How do you support an employee on a performance improvement plan?

Understand is this one time scenario or repetitive performance failures. Did something got changed in employee profile - new tasks or manager change or lack of training..etc

A very important element I believe, is to make sure that the PIP includes a timeline for when expectation outlined are to be achieved by. The timeline should be developed in conjunction with the employee. Also, the timeline should also include when follow up meetings are to take place to discuss progress in the attainment of the goals prescribed in the PIP.

Setting SMART goals or similar in a PIP clarifies what's expected. It helps the manager communicate clearly what needs to change and helps the employee know where to focus. No one wants vague expectations like "improve your writing" or "communicate better." Not helpful! As a manager, co-create incremental actions that can help achieve those goals and guide folks to resources. For me, co-creating is important. The actions should resonate with how the employee wants to address the concern. I've seen managers who create plans based on how they would tackle it and then are shocked when the employee doesn't show improvement.

Be clear what steps/support has been given prior to going to the PIP stage. What have you done to coach and support the individual? Don’t use the PIP as a way to dismiss people, improving performance shouldn’t be seen as a tool to exit people from the company.

Understand what has helped the performance to change? Training or focus. Helps to know if it's process gap and create/ add process for anyone else performing the job in future

Be honest with yourself, if you can’t coach find someone who can and learn how to coach, your team deserve it. The ability to coach will be a valuable skill for the future.

It’s important for the employee to have a way to self-check throughout the process. It boosts accountability. Relying solely on the manager may mean something is missed - including timely check ins if the manager has a lot on their plate.

We will need to redesign PIP as a help for employees and not only as a caluse for termination. It will be nice to gather employee feedback before launching a formal PIP. And yeah, if we can call pip as development plan that's more positive.

How the PIP is seen will have a huge impact on its results. If seen as the path to termination, many employees will not be as invested as they should be to succeed. If created and presented as a partnership between the manager and the employee to get their performance back on track, it is more likely to succeed. Managers need to see the success or failure of anyone on their team during the PIP process as their own success or failure too.

Again … organizations need to teach and train every team leader on how to effectively lead their teams with the performance management process ! The complete process/ cycle needs to be trained including the PIP process. This should be the first leadership class in every T&D department And it should be mandatory! The vast majority of organizations do not do this and then wonder why performance management is a mess!! HR needs to step up and make this happen or we will never improve this process? Does your organization teach/ train performance management??