title: SP Pilot Guide

sidebar_label: SP Pilot Guide

sidebar_position: 9

You’ve made the exciting decision to extend a pilot offer to a Commit developer! The following are what next steps would look like:

1. The Engineer Success team let the developer know you’d like to offer a pilot.

2. We suggest our SPs to set a start date within 2-4 business days.The developer decides if they are interested in proceeding with the pilot.

3. If the developer accepts the offer, the Engineer Success team sends over the appropriate paperwork.

4. After the paperwork is signed, you will reach out to the developer to welcome them and [initiate onboarding](https://docs.commit.dev/sps/onboarding-new-employee).

At the 2-week, 1-month, and 2-month marks of your pilot, the Engineer Success team will be checking in with you via email to see how the pilot is progressing. We ask that these checkins are completed within 72 hours to ensure that you and the developer are getting the support you need.

We would greatly appreciate it if you respond to our communication with you within 48 hours to ensure we are best supporting you and prioritizing the success of the developer.

Commit prioritizes working out loud - if you have questions or would like to solution a concern you have, sharing in your Slack channel is a preferred option.

Sometimes a pilot doesn’t go as you expected and there are issues that need resolving. Our commitment to you is that we will work with you and the developer to resolve any issues so that the pilot can continue. In general, developers only leave a pilot under rare circumstances.

When a developer accepts a pilot, it is expected that they’ll stay for the full 3 months. The 3-month timeline is designed to give enough time for the developer to get a good understanding of the culture, company and technology of the startup to have all the information to make an informed decision on their career. This is why we don’t offer the option to end the pilot early.

It’s expected you’ll play an active role in providing support to the developer by creating a plan for improvement and sharing constructive feedback in a regular cadence. We’re there to support you even if pilots don’t go as planned - please reach out if there are concerns about a developer’s performance.

We offer all of our developers access to professional coaching through our partnership with [Sphere Coaching](https://sphere.guide/) to help ensure their success and yours. We feel that professional development goes beyond formal training and on-the-job learning. We believe working with coaches on Sphere allows our developers to gain clarity on how they want to develop professionally while also taking care of their mental health.

Developers are encouraged to take 3 days off during their pilot (including statutory holidays).

If the vacation time is disproportionate to the length of the pilot period, we would downwardly adjust the monthly charge for the applicable invoice.

Ideally, Commit, the developer, and you will all try to align on a time-off plan that is acceptable to all parties. Developers are expected to inform their direct manager of their vacation plans a minimum of 1 week in advance.

Commit’s holiday structure follows [BC’s Holiday Calendar](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards/statutory-holidays). If your company recognizes other holidays, the developer may take another day in lieu.

If you’d like to bring a developer on full-time after the pilot, you’ll draft an offer for the developer to review. This should be presented no later than 2 weeks prior to the pilot end date.

- If you need more time to decide, let the Engineer Success team know at the 2-month check in, as a pilot extension may be an option.

- If you don’t hear from you about your decision by 2 weeks prior to the pilot end date, we will extend your pilot by 2 weeks and invoice accordingly.

Once the offer is signed, you can continue working with the developer as you did on the pilot!

If you and/or the developer has decided the pilot won’t continue beyond 3 months, you can let the developer know directly, and also inform the Engineer Success team at the 2-month check in. We’ll ask you for feedback so we can help the developer grow and help us send you more aligned candidates in the future. We’re happy to re-post the role so we can find another developer who more closely aligns with your long-term needs.