Performance
7
min read
When you analyze or study your employee performance review results, you will realize that not all employees fall in the top quadrant of performance. Many of them need guidance to bridge the gaps in their performance and improve the same. However, ad hoc or simple verbal suggestions may not always yield sustainable change. There comes the need to write and implement a Performance Improvement Plan or PIP to make a real impact. Through the course of this article, we will cover:
- What is a performance improvement plan and when should you use it
- The structure of an effective PIP and steps to write one
- Best practices to implement PIP and evaluate its impact
- Performance improvement plan examples
- Top questions on PIP that you have (general FAQs)
.png)
What is a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)?
As the name suggests, a performance improvement plan is a plan or a document which enables an employee to identify and understand challenges in his/her performance and take steps and address them.
PIP is an effective tool which you can use to encourage your employees to work on improving their performance from a skills training, behavior/ attitude or even goals/performance mismatch perspective
Put simply, it contains the areas of improvement, actions/ solutions to address them and resources/ support to accelerate this journey.
When should you use a PIP?
Many growing organizations that are implementing PIP for the first time are confused about when it should be implemented and for how long. Significantly different from normal performance feedback, a performance improvement plan cannot be implemented for all employees. It is specifically meant for those who have been underperforming for a while and other practices have already been tried. You can use a performance improvement plan when:
1. The employee is not productive
You need to have a PIP if the employee is underperforming due to a decrease in productivity as opposed to what is expected from him/ her.
Signs to look out for:
- The employee is unable to meet the targets/ deadlines
- The employee is constantly complaining about the workload
- The employee does not possess the right skills for the job
Here, a PIP can help gauge the underlying reasons for reduced/ lack of productivity and facilitate appropriate measures for both skill enhancement and behavioral adjustments to promote high levels of productivity.
2. The employee is disengaged
Another case for PIP comes when you feel that a lack of engagement is leading to reduced levels of performance for the employee.
Signs to look out for:
- The employee doesn’t actively participate and illustrates a sense of withdrawal
- There has been an increase in absenteeism/ uninformed time off
- There has been a decline in the overall work quality
If you create the right PIP, it can help understand why the employee is feeling disengaged and a combination of mentorship, challenging work environment, and other practices can augment engagement leading to better performance.
3. The overall work culture is suffering
You need a PIP if the overall culture is suffering because of the behavior of a particular employee which needs to be fixed to ensure better organizational performance.
Signs to look out for:
- The employee is always late to work
- The employee has excuses for everything
- The employee is always complaining about the work delegated to him/ her
Here, a PIP can help the employee work on his/her overall attitude towards work and promote practices and behaviors which can create a positive and high performing culture.
4. The problem can be fixed with a PIP
You need a PIP only in situations where the performance problems can be fixed with such a plan. Problems where there is a coherent disconnect like insubordination, lack of respect, etc. are quite challenging to be fixed with a PIP.
Signs to look out for:
- There is a skills-role disconnect
- There is a behavior problem that can be fixed
Bonus tip
Read how to address poor employee performance at work to learn how to deal with performance issues when PIP is not required. This article will help you understand what are the early signs of poor performance and how to structure your performance conversations and feedback sessions effectively.
Duration of a Performance Improvement Plan
A performance management plan can go on for anywhere between 30-90 days or more depending on the situation. Since each PIP is very personal and specific to a particular employee, one fixed duration cannot be determined. However, there are some reference points you can consider:
- If it is a skills gap challenge, 30-60 days is a good duration depending on the nature of skills that need to be learnt.
- If it is a behavioral challenge, 60-90 days of PIP may be needed to adjust the underlying attitude.
Anything below 30 days will be too short a time to notice any change. However, anything beyond 90 days can be a waste of time if there is no change in sight. Therefore, it is best to track performance every few weeks and adjust the plan duration accordingly.
Structure of a Performance Improvement Plan
Now that you know what a performance improvement plan seeks to achieve and when you should use it, let’s quickly take a look at what you should be including in your PIP, i.e. its structure. Essentially, there are 5 components of an effective PIP
1. The problem
It covers the problem or the performance issue that needs to be worked upon. This involves highlighting the problem, identifying underlying causes and illustrating the impact of the poor performance.
2. The goal
Second, the PIP should focus on what the end goal or objective is. This involves highlighting what the employee must be able to achieve once the plan comes to the end of its duration.
3. The action plan
Third, the plan should illustrate how that goal has to be achieved, covering specific actions that need to be taken by the employee and the support that will be offered by the organizations and the managers.
