Performance Improvement Plans

March 23, 2023
performance improvement

A Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”) is a tool used by managers to identify and create a corrective action plan for employees when there are performance deficiencies. The performance improvement plan communicates to an employee that their work or conduct does not meet expectations, explains the need for improvement, and provides guidance towards the expected performance or behavior. This step is taken when initial coaching efforts and regular feedback prove unsuccessful in soliciting improvement. Click on the headline to read a few key takeaways when drafting a PIP. Below are a few key takeaways when drafting a PIP:

  1. Make sure its timely
    a. Waiting to give feedback on performance or behavioral issues is a disservice to your department but to your employee as well.
    b. Do your best to identify when informal conversations have not provided expected improvement. Avoid delaying the establishment of a more formal action plan.
  2. Provide real life examples
    a. Give details on the date or timeframe an incident occurred, what happened, and the impact on behavior/poor performance.
  3. Narrow your focus to your top 3 concerns
    a. Try not to overwhelm the employee with too many areas to work on all at once.
    b. In the PIP, select your top 3 concerns and provide examples on how the employee's behaviors or actions contributed to that concern.
  4. Outline the expectations moving forward
    a. Outline expectations and action steps. Try to set actions that are measurable.
    b. Stick to the facts of what has happened and leave out emotions or assumptions of the problems.
  5. Training and support
    a. Consider including the use of external or internal training resources - like RightNow Media or, LinkedIn Learning in your PIP to help the employee improve performance.
    b. If it is a performance issue, consider if additional job aides, retraining, or job shadowing is needed.
  6. Define the consequences
    a. Along with being supportive, be very clear as to what happens next if improvement is not made so the employee is aware of the process.
  7. Provide regular and consistent feedback
    a. Establish regularly scheduled check ins to track the progress of the plan.

This may seem overwhelming to start, but once you begin writing down your thoughts, feel free to meet with your HR Consultant (HRC) for guidance and support in reviewing the document prior to sharing with your employee. You can also visit our Staff Disciplinary Actions policy to better understand our performance management process.