Are you struggling to address poor performance with a direct report?
Even if you have a great team with highly skilled employees, as a manager you will eventually be forced to have difficult conversations with underperforming employees about their performance issues.
In this article you will be provided with a performance improvement plan template. You will also learn what an employee performance improvement plan is and the best practices for using one to address poor performance issues.
Need a better way to track employee performance? Read our case study to see how CurrentWare’s employee productivity tracking tools helped Shady Maple take back control over employee internet use.
Want to create a performance improvement plan for your organization? Download this performance improvement plan template (PIP Template) and customize it to help correct underperforming employees.
By following this performance improvement plan template you can ensure that disciplinary action is consistent with each of your employees.
Get started today—Download the FREE template to start correcting employee productivity and conduct issues.
An employee performance improvement plan—also known as a performance action plan—is a valuable tool for addressing poor performance.
It holds employees accountable if they are unable to meet an acceptable standard of performance as laid out in their job description.
A performance improvement plan is designed to provide an underperforming employee who is otherwise desirable with an opportunity to address performance issues prior to a more serious corrective action such as a demotion, transfer, or termination.
Performance improvement plan templates provide both the manager/supervisor and a particular employee with:
If the employee fails to meet the PIP’s expectations within the specified time-frame—typically 30, 60, or 90 days— the PIP lays out explicit repercussions.
Benefits of a performance action plan:
Now that you have your performance improvement plan template it’s important to understand when to use it. While a performance improvement plan is a powerful tool for the HR department, the employee, and their manager, it needs to be used appropriately.
Prior to preparing a PIP, consider the following guidelines.
Before using a performance improvement plan template it’s important to understand that many organizations will misuse a PIP template as a first step to build a case for a termination.
Due to this practice employees that are presented with a PIP may misunderstand their employer’s intentions and assume that they need to find a new job rather than work hard to meet the expectations for their current role.
For this reason, as a best practice you should reserve the use of a performance improvement plan template as a last resort for team members that are not responding well to other means of performance management such as informal check-ins and verbal/written warnings.
Even if the employee trusts that their company has their best interests at heart, being under a performance improvement plan can cause additional stress due to the increased scrutiny. Since the performance improvement plan will be noted on their file they may also have concerns about prejudicial treatment in the future.
Here’s how to use a performance improvement plan (PIP) as part of a progressive discipline strategy:
Keep in mind that a performance improvement plan works to correct a consistently evident problem. One-time issues or short-term lapses in performance may be better addressed in the form of meetings or feedback letters. An employee should be given plenty of chances to change before a performance improvement plan is initiated.
As employees may consider a performance improvement plan (PIP) a definitive sign of an upcoming dismissal, it’s critical that you clearly communicate the goal of the performance improvement plan: To provide clear guidance and support because you want to retain the otherwise capable employee.
Reassure the employee that:
If you fail to clearly communicate the intention of your performance action plan you risk having the employee prepare themselves for a job hunt rather than improve their performance.
An employee performance improvement plan is typically written by the employee’s manager and submitted to HR. In the event that this is not the norm for your company you may want to get your performance improvement plan template reviewed by HR prior to its implementation.
The role of Human Resources when implementing a performance improvement plan:
By first consulting with an HR rep you can rest assured that that performance improvement plan is realistic, that it sets clear expectations, occurs over a realistic time period, and that you’ve outlined all of the necessary resources the employee needs to succeed.
The first step in designing a PIP will be defining this problem as clearly as possible. Then, describe what it would look like for the employee to succeed instead.
When implementing a performance improvement plan it’s critical that you provide employees with realistic and achievable goals.
If the desired improvements aren’t realistic the employees will be far less likely to adhere to the plan. As a best practice you should work with employees and HR to create realistic goals.
Consideration when creating goals for a performance improvement plan (PIP):
Throughout the PIP you can use workforce analytics tools to analyze trends in performance metrics such as fluctuations in work hours, time spent on distractions, and the amount of time spent using critical software.
Monitoring for improvements in these areas will help you review day-to-day improvements before, during, and after the performance improvement plan.
To help illustrate how a performance improvement plan might be structured, this section will overview three common areas for performance improvement. I will use CurrentWare’s performance improvement plan template as an example.
Common areas for performance improvement:
A performance improvement plan will typically be provided alongside a written letter or email with the following information:
Effective immediately, you are placed on a (insert 30, 60, or 90)-day performance improvement plan. During this time you will be expected to make regular progress as outlined in the plan. Failure to meet or exceed these expectations, or any display of gross misconduct will result in further disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
In addition, if there is no significant improvement to indicate that the expectations and goals will be met within the timeline indicated in this PIP, your employment may be terminated prior to 90 days. Furthermore, failure to maintain performance expectations after the completion of the PIP may result in additional disciplinary action up to and including termination. The PIP does not alter the employment-at-will relationship.
Get started today—Download the FREE template to start correcting employee productivity and conduct issues.
Areas of Concern
Expected Standards
Previous Corrective Actions
Available Training and Support
Areas of Concern
Expected Standards
Previous Corrective Actions
Available Training and Support
Areas of Concern
Expected Standards
Previous Corrective Actions
Available Training and Support
Ready to get advanced insights into employee productivity? Get started today with a free trial of BrowseReporter, CurrentWare’s employee productivity monitoring software.
A performance improvement plan (performance action plan) is a valuable document as a last resort for managing underperforming employees. These documents detail the desired performance over a set timeline, note areas of improvement, track performance progress over the course of the action plan, provide examples of resources that are available, and the consequences for failing to meet expectations.
When you create a performance improvement plan for your organization it is critical to understand that these documents are to be used as a last resort when you’re experiencing a fixable performance issue with a valued employee that is not otherwise responding to other forms of progressive discipline.
In order to track performance improvement over the course of your action plan you can use employee computer monitoring software that measures employee productivity.
Ready to get advanced insights into how your employees spend their time? Reach out to the CurrentWare team for a demo of BrowseReporter, CurrentWare’s employee and computer monitoring software.
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