One of the biggest challenges of working in Human Resources can be the role that you play in employee struggles and difficulties: poor performance reviews, disciplinary action, conflicts between employee and manager, etc. It can feel like you’re caught in the middle—you’re not necessarily the employee or the manager, but you’re there to represent both their interests and those of the company, so your role is a delicate one. Part of that role is facilitating performance improvement plans (PIPs) to help struggling employees get back on track in their jobs.

A PIP is a tool at HR’s disposal to help restore a worsening situation. Maybe the employee has chronic difficulties with his or her role, or maybe there was an incident that has shaken his or her manager’s confidence in their job performance. A PIP is a chance to say, “Okay, this situation is not great, but there’s potential to turn things around.” It’s a formal document and process, acknowledged by the employee and his or her manager, that there are certain steps that the employee needs to complete before his or her performance is stabilized.

It’s important to note that a PIP is not necessarily a last stop on the way to firing an employee. Instead, look at it as a way to acknowledge that performance has been poor, but that there are ways to move on with clearer expectations from all involved. It can help ensure that the employee is receiving the resources he or she needs to do the job, if that support was lacking before and contributed to mistakes or poor performance.

The Human Resources role can vary according to the size and type of company, but there are some baseline issues you can expect to address as an HR manager:

The HR role is one of support and guidance, and making sure that all parties are engaged in the process of making the work situation better for all involved. 

The PIP is not meant to be an accusatory tool, piling on to scare or intimidate the employee into improving, or else. Rather, it’s a way to get everything in writing and make sure that everyone is clear on expectations moving forward—particularly if there are consequences if the employee does not meet particular benchmarks.

A PIP should include:

There may not be a one-size-fits-all PIP for your HR department. As the HR rep you’re part of a collaborative process, so it’s important to make sure that the PIP you’re developing is applicable to the particular situation and allows for input by both the manager and employee as well.

As you know, part of your role in HR is helping to defuse tense workplace situations with proactive steps and productive solutions. The employee probably isn’t happy (hence the issues), the manager isn’t happy to have to deal with this, and no one wants to be told they’re not doing well. Navigating an unhappy situation while trying to put a mechanism in place to get things back on track is challenging, no question. Here are some best practices you should consider as you create a PIP.

Remember, the goal here is growth—not punishment. You want everyone involved to feel comfortable with the plan moving forward. And ideally, the plan will help address the underlying issues that caused the poor performance in the first place.

Implementing a PIP can be a highly touchy situation—the employee is likely feeling embarrassed that things have gotten to this point and may be emotional or defensive. Here are some things you can do to help make the plan implementation easier on everyone.

One thing to remember is that PIPs are not a magic fix for work disasters or poor performance. They’re a tool you can offer to your employees as a way to right the ship before it sinks and before someone loses a job or the company suffers further consequences from the poor performance. As long as everything is clearly defined (the source of the problem, the consequences of the problem, and the specific plan for remedying the problem) and you work closely with employees and managers to implement it, it can be one of the most effective and successful tools you have for turning around poor performance. A bit of optimism and a lot of careful documentation can go a long way in ensuring employee success, even after a failure.

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