THE VESTIBULE SCHOOL 
V3 
that a large part of the labor turnover consists of those 
who, after being hired, come for a day or a week, and then, 
because they are disgusted or discouraged with their 
progress, never appear again. Therefore, it is most de 
sirable to assign unskilled workers to the work at which 
their natural abilities will enable them to succeed most 
quickly and where they can, in the shortest possible time, 
earn a satisfactory week’s pay. To do this it is necessary, 
in the first place, to test applicants with great care in 
order that the natural abilities which they possess 
may be immediately applied where they will most 
quickly bring success. And in the second place, it is 
desirable to supplement this preliminary examination 
by means of the more prolonged observation which is 
made possible by a period of training in the so-called 
vestibule school. 
The vestibule school is what its name implies—a pre 
liminary training school in which to observe and coach 
new employees. The vestibule school is to the industrial 
organization what the vestibule is to the home. In the 
home it is a place where the entrant stops, wipes his shoes 
on the mat, adjusts his garments, and performs those 
duties which prepare him to enter the house proper. In 
the factory or office it is a place which detains the incoming 
employee until he has become adjusted to a new environ 
ment and has been prepared to handle the essential ele 
ments of his prospective work. Having passed through 
this preliminary stage, he is the more ready to enter upon 
the work of the main shop or office. The vestibule school, 
therefore, answers two main purposes. First, it provides a 
means for bringing an unskilled employee most rapidly 
to the stage in which he can earn a desirable week’s pay.