Assignment for a marketer when applying for a job. Probationary assignment

Colleagues, greetings!

My topic for today is the features and main tasks of the work of a project manager in a trading and manufacturing company.

So... the first 3 months of work as a project sales manager. What do you need to do during the probationary period?

Study the range of products manufactured by the plant, understand the product groups;
Understand where these products should be used, the scope of application of the material/equipment;
Identify the main competitors in all price segments (economy, premium competitors);
Study the basic physical and mechanical properties/technical parameters of products;
Understand which of the parameters specified in the technical data sheet/product catalog is decisive when choosing a material/equipment by the designer, contractor, or customer;
Be sure to go to the production site and get to know the laboratory, designers, and technologist for the group of products that need to be promoted;
Identify the main consumers/customers of products if you are hired as a regional manager. If you are applying for a specific industry, then it is already clear what clients you need (industry, transport, oil industry);
Study the sales policy and rules by which interaction with the client takes place (sales directly or through dealers);
Get to know the main managers of dealers and identify which managers are strong in your industry and who know how to work with clients in your field;
Study albums of design solutions, technical regulations for your products;
Learn to work with CRM
Identify what certificates may be required to use products with your customers;

This is not the entire list of tasks that a manager should familiarize himself with. Other tasks will be aimed at obtaining results in work, gaining a base and experience.

I would like to note the main key to passing the probationary period... this is compiling a database of your consumers, your main clients. Be it the development of key design institutes that can include products in the design and estimate documentation or a list of contractors with whom negotiations were held and certain agreements were fixed on supply of products.

If during the trial period you included your equipment in the project, this means that the construction phase will begin within a year or more and you will have a chance to deliver the equipment to the site if you work properly with all participants in the negotiation process.

To pass the probationary period, the project manager needs to make provisions for future deliveries and include equipment in several projects. It would be better to re-negotiate products - replace competitors with your equipment, but this will be more difficult - since the work was carried out by competitors, the agreements can be consolidated. And if the competitor’s manager is not active enough, you have achieved your 50% of success, the remaining 50% of your merit will be for a successfully submitted commercial offer, with the price of the product 15-20% lower.

I will write about further features of the work in future articles)

Passing a hiring test may be one of the conditions for filling a vacant position in an organization. In this regard, it is necessary to know what procedure for passing the test is provided for by law and what documents are drawn up during this period.

The procedure for passing the IP according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

According to this rule, if the probationary period is not completed, the employer has the right to terminate the employment relationship with him. When making such a decision, the employer is obliged to notify the person in writing. The notification is sent no later than three days before the day of termination of the legal relationship. Failure to comply with this procedure is grounds for appealing the decision to court.

In case of termination of relations, the opinion of the trade union (if there is one in the organization) is not taken into account. There is also no severance pay.

It should also be noted that if, in the process of fulfilling his duties, a person comes to the conclusion that the job is not suitable for him, then he also has the right to terminate the relationship at his own request. In this case, the employee is also obliged to notify the employer no later than three days before the date of termination of the contract.

Report on passing the IP

One of the important documents drawn up based on the test results of a new employee is a report. The information included in the report reflects the candidate’s ability to fill a position in the organization on a permanent basis and perform the duties required by his position.

The report must be completed by the person who has been assigned as a supervisor or mentor. The basis for drawing up the report is the probationary plan, which indicates the main tasks.

The report must reflect information about how the person coped with the tasks assigned to him during the test period, whether there were errors in his actions and how they were corrected.

Attention! The law establishes a period within which the report must be prepared. It must be ready no later than 2 weeks until the end of the test period.

In addition to the report, the employee’s supervisor draws up a conclusion, which is also an integral part of all documentation about the test. This document summarizes the information included in the probation report and character reference.

The conclusion may take the form:

Order;
Analytical note;
An act drawn up by the commission.

An organization may establish a form of conclusion by internal act. When such a form is not established, the conclusion is drawn up arbitrarily.

