Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are a common tool for managers and HR professionals to help their struggling employees improve their job performance, meet company standards, and ultimately be successful in their roles. However, despite the good intentions behind them, many PIPs fail to achieve their intended goals. In today's blog post, we will examine the #1 reason PIPs fail and explore ways in which you, as a manager or HR professional, can reduce the managerial burden of a PIP and increase its chances of success.
Employees are often frustrated or defensive when presented with a performance improvement plan. Even if feedback has been continuous and communicated well in advance, it never feel great to have something escalate to this level. You'll learn more from their actions after they have time to process the information. If they like their work and their team, they'll make the effort to emerge from the PIP a better professional. But PIPs fail even when the employee makes their best effort to improve.
One of the main reasons behind the failure of PIPs is the significant amount of time and effort required from the manager or HR professional to successfully guide and support the employee through a PIP. Programs for performance improvement are usually developed with the best intent, but isolated from the actual scenario. Let's take a look at a typical scenario.
A typical timeline for a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) usually spans 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the severity of the performance issue and the tasks that need to be improved.
The process generally commences with a meeting between the employee and the manager to discuss the current performance and the areas that need improvement. This meeting serves as an opportunity for the manager to provide clear and specific feedback about where the employee's performance is falling short.
After this initial meeting, a written PIP outlining the performance issues, improvement expectations, and timeline is provided to the employee. This document often includes a list of measurable objectives and a set schedule for follow-up meetings to review progress.
Throughout the PIP process, regular check-ins should be held, generally weekly or bi-weekly, to provide ongoing feedback, support, and adjustments as needed.
At the end of the PIP timeline, a final meeting is conducted to evaluate the employee’s performance improvement against the objectives set out in the plan. This final evaluation will determine if the employee's performance has improved to meet the company's standards, if more time is needed, or if employment should be terminated.
This sounds straightforward, but depending on the company and program, this requires a lot of work from the manager. An example manager task list with time estimates might look as follows:
Managers typically have to set up additional checkpoints, provide guidance, review performance, and offer ongoing feedback to the employee. All these tasks require time and resources, which many managers feel they don't have. This lack of support can cause frustration for employees who are already struggling and often results in the PIP failing. It can also cause frustration for managers that feel they're pulling time and attention from their top performers in the process.
Most managers are busy, but that can't be an excuse for not executing. Employees need support when they're struggling. Here are some ideas that could help provide breathing room for a manager and employee working through a performance improvement plan:
One way to reduce the managerial burden of a PIP is to set clear expectations at the beginning of the process and to ensure the employee takes ownership of the plan. In certain cases, this can include writing the plan, executing the plan, and reporting back to the manager or HR on progress. In essence, you can drastically reduce the burden on the manager by making it the employee's responsibility. If you want the employee to make lasting change, it's very important that they feel authorship over their improvement plan. Have the employee document what they will achieve, what actions they will take, and how they will track their progress. This will help ensure that both parties are on the same page, and the employee knows what they need to do to improve.
Managers tend to have a lot of meetings, but some of them are more urgent than others. Find a way to reduce the meeting burden. If there is anything on their calendar that can be removed or eliminated through delegation, at least for a time period, do so. Free up their mental capacity and energy to be proactive and present when working through the PIP with their team member. The manager gains the most by successfully facilitating a performance improvement. The emotional and physical drain of compensating for poor performance is often a hidden cost, but is palpable once released.
As a part of the performance improvement plan, find a peer mentor that can help catapult a poor performer into a high performer. Most high performers that are not currently managing are hungry for the experience. They'll jump at the opportunity to pass along expertise whilst developing some valuable expertise.
It goes without saying, but this can be a tricky process to facilitate; the peer must be professional, of high emotional intelligence, and trustworthy. In order to be effective, they'll need to know the areas called out in the performance improvement plan and an expectation for their involvement. That said, it can give the manager a partner and another perspective in executing the plan. A peer mentor can be a valuable and effective support system for both the manager and employee.
Project Management Tools can be a significant asset when coordinating and executing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Platforms like Asana, Trello, or Jira can help structure the PIP, breaking it down into manageable tasks and milestones. These tools can keep both the manager and employee on track, allow for real-time updates and progress tracking, and streamline communication (especially with an HR business partner or other parties). This can reduce the administrative burden on the manager, while also encouraging the employee to stay engaged and accountable to the PIP goals.
In addition to project management tools, feedback applications can be another time-saving asset for managers involved in overseeing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Apps that allow for continuous, real-time feedback between managers and employees. By enabling employees to request feedback at any time, these tools can help to foster a more open dialogue, making weekly or bi-weekly progress check-ins more efficient and focused. Furthermore, these apps often provide a platform for goal setting and tracking, allowing both the manager and employee to easily see the progress being made towards the PIP objectives. This can help to alleviate some of the manager's administrative burden, as well as encourage the employee to take more ownership over their own improvement.
Fostering a workplace culture that values and encourages regular feedback can also ease the burden of a PIP. In such an environment, feedback becomes an integral part of daily operations, rather than an extraordinary event. This kind of ongoing feedback can help identify and address performance issues before they necessitate a full PIP, thus reducing the need for intensive performance intervention. Furthermore, if a PIP does become necessary, the employee will likely be more receptive and responsive to the feedback, having already been accustomed to this form of communication.
In Pearl, this regular feedback cycle is reinforced with through a 'Manager Streak', or consecutive periods in which the manager has met their feedback goals. Pearl also suggests improvements to the feedback that help a manager shape direct feedback while maintaining a professional tone.
These methods, coupled with the aforementioned strategies, can make the PIP process more manageable, less time-consuming, and potentially more effective.
In conclusion, the success of a PIP often hinges on the quality of support and guidance provided by managers. By setting clear expectations, providing additional support and resources, and delegating some responsibilities, managers can reduce the burden of PIPs and increase their chances of success. As a manager or HR professional, it's important to remember that PIPs are not a one-size-fits-all solution, and each one will require a different approach and level of support. By tailoring your approach to each individual's needs and situation, you can help your employees succeed while also relieving some of the pressure and time required on your part.
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