Implementing a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) And Hiding Behind The "Employment at Will" False Narrative

I worked with one of the best HR Generalists at a huge Newspaper company. I learned much about the human condition, how to coach, reprimand, and, unfortunately, terminate talent.

It's a necessary skill set in Leadership.

In my career path, many companies still like to hide behind the "Employment at Will" narrative simply because a company had you sign a document, and any termination is open and shut. It is not.

If you have ever had to go to court for a challenging termination, you understand how gut-wrenching it is for both parties. I've gone through it once and never want to go through it again. In Minnesota, the proof of burden is on the employer to prove inconsistent or faulty work and an email thread of over-correction to no avail. The terminated Employee often needs more material to present as the proof they had was locked up on their computer during the termination. Unless they somehow transferred data (intellectual property), they often have little but hearsay and a few witnesses. In most cases, the courts often rule on the Employee's side.

As one former boss said: "One can do/say anything once in corporate America."

"Council" legal or internal peer council (managers) is the Council. They can advise a company or Leader on the next steps, but the Council is not LIABLE should the case go sideways during an unexpected turn of events (unknown harassment, bullying, sexual harassment, shunning). Companies have been blindsided many times and must pay dearly for this Lack of investigation/Discovery research before employment consequences.

Employees are not human garbage. People cannot just be discharged on hearsay. This is unethical and needs more business acumen. If you allow critical employees' perceptions and words to terminate an employee, then you have a sick work culture and a bullying system in play that needs to be acknowledged and eliminated. Most companies are unaware that terminated employees can "lawyer up" and personally sue former peers for slander and mental/financial distress. Primarily, if your company blocks unemployment benefits, the damages awarded by the company might not be felt due to insurance, but a personal lawsuit leveled at a peer could bankrupt a toxic work bully. This is the subject of further training on Workplace Bullies.

Often, Leadership disregards an undercurrent that could be the real culprit of unsatisfactory work. In short, Employees need time to hear about the allegations, be allowed to speak to them, and have sufficient time to make modifications.

How is the process kept from unraveling? By implementing a Performance Improvement Plan PIP.

So, what is a PIP?

A PIP is a written retention document that identifies how an employee falls short of expectations outlined at the beginning of a job and the process needed to improve performance. The PIP documentation sets clear guidelines for improvement and consequences should work performance stay the same. It is clear that at the end of the PIP period (often one quarter), the final recommendations might be a wage garnishment, title change, or even termination.

Conversely, a PIP can be helpful by clarifying missed communication, identifying roadblocks, and creating workarounds. Some employers might need to modify their rigid rules of conformity if a pattern of workflow roadblocks emerges to no staff fault. Workarounds and a new understanding can ensure that respect and communications are civil and appropriate. In these cases, a complete reset is possible. PIPs do not have to be the last step to termination.

"IF" something is going on that you, as the Manager, are not aware of, the Employee should feel comfortable revealing their real challenges. Sometimes, workplace bullies can create a hostile environment for an intended victim(s). These are usually high performers who randomly choose someone they perceive as weak and build consensus on their victim, using gaslighting techniques and their flying monkeys (peers) until Leadership takes notice of their false narrative and acts without proof. As I have said in past trainings:

"Perceptions Can Kill Careers" (Old Milton Proverb).

AND:

"Some of your best employees have already left your company."

The Seven Parts of a PIP:

1)????? Itemized areas that need improvement.

2)????? Inform Human Resources if an employee requires a PIP and work with your HR Generalist to ensure your legal Council is in the loop for any updates on employment law.

3)????? Include SMART goals in the PIP: Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

4) the Employee must take specific action items to improve their performance.

5)????? Metrics to track and evaluate progress.

6)????? A timeline (period) and clear expectations for when the goal(s) should be accomplished.

7)????? Hitting the Reset Button: Identify support for training, coaching, and additional internal/external tools to help them attain their goals (s) and future performance.

Who enacts the PIP?

It depends on the company size—usually, Human resources, an HR Generalist, and the employees' direct supervisor or Manager. Smaller companies will have the General Manager execute the PIP as they are ultimately responsible for the company's overall performance.

