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 desirable
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 preliminary
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 environment
and has been prepared to handle the essential elements
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.