4. The metrics
Next, metrics for performance need to be clearly highlighted. Depending on the focus of the PIP, you must establish appropriate metrics to gauge whether or not the PIP has worked.
5. The consequences
Finally, you must focus on including the consequences in your PIP of what to expect if the PIP is not taken into consideration or if the intended goal is not achieved.
How to write a PIP?
The natural next step here is to understand how you can write a performance improvement plan with this step-by-step process to ensure you don’t miss out on anything important.
Step 1: List out the performance gaps
- Highlight the areas in which performance improvement is required like reducing absenteeism, better communication skills, inability to meet targets, etc.
- Focus on providing an acceptable performance against each deficiency for reference.
- Include specific data such as when performance deficiency was observed, expectations.
- Attach as many credible sources as possible to ensure that performance gaps are evident.
Step 2: Highlight corrective measures
- Illustrate how the performance gaps can be bridged
- Highlight specific training or learning objectives/ initiatives that should be undertaken
- Focus on specific interventions for each improvement area
Step 3: Create SMART goals
- Highlight what success would look like
- Ensure the goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound
- Create precise timelines for results with an expiration date
- Create milestone goals as a part of the larger goals for the entire PIP duration
Step 4: Define the support and resources available
- Share the support you will provide to make it a collaborative effort
- Mention the training and other learning opportunities that the employee can leverage on the organization’s cost
- Illustrate the additional support in the form of mentorship, coaching, etc. that will be available
Step 5: Develop a check-in plan with metrics
- Be specific on when there will be check-ins to see improvement in performance
- Check-ins could be weekly or fortnightly, depending on the plan
- Establish metrics for each check-in
Step 6: Highlight the impact of lack of improvement
- Clearly illustrate what lack of improvement will lead to
- Focus on measures like demotion, termination, etc. that may be implemented
- Ensure that consequences don’t overwhelm the employee by making their wordings encouraging
How to implement a PIP?
Once you have written a performance improvement plan, you need to implement it to achieve the desired goals. However, there are many misconceptions about PIPs that can overwhelm employees when you talk about putting them on one. They might see it as a sign of getting fired or it can further demotivate them for being labeled as a poor performer. Therefore, it is important to implement the PIP properly, following these simple practices.
1. Have an initial conversation
If you introduce the plan without any context, you are setting the PIP up for failure
Rather, you should:
- Start with an initial conversation about the performance challenges
- Understand the reasons for poor performance
- Give a subtle hint about the use case for a PIP to improve performance
2. Introduce the plan
After the initial conversation, you can relook at the PIP you have created to check if you would want to make any changes to make it more receptive for the employee based on your discussion. Following which you should introduce the plan by sharing:
- The various sections of the plan and the objective of each
- The rationale and your motivation behind the plan and how it is likely to impact the employee’s professional journey
- What end goals look like to you and how they can be achieved
3. Seek feedback and be open to changes
Don’t make implementation of a performance improvement plan a monologue. Give time to your employee to absorb the information presented and seek feedback by:
- Asking questions on what they feel about the plan
- Checking if there is any disconnect with what they feel and how the plan can be improved
- Being open to changes and suggestions and modifying the PIP on mutual agreement
4. Show support and commitment
Finally, once the PIP is ready, both you and the employee should sign it off to give it credibility. It is important that you make your employee feel comfortable and confident by:
- Showing your commitment with examples of how you will support him/her throughout the process
- Highlighting the additional resources that will be at his/her disposal
- Showing faith in their capabilities with words of encouragement
Review process for Performance Improvement Plan
Now that you have implemented the PIP for your employee, it is important to supplement your efforts with a review process to ensure that the PIP is actually creating an impact. Here are the top practices to ensure effective review:
- Follow a regular check-in based review process and monitor progress on a weekly/ fortnightly basis
- Have a clear agenda for each review meeting and ensure that you are prepared with a list of discussion items
- Focus on factors that go beyond the performance too, including showing up for the review meeting on time, attending the meeting regularly, coming prepared, etc. to gauge seriousness for the PIP
- Identify areas of performance improvement and acknowledge the practices that led to the same
- Focus on the gaps that still exist and go back to the PIP to continue the efforts
- Measure performance along the established metrics to gauge the impact
- Realign on corrective measures and support in case the expected improvement is not observed
- Encourage self reflection by the employee, focusing on what they have realized, what they seek to do next
- Document the progress on a regular basis to ensure a steady upward curve
- Close the PIP once the goals/objectives have been met
- In case the goals have not been met and the expiration date of the PIP has arrived, look at the consequences documented and follow a plan of action
Top examples of PIP
Depending on your employees, there can be different situations or reasons for implementing a performance improvement plan. To give you a broad understanding, we have captured below some of the examples of performance improvement plans.