The conclusion states the assessment:

Professional competence of the person;
Its obligations;
Performance;
Ability to plan work;
The quality of the work performed;
Compliance with labor regulations;
Ability to collaborate with other employees.

An example of a conclusion on completion of the probationary period, as well as a sample assignment for the probationary period, can be found below:

Characteristics of the employee after the verification period

Characteristics are another document drawn up based on the results of passing a test when hiring.

The characteristics are drawn up, like other documents, by the curator. When an organization has established the form of such a document, the characteristics must be drawn up strictly in accordance with it. When such a form is not approved, it is drawn up arbitrarily.

The specification must include the following information:

About the organization;
About the person for whom a probationary period has been established, indicating his personal information, as well as information about the position and structural unit of work;
Test period;
If the employee has length of service, his length of service is indicated;
Information about the curator;
Information about the tasks that were assigned to the person during the test period;
Conclusions and comments from the manager (indicates what the employee did during the test period, whether the employee coped or failed to cope with the tasks assigned to them).

Actions of the employer upon completion of the tests

After the probationary period has ended and all the necessary documentation about the employee passing the test has been prepared, the employer must decide whether the employee was suitable for him.

When an employee, after the end of the probationary period, continues to work in the organization, this means that he completed the assigned tasks successfully. Additional registration of the employee after the probationary period is not required.

However, a person hired does not always successfully complete the probationary period. In this case, the employer must prepare a written report on the completion of the test. Next, the employee must be familiarized with the results (the fact of familiarization is confirmed by his signature). When an employee refuses to sign, a report is drawn up.

When the basis for termination of the contract is the initiative of the employer, the order must indicate the reasons for termination of the employment contract. The reason for dismissal of an employee is failure to pass the test.

Note! When the trial is terminated before the date established by the agreement, the employer is obliged to issue an order to this effect. The employee should be informed of the decision to end the probationary period.

Alexander Taptygin, managing partner of Profit Lab, talks about how personnel are currently recruited for the developer’s sales department and what it should ideally be like.

The developer's sales department is the very niche where personnel is one of the most important components. But how do employers approach hiring? What are the most common schemes now found and which of them are the most effective?

Very often in companies there is the so-called "unexpected career". It is especially popular in large organizations, where it is often an indicator that management treats its employees with care: it does not fire them, but moves them up the career ladder, sideways and upwards. For example, there are stories when a secretary becomes a sales department manager. Without basic competencies and without undergoing further training, an employee is assigned to a position and the “work” begins. It is clear what this entails.

Another scheme - "take by acquaintance".

Need a specialist? We start calling Vasya-Petya’s acquaintances:

– I urgently need a manager. Is there anyone in mind?

- I have Ivan, try it, he’s a good man.

What are the results? The results are unpredictable. And it’s a paradox: we hire quickly, but it takes a long time to fire. We give one last chance, we persuade. Firing an employee is quite difficult psychologically.

The classic scheme is regular ads, posted on recruiting sites, collecting resumes, studying them, individual interviews and induction. What problems and questions usually arise here?

In large companies, it is easier to implement the classic scheme: they are well-known, rely on their brand, and as a result, the value of the offer increases.

For the rest, the ads look like carbon copies and don’t sell the work. Also, the HR or line manager spends a lot of time studying all the resumes received: applicants are selected, but an excellent writer does not always turn into a good employee. If a person knows how to write a resume well, there is a chance that he was either taught to do this by specialized companies, or he went through the selection stage many times and has a lot of experience in this, which is not good. Only 20-30% of candidates from those who were noted and invited come to the next stage, personal interviews. A lot of time is spent on the entire selection process. After selecting a candidate, the costly induction process begins—a probationary period and training. However, the result remains unpredictable. Companies that are trying to update their sales departments are either overwhelmed by turnover or hold on to the employees mentioned at the beginning.

How to identify the right candidate?

