HR Leader with a Passion for Building and Scaling; VP of People at OpenPhone and Founder of LevelUp
Call me an optimist, but I think Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are a salvageable HR process that suffer from a bad reputation and even worse execution (in most cases). What's missing? Clarity and Choice. Giving employees a clear picture of their situation (can't we just be honest with people?) and a choice in how they want to proceed can turn a soulless process into something that actually works. Thanks to TroopHR for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this topic, which have been brewing for some time, and to Nolan Church for sparking a nice friendly LinkedIn debate on the topic that impassioned me enough to write this post!
What if we trashed the term "PIP" and the old process altogether? I fear it's too far gone with employees and may never recover. Can we call it a "Development and Success Plan"? Or, "Path to Excellence Plan". It deserves a more modern term to match the more modern approach. 🤔 💜
TroopHR
2w
PS - Nolan Church is *Coming Soon* to TroopHR for a Popup Workshop on the Case for Pay Transparency (https://bit.ly/3VGFQNt).
Rich Dudek
2w
I believe PIPs should be the final stage of a disciplinary process and send a clear message to employees that rapid improvement is needed. They should already know this but strong terminology is needed. If we make the term "PIP" too "fluffy", then what are we really accomplishing?
Absolutely agree Rachel Kleban. I think a PIP is what it is and we shouldn't sugar coat it to make it sound like it's anything else. I agree, 100%, we should give clarity and choise to make it successful. It is an opportunity to turn things around. If employees know what is expected and they have a say on how to get there, we have an opportunity to make it work with grace, respect and ownership.
TroopHR
2w
We love when our HR network comes together for real-world insights and shared knowledge. Rachel Kleban thank you for not only contributing to this week's TroopHR featured blog post, but for the generosity you share with your expertise with our community and the HR world beyond!
Similar to feedback, which has become a bit of a loaded term, I think the process is much more successful when a leader communicates their intention (which should align with support for the employee to grow and succeed within the team or company and to achieve their goals). You've helped me better understand how to implement a PIP in a constructive, supportive, and successful way in the past!! Thank you, Rachel Kleban!
I have taken to referring to a Memorandum of Expectations. I have found that the term doesn't present as much as a negative feel for staff. It's easy to review together and thoughtful in the conversation and work that needs to be improved upon.
I agree! Especially regarding the opt-in/out choice before committing company resources to support the PIP.
HR Leader with a Passion for Building and Scaling; VP of People at OpenPhone and Founder of LevelUp
2wCredit to Nicole Hopkins, MBA for the macro/micro feedback piece.