Because Pip proceedings can go negatively, such things as time and place are crucial and mutual respect. The biggest question is if the Pip should be served at all or if it can be administered in another fashion. A third party might often be needed in hostile circumstances to help mitigate and deliver the PIP. This third part can often spot biases of guiding managers and rid the plan of any potential landmines.

Important: Your legal team needs to review the plan before delivery.

Other Uses for a PIP:

For some companies, PIPs are used for new hires every quarter as a proactive training diagnostic tool, especially when Leadership notices possible career paths for the Employee (s). Elements of the PIP can even be used in one-on-one meetings without issuing a formal meeting.

As a disclaimer, PIPs should not be the go-to document/process for challenging performance. By having a weekly one with your staff, you should notice any challenges, address, and document should you need the materials for court. As said earlier: "(often)the proof of burden is on the employer." PIPs are implemented when patterns emerge, and no amount of coaching or working with HR improves performance. Often, PIPs are administered after a verbal warning and a written warning. Such measures would make an employee stand up, notice, and take corrective action. In 'most' instances, the PIP is for extreme cases where a termination could be challenging for a plethora of reasons: Pre-existing illness, unscheduled time away, or even the threat of gratuitous violence. The PIP is often the last attempt to 'reach' the Employee with performance issues and over-correct them. Some don't go quietly.

All coaching and comments must be documented so the materials are time-stamped for legal protection. The company must show that it took steps to convey and correct performance challenges and that the Employee needed to make the necessary changes.

Taking Steps:

Implementing a PIP should not be taken lightly for the reasons listed above. If needed, how would a company administer a PIP? First, start by asking yourself some prudent questions:

Clear your mind of internal biases that might cloud an objective outcome.

A Leadership team needs to have clear-cut investigative and diagnostic tools at its disposal. This could include CRM/Salesforce data (or lack of) expense reports, ROCKS, and other internal metrics. If you, as a Leader, have yet to hold the staff accountable, then the proof of burden will be more challenging.

Relay on time-stamped materials to show/prove performance levels.

With clear thinking, identify the root causes, in your opinion, of the disconnect in performance. Leaders might be challenged to learn they might be part-n-parcel of the employment challenge: Perceived favoritism and gaslighting are only some issues sick work cultures allow and encourage. If you have such a culture, then it is up to you to lead by example. In short, the problem might be you and your culture. Be prepared for a revealing.

Where should the blame reside if a task is challenging and a lack of training or coaching is identified? What is your onboarding process, and how is it? Do they have tools at their disposal?

Start with you and your organization and work out with the Employee.

Attendance issues: Leaders can often use internal CRM and logins to track performance and clock-ins. Simply: Are you receiving the hours needed to perform work to completion and satisfactorily?

Remote working is the 'newer' work style and is more challenging to monitor. Are your salespeople sending or receiving non-urgent materials during sales/service windows? A PIP can be used to ask an employee to list their schedule for the current and next week. As the Manager, you need to call and confirm that an appointment has been set. The largest measurement is revenue attainment. The proof is "in the pudding," so to speak. What were the call volume requirements, the number of visits, and the services? You might have little to reply if you have yet to deliver the expectation. The question is: Did you communicate deliverables, or are you inviting denial to enter the atrium? The spotlight is first on the Manager. Sometimes, deeply personal issues are the culprit: People with pre-existing conditions might have needed another bathroom visit before being stuck in morning traffic for an hour.

Inform HR and your legal counsel if you plan on administering a PIP, as employment law changes yearly/monthly. You, as a Leader, have resources and protection from prospection. You can use them carefully. A wronged employee can not only sue for wrongful termination but also ask for damages personally from a supervisor/Manager. Slander and Perception High jacking has bankrupted many companies and former Managers. I take my employment seriously and have two lawyers who work for my family. Any challenge leveled at me would be fought legally. Unfortunately, many employees do not have such resources as this disposal, and companies are counting on it. Make sure any PIP is nailed down right.

Get the Employee actively involved with the process. No one wants to hear challenging feedback. Nobody. The person that delivers the Pip needs to be cognizant of their behaviors. One needs to be calm, clear, and receptive to comments. What if the issues(s) could be resolved with a conversation or two? If the patterns have been going on for a few years, you now have a pattern issue, not a coachable outcome.