There are five parameters that will show us his readiness and potential:

effectiveness and efficiency;
responsibility and involvement (the extent to which he accepts the tasks of the company and department as his own);
motivational reasons (what will move this particular person forward);
professional competence or potential (how trainable it is);
personal qualities (which will influence his work in the team).

Of these qualities, 3 main categories of employees can be distinguished:

Those who are the most effective are those who work towards a measurable end goal and are motivated (about 10%).
Good performers: he was told, he did. Everything is clear, on time, but the employee does not take the initiative on his own (20%).
Poor performers who not only lack initiative, but also create problems for the company (55%).

How to identify a productive employee?

You should first ask a few questions to help evaluate it:

– What will be the result of your work?

Best answer: a measurable end result or product that is directly applicable to the company.

– What achievements in your previous job can you tell us about?

Performers begin to describe processes, talk about their responsibilities and their number. A productive employee is more likely to talk about sales volumes and name conversions.

How else can we evaluate a person adequately?

Our method – “Effective recruitment funnel”

What does it mean?

When making associations with sales, it is initially important to create a constant incoming flow of applicants. To do this, first of all, we need to understand who we need, draw up a “portrait” of the employee, describe the functionality and competencies based on what we want to receive or develop. This will be used as a starting point when placing an ad.

How do we process the incoming stream? Through two preliminary stages: stage of professional testing and test interview. At the same time, we practically don’t read resumes. But you need to remember that this applies to basic positions in the sales department. The choice of a manager and marketer is deeper.

First stage: We send professional testing to applicants.

Professional qualities, performance and personal qualities are the basis.

An experienced sales manager can create a good professional test: determine what professional competencies are important to him and develop a question-answer system based on which he will preliminarily evaluate the candidate.

For us, it works as an online service: a test with a limited time period using an individual link, for a manager - more than 150 questions, for marketers - 80.

When compiling the test, we recommend dividing all questions into subcategories: communication competence, working with conflicts, professional ethics, level of training, understanding of sales in real estate, potential/trainability, work in CRM, etc. Our service has about 14 subsections and the score is given accordingly both general and by subcategory. Why do this? If we hire an employee without experience, “for ourselves,” then we evaluate only the subcategory that is important to us – potential.

The test must have high validity: the answers to the questions are structured in such a way that it is almost impossible to Google them. You also need to limit the time for passing.

After that We schedule an individual interview with the manager.

If there is a large hiring process, then it is possible to conduct it in the format of a competition: several people are invited, given a task, and they simultaneously go through this stage. Very often this is where inadequate applicants are eliminated. If there are few applicants, you can invite everyone for one time. Firstly, because not everyone gets there, and you save time. And secondly, this is a psychological moment - those who don’t wait and leave show a low level of interest in your offer.

Interviews, thanks to a preliminary test, become shorter and the turnout for them is completely different than an invitation after reviewing a resume.

There is a vivid example of how we were looking for a marketer for a construction company, thanks to the described hiring method.

So, if the decision is positive, we take the applicant to test days/week. Here a subtle legal issue arises, which can be resolved differently in each company: how to register? Either this is a civil contract, or your own agreements.

If this is a sales department specialist, then you can bring out several people and organize something like a competition for interns. For the probationary period, we recommend introducing your own KPI, because it is not always possible to adequately assess the trainee and his potential using the existing KPI. The recommended probationary period for a marketer is 3 months. Department manager – 1-2 months. Upon completion of the probationary period, we carry out re-certification (using a professional test) to assess the dynamics of development.

The entire process of inducting new employees is important: a clear KPI, the company must have developed regulations, business processes, sales guidelines (scripts, complete information about the product, company and sales systems, etc.). It’s good if the company has a “Corporate Sales Book” and developed mentoring.

The availability of these tools significantly reduces onboarding time to a few days (instead of months) after the test period. The employee almost immediately begins to bring profit to the company. And the manager’s task is not only to check the employee and assign KPIs to him, but also to help with work processes and provide everything he needs.

