When coaching is not enough — a formal HR process that holds up in a tribunal.
Probation, Induction, and Performance Improvement Plans on one ACAS-aligned workflow. SMART objectives, collaborative reviews, automatic audit trail. Started by a manager-led review once coaching, 1:1s and other support have not resolved sustained under-performance.
Most SMEs handle under-performance in email threads. Tribunals hate email threads.
Probation reviews drift
End dates pass without sign-off; new starters land in legal grey areas while everyone is busy.
PIPs live in Word
Every manager invents their own template. Objectives are vague. Evidence is anecdotal. ACAS Code is best-guess.
Inductions get rubber-stamped
Mandatory items get ticked without sign-off because there is no enforcement. First-day compliance evaporates.
No defensible paper trail
When you need to evidence the process, it is fragmented across inboxes, OneDrive folders, and verbal memory.
One workflow. Three case types. Zero ambiguity.
Probation, Induction and PIP share the same audit spine — so every action is captured, attributed, and time-stamped.
From appraisal signals to formal cases — only when other support has been exhausted.
CapCore links the appraisal grading framework into Performance Cases — so concerns surface early, support comes first, and formal cases are an evidenced last step.
Grade D → Targeted growth area, 1:1s and support first
A D (Development Required) outcome auto-creates a development plan with completion gates. Managers offer coaching, 1:1s, training and where relevant occupational health or wellbeing support before any formal case is considered.
Grade E → Leadership review of options
An E (Immediate Improvement Required) outcome flags the case for leadership review. After informal support and a manager-led conversation, an admin decides whether a Probation review extension, a PIP, or continued targeted support is the right next step.
New starter → Auto-assigned induction checklist
Every new hire gets the tenant's default induction template assigned. Mandatory items require manager sign-off; matching training records auto-tick on completion.
Probation milestone → Cadenced review prompts
Probation length and review cadence drive automatic reminders. Overdue reviews surface in the HR Insights dashboard before they become legal exposure.
Confidence for the manager. Fairness for the employee. Defence for the business.
- Knows exactly what success looks like — SMART, measurable
- Can contribute notes to every review (collaborative, not done-to)
- Sees the same audit trail their manager sees — transparent
- Linked training and growth areas are actionable, not abstract
- ACAS Code of Practice baked into the workflow — no guesswork
- Probation end-dates surfaced with overdue alerts — nothing drifts
- Induction items mandate manager sign-off; training auto-ticks completed courses
- HR Insights dashboard — open cases per manager, pass / success rates, overdue load
Workforce risk signals — one screen, drillable to person.
Active probations, active PIPs, pass and success rates, avg case length, overdue reviews ranked by line manager. Click any cell to drill into the filtered case list.
Open PIPs
4
Probation
11
Reviews due
7
Letters drafted
3
Week 4 of 8 — review meeting scheduled for Friday
3-month probation ending Friday; leadership concerns flagged
Designed by HR practitioners, audited by employment lawyers.
Probation tracker
Start, length, cadenced reviews, extension history, pass/fail outcome with rationale.
Induction checklists
Tenant templates, mandatory items, training-record auto-tick, signature enforcement.
PIP workflow
SMART objectives, review cadence, collaborative contributions, ACAS-aligned outcomes.
SMART objectives
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound — with explicit success criteria.
Collaborative reviews
Subject, line manager and admin can all add notes — every contribution role-attributed.
Append-only audit log
Every action, every actor, every timestamp — immutable, retained per HMRC.
Outcome flexibility
Pass / Successful / Extend / Move to Capability / Terminate / Cancel — all ACAS-aligned.
HR Insights rollup
KPIs, outcome breakdowns, manager-level overdue load — drillable to filtered case list.
Stop running PIPs in Word. Start running them in a workflow that defends you.
Most SMEs cut their average probation drift to zero within one cycle. Book a 30-minute working demo with your org chart.
