The conventional career path lacks forgiveness. As the employee climbs from rung to rung, the rungs are burned behind him. If he climbs onto a rung and struggles, he knows that his reputation will suffer and his job will be in jeopardy. There is no turning back. By punishing career missteps so severely, this path discourages everyone from taking bold career steps. In conventional wisdom’s world, taking bold career steps in order to discover a latent talent or to refine an existing one is almost as foolhardy as volunteering to learn the trapeze without a safety net. No wonder people are so protective of their careers, so closed to their own feedback, so reluctant to change their career track based upon what they have discovered about themselves. This career path kills learning.
Great managers want to encourage career learning. They want to promote active self-discovery. So they have devised their own makeshift career safety net: trial periods.
Ellen P., the manager of in-flight training at Southwest Airlines, describes the safety net she built:
“It is a big step for a flight attendant to move out of the planes and into the training room. Some people want to become a trainer because they will get to travel less—we knock those people out right away. But others talk about wanting to teach, wanting to pass on the tradition of Southwest. If we think they have the talent, and if we think they are seeking the job for the right reasons, then we bring them in for a six- month trial period.
“We are very explicit that this is a time for them, and for us, to decide if this is really something that they will love to do, for a long time. People don’t realize that teaching is hard. We do teach ideas for having fun with the guests and playing games and telling jokes. But there is a lot of boring detail to communicate and a lot of rules for the students to learn. This trial period is a way for them to get a sense of how they like Ail this kind of work.
“During the trial period, we sit down with them once a month and discuss their performance, what they are really enjoying, where they are struggling. We send other trainers in to evaluate them and give them feedback. And at the end of the six months they have to pass certain tests to show that they have learned all the necessary information.
“Most do exactly that—and we now have a really talented group of trainers. But all of our trainees knew that if, during the trial period, either they or the company felt that they were not a fit, they would have been able to go back to the planes and resume their flight attendant role. And that’s happened a couple of times over the last few years. There was no shame in that, no failure. These people wanted to experiment, to learn if they could be a trainer. They took the step and learned that teaching was not for them.
“It worked out great for us, too. They are back on the planes now, focused on our guests, and undistracted by vague thoughts of moving into training. They have closed that door. They can move on.”
Trial periods are tricky. You must not use them as a substitute for selection. Like Ellen, you should use them only with people who have already shown some talent and some genuine interest in the role. After all, your main focus as a manager is not to help every employee play around within the company in the hope of finding something they like to do. Your main focus is to drive performance by matching the talent to the role. Even if an employee begs and pleads for a chance to discover a new talent, if you know he doesn’t have it, don’t offer him the trial period.
Furthermore, if you use trial periods, then, like Ellen, you must be very clear about the details. How long will it last? What criteria will you use to assess fit? How often, if at all, will you meet during the trial period to discuss performance? Where will the employee go if she does not stay in the new role? You must answer all of these questions explicitly if the trial period is to be a success.
Finally, and most significant, you must make it clear that the employee will be moved back into his previous role if either you or he is unhappy with the fit. This will avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings. The trial period is not just for his benefit; it is also for yours. If, after the trial period is over, he loves the role but you perceive a misfit, your assessment wins. He may not be happy with this, but at least he will not feel ambushed.
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