
The trial period is an initial period of service (typically first year at Stanford) during which the department or program assesses the performance of a newly hired regular employee to determine if the employee meets the requirements and expectations of the position. This process will assist supervisors and managers in delivering clear expectations, setting milestones, and feedback during the early months of an employee’s time in a new job.
New employees who join Stanford and H&S between May 1 - October 31
The standard H&S performance review period is May 1 - April 30. New employees who join Stanford and H&S during the first six months of the review period, will meet with their managers within the first month of employment to understand expectations, key milestones, and how performance will be assessed during the trial period (first year on the job). Once goals and expectations have been discussed, the employee will enter goals within the GPS system. Please refer to https://cardinalatwork.stanford.edu/learning-stanford/grow-perform/my-gps-performance-management#goal for resources on setting goals and using the GPS system. We also recommend using the ‘Check-In’ feature to have on-going conversations related to expectations and tracking progress towards milestones.
Upon completing the one year on the job, the employee will complete their self-evaluation using GPS and this will be routed to the manager to complete their narrative. Manager and employee should meet to discuss performance and to close out the trial period review process. For example, if an employee joins Stanford and H&S on August 1, 2022, they will complete their first annual appraisal on August 1, 2023, using the 2023 performance period form via GPS and then complete another review in April 2024 as part of the regular review process.
New employees who join Stanford and H&S between November 1 - April 30
New employees who join Stanford and H&S during the second half of the review period, will meet with their managers within the first month of employment to understand expectations, key milestones, and how performance will be assessed during the trial period (first year on the job). Once goals and expectations have been discussed, the employee should track goals using a shared document with their manager until the goal setting process is launched for the next review period (May/June each year). For example, if an employee joins Stanford and H&S on December 1, 2022, they should meet with their manager to understand expectations and set milestones. However, the goals and milestones will only be entered into the GPS system in May 2023 when the 2024 performance review cycle is initiated. Managers are encouraged to conduct regular check-ins with new employees to ensure regular feedback is provided during the first year.
The trial period evaluation will be combined with the annual performance review period for employees starting between November 1 - April 30. For example, for the employee who joined on December 1, 2022, a conversation should take place in December 2023 to confirm the trial period has been completed. However, the documented evaluation process should be completed during the annual performance cycle and captured within the GPS system in April 2024.
For guidance on performance management within your department/program, please reach out to your HR Business Partner
Admin Guide - Trial Period 2.1.15