How You Can Improve in a Performance Improvement Plan?

What Is Performance Improvement Plan?

A PIP performance improvement plan is a formally designed document that highlights all the specific areas for improving an employee’s performance. A PIP shows the weakness of the employee in terms of their performance by matching the current performance with the targets. An organisation usually uses a PIP as a way of formally training their employees who are lagging behind in their performance and need immediate improvement.

PIP offers a fair chance to address any performance gaps before an employee is formally terminated. If you’ve received a PIP letter, it means that you are expected to train yourself more and improve your work quality. PIP is not equivalent to a termination notice, and usually is issued as a way to improve a team member.

Why Is PIP Issued?

If you’re an employee who has received a PIP notice, here’s what you need to know. A PIP is issued only when:

• An employee has missed multiple deadlines despite several warnings
• When managers notice consistent underperformance over a noticeable period of time
• When an employee delivers poor quality work, which shows no sign of improvement for a considerable time

This formal document serves multiple purposes for both the employee and the business. It develops a sense of accountability in the employee, sets measurable goals so that they can work autonomously without always needing supervision.

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How To Improve In A PIP?

If you’re being placed on a skill improvement plan, the first thing is not to assume that you are being terminated soon. Companies structure PIP to improve and make employees more resourceful, not otherwise. Here are some easy tips to follow when you’re put on a PIP plan:

Know Specific Areas For Improvement

Review your performance review plan thoroughly with your manager. Identify the key areas of improvement, such as if you have been missing deadlines frequently, having communication issues, or skill gaps. Many employees risk failing their PIPs because they hesitate to ask and avoid clearing all of their doubts. You can have a direct conversation with your manager and ask about the expectations put on you too.

Create An Action Plan

Break down all the larger goals into weekly tasks you can track. If your performance support plan requires efficient project delivery, map out each project phase where you didn’t perform well. Schedule regular check-ins with your manager to get clear feedback before formal reviews.

Leverage Available Resources

Many companies offer training and mentorship during the PIP period. Always utilise these tools effectively, and ask about any productivity workshops. You can also take up online courses for skilling up, and be an active force in your skill development.

Document And Record

Always keep a running log of your accomplishments during the days of PIP. These achievements can be small, but keeping a constant tab and documenting everything becomes strong proof to show your commitment.

Always Communicate Proactively

In many cases, where the bandwidth may be a roadblock or where your manager is entrusted with too many responsibilities, you may not face active communication. You can show your accountability and be transparent by sharing your weekly updates and highlighting your challenges.

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Components of a PIP

Here are the essential components of a performance improvement plan template.

Highlights Performance Areas

The performance review plan identifies the weak and unproductive areas of an employee during their work. A PIP plan clearly states the specifics of performance improvement areas, such as stating “you need to invest a few minutes more in outbound processes”.

Creates Measurable Outcomes

Second, a PIP clearly outlines measurable objectives you need to achieve within a fixed duration. Many organisations follow the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This helps the company to keep a close track of the employees' performance.

Offers Training

Companies that initiate a PIP often offer dedicated training to improve the employee’s performance over time. During this time, additional mentorship, training, and support is provided to the selected employees.

What Happens When You Fail a PIP?

Here are the possible cases that can happen if you fail a PIP:

• Your company may terminate you from your position
• Your company may extend the PIP and impose additional benchmarks and standards to monitor
• Your company may downgrade your position or reduce your compensation instead of letting you go

When you don't meet the actual objectives outlined in your PIP, your manager and HR will review your progress and determine the next steps. The reason why a company proceeds to terminate an employee after they fail a PIP is that the company has already documented their performance deficiencies and offered the employee more opportunities to improve.

After an employee fails a PIP, they face the exit interview where HR discusses their departure, return of company property, and informs the employee about their full-and-final settlement. During exit interviews, always ask the HR about:

• Porting of your health insurance to an individual health insurance
• Notice period duration
• Day and time of returning the company assets
• Encashment of your unused leaves
• Withdrawal of your provident fund

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How Can You Write a Successful Performance Improvement Plan?

