Evaluation of A New Team Member

Project Management / By

When people join a new organization, they join it with the mindset to give their best and not to repeat mistakes done in past. A new joiner needs a comfortable and healthy environment to cope up with the new company, culture and people. Setting a target or expectations on the very first day can result in negative impact. Don’t make him feel regretted on his decision of leaving his previous organization.

If you have a new team member and you have evaluation period to evaluate whether the member is suitable for your project, what are the factors you would evaluate and how long would you take for evaluation?

Tips which can be helpful in making the decision

  • Go through the resume of the new member
  • Outline his/her strong and weak areas
  • Use a tool to determine thinking styles and personal preferences and match it to what the job requires. This creates a space for accommodation for the resources without guessing.
  • Factors to consider would include
    • Type and size of project
    • Company culture
    • HR procedures and whether your new person is contract or permanent
    • The level they are working at and how critical they are to the project delivery and success.
    • Contract would probably be a much shorter time whereas permanent would be 6 months and there would be an HR process for probation / disciplinary etc.
    • Make it clear up front what is expected of them and keep notes and if required document it. Use SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound).
    • Schedule review points and gather feedback as appropriate.

From the moment the person walks right through the door he/she should bond, be willing to assist and be helpful, not be self-centered and just get things done even if it’s not their duty or they have not been asked. In a team it’s the result that matters not who did what. The glory can come later when you have reached the goal.

Another question is how long should be the evaluation period? The most common practice would be 1 month to 3 months of evaluation period. Starting from assigning basic tasks to gradually increasing the level of toughness of task should be considered during the evaluation period, and not just all of these technical evaluation, the team member should be closely monitored on behavioural and personal aspects as well. Like observing his/her team coordination, punctuality, his communication skills, his moral values and code of conduct could play important role in project’s success and company’s overall success. Therefore these factors should also be evaluated and this cannot be observed overnight, a timespan of 2 to 3 months should be fine.

The most important thing here is, the new candidate should be allowed to fit in comfortably in the organization during the evaluation period. So that this can bring out the best abilities of the candidate. It is recommended to give space and time to the new member and try to put him with key players of your project. Because bad performers or lazy resources might spread negativity and would try to demotivate him with fake examples or untrue experience, so be very careful in the first few weeks of his joining. End of the day it is result which matters, so bad company and unnecessary pressure on the new employee would never give positive results.

 

About Aditi Malhotra

Aditi Malhotra is the Content Marketing Manager at Whizlabs. Having a Master in Journalism and Mass Communication, she helps businesses stop playing around with Content Marketing and start seeing tangible ROI. A writer by day and a reader by night, she is a fine blend of both reality and fantasy. Apart from her professional commitments, she is also endearing to publish a book authored by her very soon.

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