After delivering a few PIPs, I steer the conversation to the POSITIVE side of a PIP: If an employee is genuinely vested in your company and industry, they should WANT to be better/faster/Gooder. While I mention that separation is a often outcome, sometimes these 'conversations’ can build skillsets that are the first steps in a promotion. Like Chef Ramsey, Leaders want to see passion for our work. Are they fogging a mirror, or are they present for you? Like Ramsey, you might need to choose one team member for elimination. Rate your staff and manage outcomes accordingly.

Focus on the FACTS, not perceptions or hearsay/rumor. Delivered information needs to be quantifiable and REAL. Allowing toxic peers to float perception content is not credible sourced material. Is your culture: "I Think, and Therefore it is"? Before pointing fingers, the PIP must first be done on you and your company.

So how does a Leader get the Employee involved in their performance uptick? By getting them involved. This will help you see things from their perspective, even if you know it's distorted thinking. Parrot back what is being conveyed to you: "What I hear is that you feel…." While some might think this is amateurish, slowing down a potential land mine and making sure you see the situation through their eyes is helpful. People need to feel they are hearing them correctly.

Create The Plan:

A PIP should provide clarity and structure around goals, timelines, scheduled check-ins, and training.

Use SMART Goals for the PIP. SMART Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound centric. Here's an example:

"Joe/Jill must improve performance." This needs to be clarified and leaves much grey space regarding deliverables. Instead, say," Joe/Jill must meet or exceed their New Business Goals of three new businesses per quarter."

Success in a PIP starts with designated follow-ups (Temperature checks). These should be appointments crafted by the Manager and sent as meeting invites. All parties agree to set times and an action item agenda.: "This is what we talked about, and this is what we will address next time."

The Flip Side:

Most often, the Employee in a PIP will have to think about their reality and must start seeking other opportunities. While companies can hire and fire with reckless abandon and have counsel at their disposal, an employee, living paycheck to paycheck, has no choice but to seek other options, even if they are committed to change. To use an IT term: "you are forcing a call to the server." It costs companies thousands of dollars to lose and train a new employee. A leader must be cognizant of this before poking the bear. Is the performance issue coachable, or are you making a problem? The results could be costly.

In some larger companies, wrongful terminations result in the Manager getting termed. Employees with hidden power issues are often classic over-achievers who fly underneath the radar of employment security. They are successful, so why would we not promote them right? For some Type-A narcissists, the Leadership role is nothing but a power grab, a game of sorts to avoid the real issues in their lives. I've seen it happen, and companies often disregard it.

If you administer a PIP, your organization must be prepared to include what type of coaching/training they will receive. This could be internal content from the Manager, online classes, or even going to external events. Job shadowing and sometimes just getting out with an Outside Sales rep can be a breath of fresh air a candidate needs. Seeing their job from another employee can provide perspective. A Manager cannot just lay the burden of bad news at an employee's feet. What do you and your company own? If you have nothing to contribute to the disconnect, you should ask yourself some hard questions. Toxic work environments cost companies millions. I have a separate training on that very topic.

Another Set of Eyeballs:

Sometimes, a peer manager, HR Generalist, or other Leaders in the organization can look over a PIP (Stress Test) and help 'remove the teeth' from the document and protect the company from liability. Documents often seem harmless to a company but overtly hostile to the intended target. We have lives/spouses/kids/painful personal problems, etc.... A company does not have to add to these external challenges by adding unnecessary stress to a PIP. Again, ensure you have a consistent problem that coaching still needs to be resolved.

Tracking:

In some cases, the Employee might make the necessary changes to performance ahead of the agreed time. If this happens, then this good news needs to be celebrated. Old patterns can reemerge, so wait to let your guard down. If progress is being made, but the deadline is looming, meet to agree to extend the deadline. This shows goodwill, and both parties are working in good faith.

Conclusion:

Administering a Pip is not one of the highlights for any Leader. However, It is necessary as most companies have a board of directors that expects to see dividends. A Pip is often an emotional rollercoaster, but like all rides, there is a beginning, middle, and end to the ride. More often than not, a PIP can bring clarity to the Employee and provide a wealth of learning for the company. We want to strive to have Employees vote for us as a "Great workplace." You will never see that distinction if the pail of reality is permanently riveted to the neck.

?

?

?

?

?