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HR Party of One is brought to you by BerniePortal.

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Terminating an employee should be an employer’s last resort. But what can a manager and Human

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Resources do if an employee isn’t meeting organizational goals and expectations?

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Most employers resort to Performance Improvement Plans, or PIPs.

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Employees commonly perceive PIPs as just another version of a two-week notice that

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they will be fired. Some have gone as far as to refer to it as a “death sentence”.

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Just hearing the mention of a PIP can send shivers down employees' spines and

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even leave HR and managers anxious. As the HR pro at your organization, you are in the best

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position to reframe the narrative around PIPs and change employee and manager perceptions.

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In this episode, we’ll cover:

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What is a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)? Who is Responsible for Developing

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and Introducing PIPs? and How to Introduce a PIP Without Scaring Employees

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Let’s get started!

What Is a Performance Improvement Plan?

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What Is a Performance Improvement Plan? A Performance Improvement Plan, or PIP, is

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a formal document devised for an employee who has not been performing at an acceptable level within

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their role and is being provided the opportunity and guidance to salvage it. It includes:

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Specific goals required of the employee A timeline for which these goals must be met

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Clear actions to take Clear objectives for improvement;

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And consequences for failing to meet PIP requirements (usually termination)

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A PIP can be created to address soft skills such as leadership and

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communication or job-specific skills needed to hit targets, like learning a specific program.

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Most employees want to do well at their jobs but may not know how. HR and managers should

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always give employees the benefit of the doubt and only introduce PIPs after a few initial

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conversations with the employee. An employee should not be shocked when a PIP is introduced.

Who is Responsible for Developing and Introducing PIPs?

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Who is Responsible for Developing and Introducing PIPs?

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Managers are typically responsible for developing and implementing Performance

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Improvement Plans (PIPs). However, they often choose to get input from HR before

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rolling them out. HR can also coach managers on supporting their direct reports through a PIP.

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As an HR pro, you likely have difficult conversations regularly—whether informing

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employees that their wages are being garnished or letting a team member go

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for gross misconduct. By regularly exercising this muscle, you’ve probably become a seasoned

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professional at redirecting and reframing conversations to help employees feel cared for.

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As an HR Party of One, you may feel like you have to navigate

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these difficult conversations alone– but you don’t! Join our HR Party of One Community to

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connect with other HR pros and gain new perspectives on issues you face daily.

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Managers may not feel as prepared to have those difficult conversations with their direct reports,

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so HR and managers should partner in the employee’s best interest. HR can be there

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to terminate an employee if the performance improvement plan doesn’t go according to

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plan but also to frame the introduction of a PIP as an opportunity for growth.

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The role of HR is also to coach managers through developing PIPs. Check out our

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HR Party of one episode, What Is a PIP? to learn about the 6 steps to devising a PIP:

Steps to Divising a PIP

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Step 1: Create or use a template Step 2: Outline the issues

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Step 3: Create the PIP with clear goals and expectations

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Step 4: Create a timeline Step 5: As appropriate, incorporate

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check-ins and provide support throughout Step 6: Sign the document

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Later in this episode, we’ll address how you can partner

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with employees on steps 3 and 4 of this process.

How to Introduce a PIP Without Scaring Employees

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How to Introduce a PIP Without Scaring Employees. Remember that a PIP is not legally necessary,

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and there are no federal regulations for PIPs. In most of the U.S., an employer can fire an

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employee at any time and for any reason besides discrimination or whistleblowing.

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This is because most states follow at-will employment. While a PIP’s intended purpose

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is to serve as a company’s last effort to keep an employee, PIPs are commonly misused,

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which damages an organization’s culture, instills fear, and increases stigma.

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To help reduce this stigma, consider the following questions before introducing a PIP:

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Are you waiting until an issue has escalated too far before initiating a PIP? If the employee is

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“past the point of no return” in your eyes, then you have waited too long.

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Managers should provide employees with consistent, constructive feedback before introducing a PIP.

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What is your intention behind introducing a PIP? If you are introducing the PIP to

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clear your conscience or avoid accusations of favoritism for terminating an employee,

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then you are introducing the PIP for all the wrong reasons.

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Do you actually want the employee to stay at your organization? When introducing a PIP,

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your ultimate goal should be for the employee to succeed and stay at your organization. If you

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plan to fire them anyway, a PIP wastes time for you, the manager, and especially the employee.

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Why did you hire the employee in the first place? At our recent Weekdays with Bernie Conference,

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Aron Ain encouraged employers and HR leaders to start with trust, acknowledging that they probably

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wouldn’t have hired an employee if they didn’t trust them to get the job done. People shouldn’t

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have to earn your trust; they should have to unearn it. You can minimize the stigma associated

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with PIPs by showing employees you genuinely trust them to improve and are willing to support them.

