The candidate has started, the invoice has gone out and the vacancy is closed. Six weeks later the client calls: the new hire has resigned, and the guarantee period has not yet ended. Looking back, there were signs. The candidate mentioned a long commute in the second week, the manager was unhappy about a missed training, but nobody asked, so nobody knew. This article explains why every placement in your Applicant Tracking System needs scheduled check-ins during the guarantee period: when to plan them, what to record and how the outcome helps you act before a placement fails. The same approach works for the probation period in in-house recruitment.
The stakes differ per segment. Recruitment agencies making permanent placements usually agree a replacement or refund arrangement with the client, so an early departure costs time and goodwill. Executive search firms place a small number of senior people, and one failed placement weighs heavily on the relationship. In staffing a worker who quietly stops showing up leaves a gap in the client’s schedule the very next day. Secondment teams need to know early whether a professional and a client are a good fit for the whole assignment. In-house recruitment teams want to learn whether the role turned out as it was described during hiring.
Why the follow-up slips
- The placement counts as done once the start date is confirmed, so attention moves to the next open role
- Check-ins depend on a recruiter’s memory or a personal calendar, which disappears when that recruiter is busy, on leave or leaves
- Conversations with the candidate and the client happen by phone and are never written down
- Nobody knows when the guarantee period ends, so the last useful moment to act passes unnoticed
- Warning signs are noticed by one person but are not visible to the owner of the client relationship
Plan the check-ins when the placement is confirmed
The best moment to plan follow-up is the moment the placement is recorded with a confirmed start date. At that point the Applicant Tracking System can create the check-ins automatically, as dated tasks for the owner of the vacancy, in the same way every candidate has a next action date. A typical rhythm is a short call after the first week, one around the end of the first month and one shortly before the guarantee period ends. Choose the moments that fit your clients and your segment, and make them the default so nobody has to think about it for each placement. Planning the check-ins is a good example of a repeated step worth automating.
What to record at every check-in
- Who was spoken to and when — the candidate, the hiring manager or both, with the date recorded automatically
- Status — on track, needs attention or at risk, chosen from a short fixed list so the answers can be compared
- What came up — a few lines in plain words, for example about onboarding, workload, travel or expectations
- Agreed action — what happens next, who does it and by when
- End of the guarantee period — recorded as a date field on the placement, taken from the terms agreed with the client
Keep the notes factual and limited to what is needed to support the placement. Personal matters that a candidate shares in confidence do not belong on the record word for word; a short neutral note such as “discussed travel time, follow up in two weeks” is enough.
Act early when a placement wobbles
A check-in only helps if a worrying answer leads to action. When the status is set to “at risk”, let the system alert the owner of the client relationship as well, so the client is not surprised and the agency can propose a solution in time. Look at the runner-up candidates in your talent pool for the same role before the guarantee period runs out, rather than starting a new search from scratch after the candidate has gone. If the placement does end early, record the reason with the same care as a candidate withdrawal, so the cause is visible later.
Share what you learn with the client record
Check-ins tell you a lot about a client: how they onboard new people, whether the role matched the brief and which managers keep people longest. Store a short summary on the client record beside the pipeline, so the next recruiter on that account starts with that knowledge. For secondment, combine the check-ins with the end date of the assignment and the redeployment check.
Measure it with your own data
Count from your own records: how many placements had all planned check-ins completed, how many were marked at risk and how many of those still made it through the guarantee period, how many placements ended early and in which week, and how often the reason was already mentioned in an earlier check-in. Report the number of placements behind each figure and use the same filters every time. Do not rely on general figures you cannot verify; your own placement history shows which clients, roles or desks need closer follow-up.
Where artificial intelligence may help — and where it must not
Artificial intelligence may draft a short summary of a check-in from the recruiter’s notes, suggest questions for the next call based on what came up before, or list placements whose check-ins are overdue. It stays a helper. Artificial intelligence does not replace recruiters, does not decide whether a placement is at risk and does not contact a candidate or client on its own. The conversation and the judgement stay with the recruiter; the Applicant Tracking System makes sure the check-ins happen and the outcome is recorded.
A practical start
- Add a date field for the end of the guarantee or probation period to every placement
- Create check-in tasks automatically when a placement is confirmed
- Use a short fixed list of statuses: on track, needs attention, at risk
- Alert the owner of the client relationship when a placement is marked at risk
- Review open check-ins and at-risk placements in your weekly pipeline review
A placement ends when the guarantee period ends
Scheduled check-ins turn the weeks after the start into a visible part of the pipeline instead of a hope that all is well. They protect the candidate, the client relationship and your own results, and they cost only a few short conversations. Explore the product or book a demo — we show how placements, tasks and client records work together in BoldATS for your segment.