Marketing arithmetic for top officials Mann Igor Borisovich

Long probationary period

The idea is simple: set not a month, but a two-three month probationary period for your candidate.

During this time, on the one hand, he will get tired of pretending (if he is pretending), on the other hand, he will prove himself on large, long-term projects.

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The right team is one of the main mechanisms for building a successful business. An employee who clearly knows his job and his responsibility must make his contribution to the company. The team may change frequently, or may even expand, and here, the most important thing is to prevent unnecessary people from joining the company, but to correctly select key employees for productive work. Many companies want excellent specialists in their marketing department. But in order to get a professional on your team, you must first find him. How to do it? I will tell you about the main stages of hiring an employee in the marketing department.

The first thing to do is to create a profile of the candidate we are looking for. This means we sit down and clearly describe all the skills, personal qualities and achievements of this person. The picture must be specific and clear, otherwise you will be looking for a person for years. This is 99% of success when hiring. You must have an idea of the person you see on your team. You must know exactly what it will do for your company, what benefit it will provide. We need a profile in order to reduce the risk of ineffective employees appearing in the company. Remember that you need to choose an employee carefully. To more effectively evaluate a candidate, it is worth creating a special questionnaire that will list the responsibilities, level of work, options for action of the prospective employee, and when the specialist comes for an interview, ask him to fill out the questionnaire or conduct a survey over the phone so as not to waste your and the candidate’s time. For example, an application form for the position of a marketing department employee may contain the following questions:

How is the effectiveness of the market analysis assessed?
How are factors influencing pricing policy assessed?
What information should you know and monitor about competitors? Why do we need it?
Tell us about your projects at your previous place of work. How did you develop them, and how did they help the company?
What results are you proud of?

Next, we create a clear “selling” advertisement for the vacancy (keep in mind “selling” means motivating exactly the candidate you are looking for). How to understand the motivation of the person you are looking for? This is a diagnosis of the needs of such a person. Your ad should attract exactly the candidate you want to see in your state. One of the main rules for successfully finding the desired employee is clearly defined requirements for candidates. Here is an example of a list of requirements from a “selling” vacancy for the position of “Marketing Department Employee”:

We want you to:

were gurus in market research, needs and analysis of existing and received data, so that you know how to work with data and use it to benefit the company
were a specialist with successful experience in a similar position
were active in introducing new effective marketing programs

The candidate must know what they want from him and understand whether he is suitable for his position in this company.

After creating a “selling” vacancy, you need to post an ad on all job search resources that are most likely to convert for your vacancy. Let me remind you that there are a lot of such resources and tools, don’t limit yourself to just hh.ru. There are both paid and free tools. Use all the possibilities! For example: all sites with vacancies (superdjob, etc.), groups in all social networks, avito, portals and forums where your candidates sit, specialized printed publications and advertisements in Universities, colleges, any universities and departments that suit you, hunting (we lure from competing companies or simply go to specialized companies for a service, and offer a job with us to the best of their employees), ask for recommendations from friends, etc. Your ideal employee can spot you anywhere!

Third, we begin active screening (study, analysis, sampling) of the resume. Don’t expect employees to run to you after the announcement. Be the master of the situation - find and call all the profile resumes of candidates yourself. When calling, be sure to talk about what will be required of the new employee and ask a few questions: what duties the candidate performed at the previous place of work, what were his main achievements, what results did he show. Try to find out as much information as possible from him. The more you learn about your candidate over the phone, the more successful your in-person meetings will be. Here, as in sales, there are clear indicators and conversion at all stages of recruitment. More maximum indicators mean closer and better results of your search. If you don’t have time to conduct inspections and phone calls yourself, then hire yourself a recruiter (20-30 rubles per month) who will correctly carry out all stages of recruitment and transfer already selected people to you for live interviews.

Fifth - after telephone interviews about the specific results of candidates in the past and the vision of the ideal picture of the job they are looking for, you call the most effective, clear, motivated and positive for live interviews in the office.

