When NOT to use a Performance Improvement Plan

 

Considering putting an employee on a performance improvement plan?

Don’t do it!

Okay, let me explain. Performance improvement plans were invented as a way of creating due process—fairness— ensuring that someone doesn’t get to strike three without having strikes one and two. It all came from a good place, I think. But the way performance improvement plans are happening these days; they’re mostly just a warning that you’re about to be fired and a bunch of flaming hoops for you to jump through before that happens. That doesn’t sound very kind or fair to me. It sounds a bit like cruel and unusual punishment. Here’s when you should skip the PIP.

1. Your Mind is Already Made Up About Termination

The first situation in which you should absolutely skip doing a performance improvement plan is if there’s nothing this person could do, on heaven or Earth, that would change your mind about terminating them. As humans, it’s very hard for us to change our opinions about people once they’ve settled in. If you’re honest with yourself and say that no matter what that person does, you’re never going to like or trust them, then don’t put them through the horrid process of going through a performance improvement plan.

2. Laws, Policies, or Company Values Have Been Violated

If they have violated laws or company policies or behaved in a way that’s counter to your organization’s values—is this a person you really want in the organization? Particularly if others have witnessed discriminatory behavior or bullying, keeping them around, even on a performance improvement plan, sends the wrong message to everyone else.

That’s another key thing to think about with performance improvement plans. We can get very focused on the individual the plan is for and forget that we have a whole bunch of other people who are performing well and are also affected by our decisions.

So, think about that. If they violated laws, policies, or important values, it may be that you want to forego the PIP and go straight to termination.

3. You Haven’t Done Prior Performance Management

This one’s on you, I’m afraid. Skip the PIP if you haven’t actually done proper performance management of the person so far. I think about a performance improvement plan as definitely being strike three. If you admit to yourself, “I’m not sure they know they’ve had strike one and strike two,” then that’s your failing, not theirs.

Have you had regular conversations providing feedback and talking about the impact of their behaviors? Have you tried to improve their performance through methods other than the panicked, house-on-fire performance improvement plan version?

If you haven’t done proper performance management, at least two or three rounds for sure, then skip the PIP.

4. You Haven’t Provided Resources for Success

If you haven’t positioned the person to be successful, then their lack of performance and outcomes isn’t something that justifies moving to this very rigid, very severe performance improvement plan.

If you haven’t given them the necessary resources, if they’ve been under-resourced, if they’ve had too many priorities at once, or if they weren’t given appropriate training—if there were various reasons beyond their control why they aren’t performing—solve those things with a less high-impact process than a performance improvement plan.

Make sure that you’ve given people what they need and positioned them to succeed. If you haven’t yet, or if you can still think of things that would make their situation better, skip the PIP and fix those things first.

5. Performance Issues Stem from Personal Circumstances

There are lots of situations where somebody is not performing—and I’m not debating that they’re not performing—but they’re not performing because of extenuating circumstances with their health or family life.

While it might be appropriate, and it’s certainly within your right as their boss to use a performance improvement plan in this situation, escalating to something as severe and something that feels punitive, like a performance improvement plan, isn’t great for your reputation as a company that’s empathetic and helps people through rough times.

If you haven’t yet understood what’s affecting their performance beyond capability and motivation—the factors typically associated with work performance—take time to explore that. If there’s anything you can do to make accommodations or direct them to the Employee Assistance Program, make those changes first before getting to a PIP.

6. Personality Conflicts Override Performance Results

In some ways, number six is the most important. You should not do a PIP if the problem is their personality rather than their performance because a performance improvement plan is exactly that—a performance improvement plan. If they’re getting the [outcomes](https://lianedavey.com/outputs-vs-outcomes/#:~:text=An outcome is something that,client meetings%2C and gave presentations.) that their job requires, but you just don’t like how they’re doing it, that’s probably not a situation for a performance improvement plan.

A performance improvement plan is very outcomes-focused—it’s objective and metrics-driven. If they’re hitting those things, it’s very hard to create a PIP that makes sense or hangs together. If it’s a personality issue, again, skip the PIP.

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So, I get that performance improvement plans are an important part of due process and that it does feel like something where at least it’s kind to give the person a chance to get better. But in certain circumstances, like when you’re not willing to see change, and they’re leaving no matter what they do—don’t do a PIP. If they’ve violated laws, policies, or values and you don’t want them in the organization regardless—skip the PIP, right? If you haven’t yet done performance management, if you haven’t positioned them to succeed, if you haven’t taken into account extenuating personal circumstances, or if it’s just that you don’t like them… skip the PIP.

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