Example 1: Inability to meet deadlines
Performance problem: Mr. X has missed 5 deadlines over the past 2 months. Despite having a conversation on the same and sharing concern over the need to meet deadlines, there has been no improvement in the attitude or performance. The major problem lies in the inability to multitask and manage work properly, which leads to delay in work submission, impacting the sales of the organization.
Objective: Meet all deadlines by augmenting efficiency at work and taking support wherever needed. Ensure that there is no delay in delivering work based on expected timelines
Action plan:
- Leverage project management tools to keep a track of work and visualize the deadlines
- Set reminders and prioritize work by speaking with the managers to ensure deadlines are met
- Seek support from colleagues in case of time crunch or skill gap
- Undertake training on time management and upskilling for tasks that you are not trained for
Improved performance metrics: Reduced number of missed deadlines while maintaining the quality of work.
Example 2: Lack of productivity
Performance problem: Ms. Y has been unable to meet the targets set for marketing every month. All her colleagues are able to generate the required traffic for their social media handles, except her. Even after several months, there has been no increase in the traffic and even maintaining the same engagement has been difficult for her. This has led to an impact on the organizational brand as a marketing agency.
Objective: Increase the traffic to the social media handle by xx% in the next 60 days and maintain it thereafter
Action plan:
- Undertake social media management training focused on increasing and retaining traffic
- Learn how to make your content more engaging for your target audience
- Create an acquisition and retention strategy by collaborating with your peers and manager
Improved performance metrics: Increased traffic on your social media handle with high levels of engagement
Example 3: Inaccuracies in work
Performance problem: Mr. Z has been constantly making errors in his work. He is responsible for managing the financial statements of the organization and has been unable to ensure correct data entry. These inaccuracies are leading to discrepancies in the organization’s balance sheet, impacting the business as a whole.
Objective: Significantly reduce the number of errors and inaccuracies in work across the financial statements
Action plan:
- Undertake a training on advanced excel/ other accounting software to leverage the advances of automation in the field
- Spend at least 30 minutes every day to review your work before sharing it with the team
- Seek support from Ms. A to check your work before it reaches your superiors
Improved performance metrics: Reduced inaccuracies in work and an improved quality of output.
Use performance snapshots for PIP
While we have talked about some of the use cases when you may want to leverage a PIP, having additional support, data and understanding can help you go a long way. Here, relying on performance snapshot by SuperBeings can enable you to recognize constant low performers to adopt PIP for.
- Start with capturing performance feedback on regular intervals from managers on performance of your employees, using pre-built templates
- Capture performance trends over time through an automated 9-box grid which captures the progress in performance across the 9 boxes in a bias free manner
- Compare the progress for different team members and leverage data from previous snapshots to gauge development or low levels of performance
- Leverage these data points to identify employees who have shown little or no progress over time and who may need PIP to facilitate development
Frequently asked questions about Performance Improvement Plans
It is quite clear by now, that a performance improvement plan can significantly help you in creating a high performance culture by enabling underperforming employees with the right guidance, support and a structured plan to address the problems. However, before we end this article, we understand that several questions might be on your mind as you start your journey. Here are answers to a top few.
Who should write PIP: managers or HR?
A performance improvement plan should be written by the line managers or the direct reports of the employee in question. This would ensure that the performance problems and corrective measures are in line with functional needs. However, it is important that the PIP is reviewed by the HR team to ensure the language and the plan complies with the overall policies.
Is PIP a development strategy or an exit route?
Many employees believe that a PIP is an indicator that they are going to be fired or an exit route. However, if used effectively, it is essentially a development strategy to help employees bridge the performance gaps. The onus of communicating the right meaning lies with the managers. Managers need to show it as a tool for empowerment and improvement and not as a last resort which will end up with firing the employee.
Can a PIP be extended?
The general duration of a PIP ranges between 30-90 days and an extension within this range is normal. Depending on the performance metrics, the manager and the employee can extend the PIP from 30 to 60 days. However, an extension beyond 90 days is generally not observed, unless there are any special circumstances like a break due to some personal emergency, etc.
When should a PIP be developed?
A PIP should be developed after a performance problem becomes apparent through due course of time. A PIP cannot be implemented when there is a slight dip in performance for the first time. Initial instances can be addressed with feedback and guidance. However, if the performance problem becomes a trend over time, a more structured and stricter course of action is needed and that’s when a PIP should be developed.
Suggested Articles
How to go from performance management to employee development
