Feature Overview

The New Hire Probation Review Plan automatically starts a probation review for new employees, so HR does not have to create one by hand for every joiner. The plan is switched off until you deliberately turn it on, and it only runs once you have set a fallback evaluator to catch cases where the system cannot work out who should review the new hire. This article explains how to configure the plan, activate it safely, and handle reviews that were auto-assigned to the fallback evaluator.

Interface Overview

Go to Performance Core > Review Plans and Cycles. The New Hire Probation Review Plan is listed here. Opening it shows the review template it uses, when the first review is created after an employee joins, how often it repeats, the Default Manager Evaluator, and whether the plan is Active or Inactive.

[Screenshot: Review Plans and Cycles screen with the New Hire Probation Review Plan — capture as YYYY-MM-DD HH_MM_PerformanceCore.png]

Configure and Activate the Plan

1. Go to Performance Core > Review Plans and Cycles and open the New Hire Probation Review Plan.

   

2. Select the Review Template the probation review should use.

3. Set First Review After — how long after the employee's join date the first review is created (for example, a number of Days, Months or Years).

   

4. If reviews should recur, set Repeat Every to the interval you want.

5. Set the Default Manager Evaluator. This is the person who is assigned when the system cannot otherwise work out an evaluator for a new hire.

   

6. Switch the plan to Active.

   

7. Click Save. The plan will now create probation reviews automatically for employees based on their join date.

Note: You must set a Default Manager Evaluator before the plan can be turned on. If you try to activate without one, you will see "A default manager evaluator is required before this plan can be activated. Please configure it."

Note: While the plan is active, the Default Manager Evaluator cannot be left empty. To remove or change it, deactivate the plan first — you will otherwise see "The default manager evaluator cannot be removed while the plan is active. Deactivate the plan first."

Note: If the person set as Default Manager Evaluator later leaves or becomes inactive, the plan flags this with "The configured default manager evaluator is no longer active. Please update this field." Set a new evaluator to keep the plan running correctly.

Turn the Plan On or Off

The plan can be activated or deactivated on its own, without affecting any other Performance Core configuration.

1. Open the New Hire Probation Review Plan.

   

   

2. Switch the status to Active to start automatic reviews, or Inactive to stop them.

   

3. Click Save.

Handle Auto-Assigned Reviews (Needs Attention)

When the plan creates a review but cannot resolve the usual evaluator, it assigns the Default Manager Evaluator so the review is still created rather than failing. These reviews are flagged so you can check them.

1. Look for reviews marked Needs Attention. These carry the message "The manager evaluator was auto-assigned because no primary evaluator could be resolved. Please review and confirm the right evaluator, or reassign it."
2. If the assigned evaluator is correct, click Mark as Reviewed to clear the flag.
3. If a different person should evaluate, click Reassign Evaluator and choose the correct evaluator.

Note: The Needs Attention flag is only visible to the people allowed to act on it — Administrators and Heads of Department with the right scope, or the assigned manager evaluator.