Many managers still look for ways to write an effective PIP plan for their employees. Here are some of the successful ways:

Specify Performance Issues

As a manager, always be specific on objectives, such as writing “invest 30 minutes in learning a specific project management tool” instead of “invest more time in project management”. Here’s what a successful PIP plan statement looks like:

• Need improvement in creating a Gantt Chart within 10 minutes
• Consistently reach out to at least 3 clients weekly
• Communicate project delays in advance to the team lead

If the manager is being specific, it removes ambiguity and helps the employee have a clear understanding of where they can improve.

Create Measurable Goals

Employees cannot work without having a line of goals set for them. Objectives set in a performance improvement plan template need to be quantifiable for an employee to work with. For example, you can set outcomes such as “achieve an increase of 55% leads in the second quarter” or “generate 30 qualified leads per month” for the PIP employee. Setting up numbers offers more clarity to the employees, and they can easily track their progress.

Establish Realistic Timelines

Most PIPs run between 30 to 90 days, depending on the complexity of improvements needed. You can divide the PIP into multiple checkpoints. For example, for a 90-day PIP, you can schedule reviews at 30-day and 60-day marks.

Outline Support and Resources

The purpose of a performance review plan is to provide the employee with a chance to improve their performance. You can offer mentorship or relevant training tools and resources for aiding the employee. Almost 32% managers have agreed.

Include Regular Check-ins

The best way to write a successful performance support plan is to schedule weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings with the employee to discuss progress and challenges that they’re facing. You can clearly list out all the areas of improvement, as well as specify which areas you wish to check for progress.

Use a Performance Improvement Plan Template

Creating a good performance improvement plan template is a no-brainer if you’ve identified the specific areas of improvement for the employee. A successful PIP includes:

• Employee personal details (name, address)
• Date of PIP initiation and expiry
• Performance expectations
• Complete action plans
• Specific timelines that include open action items
• Details on scores and set benchmarks

Focus on Your Behavior More

Effective PIPs address observable actions rather than personality traits. For example, if you notice a negative behavioural pattern in an employee, you may highlight it in the PIP. This approach helps the employees keep a check on their negative behavioural traits with scope of improvement.

Ask PIP Members For Collaboration

Collaboration is an integral part of measuring the success of an employee who’s segmented in a PIP plan.

According to research, almost 70% of employees are of the opinion that collaboration improves employee productivity. As the manager, you can put collaboration as an effective action plan.

What Happens After A PIP?

There are two possibilities after completion of a PIP.

• The employee can continue being part of the organisation and hope for promotion with continued service
• The employee will be either terminated or demoted to a lower position
• The employee may lose their usual compensation, and their perks may be downgraded
• A review meeting is arranged between the employee and the HR, where a final evaluation is done.

In case If you've successfully met all objectives, you'll receive formal confirmation that the PIP performance improvement plan has concluded satisfactorily. Your employment status returns to normal, and you're no longer scrutinized with any additional scores.

However, many organisations do not address the poor performance of an employee before being enrolled in a PIP, and the employee is still surveilled for a few more months or weeks. The reason behind this is that managers try to have a sustainable and continued performance, rather than the result of PIP being a temporary improvement.

How Long Does It Take A Performance Improvement Plan To Get Over?

The duration of a PIP typically ranges from 30 to 90 days, though this timeline varies based on a few things, such as:

• The nature of performance issues, such as an employee taking too many unapproved leaves against company policies
• The objective of the PIP, which determines the length of time
• Tech disruption, such as the inability of any employee to train or adapt to <a href=https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/generative-ai" rel="nofollow">Generative AI
• The standardized time length approved by the board members
• The skill gaps or technical knowledge gaps may also lengthen the time
• Position of the member, for example, a clerical worker may face a less number of days compared to a C-Suite employee
• Industry norms and regulatory standards

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Conclusion

A performance improvement plan is meant to improve an employee and develop high quality talents within the organisation. A fair PIP acknowledges the weaknesses and deficiencies of the employees and tries to improve them extensively. A successful PIP is always area-effort, as both the employee and their manager need to put in efforts to create transparency. Whether you're an employee facing performance challenges or a manager committed to supporting your team, PIPs always work out when there is transparency and follow-ups.