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How clear were managers on the role's expectations? To minimize the need for PIPs,

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HR can coach managers to set clear guidelines for employees from when they sign the offer letter

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and even as early as in the interview process. For additional information,

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check out our HR Party of One episode on coaching managers to give effective feedback.

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If, after considering these questions, you’ve decided to proceed with the PIP,

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here’s how to introduce it without scaring employees:

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First, prepare yourself by writing a draft of the PIP: Collect 1:1 notes,

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performance expectations outlined upon hiring, and evidence of the employee’s current performance

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trends. Outlining these is one of the first steps in devising a PIP. At BerniePortal,

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managers document conversations that occur in their weekly one-to-one meetings

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with direct reports under our performance management feature. When developing the PIP,

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having this “paper” trail to refer back to helps managers and HR justify the need for a PIP.

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Write out a draft of the PIP that includes SMART goals and consider any underlying issues the

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employee has raised in past conversations. SMART goals are specific, measurable,

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attainable, relevant, and time-bound. One example of a SMART goal is:

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“Tim must book at least 6 meetings in the next 14 days.” On the other hand, something like:

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“Tim must start showing up to work on time every day” is not a SMART goal because it is not

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specific or measurable. It does not clearly define what time he needs to come to work.

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Additionally, it may not be realistic for Tim to go from rarely being on time

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to always being on time. A time-bound and specific goal should take a gradual,

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realistic approach to improving performance.

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After thoroughly preparing yourself, put a meeting

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on the employee’s calendar and go to the meeting with a printed copy of the PIP.

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Your conversation may start like this:

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“Hey Tim, I’ve already had a few conversations with you about issues X, Y, and Z, but I haven’t

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noticed any improvement in your performance.” Or like this:

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“Hey Tim, I really value you as a team member and employee at this organization,

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and I want to do everything I can to help you succeed. I’ve already had a few conversations

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with you about issues X, Y, and Z, but I want to see improvement in your performance.”

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What’s the difference here? While the two statements are

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not very different, one focuses the employee on the problem,

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while the other focuses them on the solution. For conversations that are meant to be constructive,

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it can help to reframe the situation as a “you and me versus the issue” rather than “you versus them

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and the problem.” At this stage, provide specific examples and clear, constructive feedback.

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Then, ask the employee: “Are there any more underlying

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issues I need to be aware of that are preventing you from being successful?”

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Asking this question will reinforce the premise that you see beyond the numbers and recognize

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that the employee has a life outside of work. When having this conversation, be careful about asking

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specific questions. You don’t need to know exactly what’s going on in the employee’s personal life,

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as doing this kind of investigation could cause compliance issues if you terminate the employee.

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For example, say a sales team member at your organization suddenly is not meeting goals,

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and upon asking her about underlying issues, she informs you that she’s

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pregnant and has been too stressed to make calls. If she does not follow through with

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the PIP and you terminate her, she could claim employer misconduct.

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Let’s get back to the conversation with Tim. Be intentionally empathetic throughout the

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conversation but firm in your stance that if the employee does not meet

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job requirements, you must do what’s in the organization's best interest. After

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asking the employee about any underlying issues, introduce the PIP:

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“I’ve created this plan to help you be successful.”

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Because PIPs are not legally mandated, you have the freedom to address employee underperformance

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in a way that aligns with your organizational goals and values, and you can even call that

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process whatever you want. Some organizations call PIPs performance growth plans, development

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plans, action plans, or even coaching plans. Then state the SMART goals you’ve set in place:

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“Here are the goals I’ve outlined for you. What are your thoughts? Do these seem feasible?”

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Give the employee a few minutes to review the goals you’ve outlined

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and ask questions. The more we feel like we have a hand in the decisions made about us,

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the more motivated we are to hold ourselves accountable. Involving employees and giving

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them some sense of control over this step of the PIP process shows them that you are

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for them—not against them—and that you are committed to helping them improve.

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Ask for employee input on the PIP and be open to making the SMART goals smarter.

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Then, present the timeline for goal completion and discuss what that will look like for the

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employee’s day-to-day. This is also your opportunity to be a mentor. Offer any

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advice you may have and practical tips that can help the employee improve. For example,

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if you’ve also struggled with tardiness in the past, tell the employee how you

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overcame it. You can also share a success story of a previous employee or team member

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who exceeded PIP expectations and excelled at the company. This helps conclude the meeting

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on a more hopeful note. Once this meeting is complete, both parties should sign the document.

Final Thoughts

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Thomas J. Peters, best known for his book In Search of Excellence, once stated,

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“The day firing becomes easy is the day to fire yourself.” A manager’s role is to do everything

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they can to help their direct reports succeed. Thus, an employee’s failure can be attributed

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to a failure on the part of their manager. Not all direct reports fail due to their managers,

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but strong leadership can tip the scales. Remember—your role is as strategic as you make it!