Let's move on to real dialogues. It is better to conduct live interviews with the head of the department where the employee is being hired; you can facilitate and help with this. The task is to test the competence of a person in this position on various game tasks and past experience (if you take it without work experience, it means simply testing the necessary skills of performance, problem solving and pay attention to past achievements from childhood in life). Take a closer look at the person. Does this person meet the requirements you described in the vacancy? Watch his answers, his actions during the conversation. Try to ask him more questions in order to involve him in an effective dialogue as much as possible. Ask all questions relevant to the required position. Ask for a plan of action for any situation. Try to understand whether the prospective employee's methods are actually correct in various situations, so as not to make a mistake.

After a personal interview, we always send the candidates we like by email one more task before deciding on the final interview. This task is required to ensure that the candidate confirms his competence for the desired position. Does he know enough? Ask him to complete a work plan for a certain period. What details will he pay more attention to? Follow his train of thought and evaluate the possible effectiveness. The candidate must know what to tackle first in order for the work to be as effective as possible. Invite the candidate to describe his actions and strategy in the company for 3-6 months, etc. This will help you better understand the candidate and make your choice.

Did you get the desired result from the test task? Did the candidate succeed? Then invite him to a final interview to discuss all remaining details. It is better to conduct the final interview with an expert in the field in which you are hiring the person. Let the head of the marketing department look at his possible subordinate, let him ask important questions to determine the professional competence of the candidate. And after the manager meets the candidate, discuss all the details of the upcoming work. It is worth mentioning the reporting form, business planning, deadlines, etc. If before the new employee his work profile was handled by another person, then tell us about what he managed to do and what is needed first. Try to bring the new recruit up to speed as much as possible so that it is easier for him to get to work.

Call 2-3 candidates you like at the same time or at different times for 1-3 free introductory days, when you set specific tasks for them and check how well they are fulfilled, what the results are and whether the candidate is completely confused. See how candidates cope and where they started. Evaluate all actions of potential employees. Take a closer look at them. Who does it better? Who spends less time on less important things? Evaluate the results and how candidates approached the work process. Of course, it’s difficult to start, but an experienced specialist knows exactly how to cope with the required work.

To the finalist - make an official offer to hire him and a probationary period - a job offer, in which you describe in detail the tasks for the probationary period and motivation (both a guaranteed minimum amount of money and bonuses, and on the completion of which tasks its value will depend). The employee must show his effectiveness, confirm his competence and let you know that you were not mistaken in him. Set tasks for him more specifically and monitor their implementation. Is he missing anything? Does everything work as it should?

For the first two months, ask the employee to report to you (the immediate supervisor) daily according to the scheme: plan in the morning, fact in the evening. Conduct introductory training, live master classes and meetings, provide as much information as possible about your product and services. Every week, give him feedback on his successes/failures and ask him what he needs to work more effectively. Involve him as much as possible in the process of working with you and help him get used to the new place. Give him all the information he needs. Introduce yourself to all employees and establish the necessary contact. An employee should feel confident at work. Deal with him about the problems that have arisen, suggest him in a plan of action.

At the end of each month of the probationary period, take a mini exam on the tasks set in the job offer and set your salary accordingly. Give adjustments, provide more training, or part with a sluggish and ineffective candidate (you should never wait more than 1-2 months). If a new employee does not have enough knowledge, then he must want to develop and work on himself. He can attend special courses or read useful literature. The main thing is that its capabilities do not stand still.

Based on the results of a successfully completed probationary period, congratulate the company employee and write out with him a plan for his tasks and actions, his development and training for the coming year. Don’t forget to summarize his performance weekly and monthly and constantly receive feedback once a month in the form of 4 questions of regular coaching (such as: what now? what are you striving for? how will you achieve it? how to help, etc.). Monitor the development of not only the work, but also the employee himself.

Recruiting truly effective employees is difficult work. But if you value your company and know exactly what you want to achieve with your team, invest your time in it now and get good results in the future.