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      Performance Improvement Plan Guide for Managers

      How and when to introduce a performance improvement plan

      Do you have a new employee who is taking some time to come up to speed, or a long standing employee whose performance has dropped over a long period of time?

      Have you already spoken with the person about the performance issues, identified where they need to improve, provided support for said improvement, but their performance isn’t lifting?

      Or maybe, you’re undertaking a disciplinary process for performance concerns or due to a failure to follow company policies or standard operating procedures, and you want to issue some objectives to be met as part of the outcome?

       

      What is a Performance Improvement Plan?

      Depending on the circumstances, MyHR may recommend the use of a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) as a tool to lift an employee’s performance. This may come as a step if the circumstances don’t yet warrant disciplinary action, or as part of the support for the company to provide when issuing a warning as a result of a disciplinary process.

      Using a PIP is a clear agreement between the company and employee regarding the required performance improvement, potential consequences if performance doesn’t lift, clear objectives that the employee is required to meet and the support and training the company will provide to aid the employee in lifting their performance.

      The length that a PIP is in place varies, and is connected to the objectives. The timeframe provided should reflect a fair and reasonable time for the employee to be able to receive training / support and lift their performance.

      MyHR will generally recommend a period of 4 weeks, however if performance relates to projects that run for longer, it may be appropriate to extend the PIP for the duration of the project.

      We also recommend regular check ins to update the employee with how they’re tracking toward the objectives. Weekly check-ins would be appropriate for a PIP that is 4 weeks in length. Remember, a PIP does not replace giving verbal feedback on the spot, or managing your team as usual. Make sure you keep talking to your people through this process.

       

      Tips for PIPs

      Objectives should be SMART. Specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and timebound. This ensures there is no ambiguity when it comes to measuring whether the employee has achieved the objectives or not.

      Keep in mind that the employee has the duration of the PIP to lift their performance, so if they fail to meet the objectives in week one or week two of a four week PIP, we would not recommend to undertake a disciplinary process for that failure, but rather to wait until the end of the PIP to assess performance then.

      In some cases, if an employee has completely failed the objectives from week 1 to week 3, and has shown no attempt to lift their performance or engage in the training and support offered, despite the regular feedback meetings, MyHR may advise you that it is okay to start a disciplinary process early for failure to meet the PIP, without the PIP having being completed.

       

      Lodging a request in MyHR for support with a Performance Improvement Plan

      MyHR will draft a PIP for you based off the information you provide. The document will be provided to you in Word so you are able to edit it as required.

      To request a PIP

      1. Log in To MyHR
      2. Select ‘Additional Support’
      3. Type and Select the Employee’s name
      4. Select ‘My Requirement is Not on the List’
      5. Type ‘Performance Improvement Plan’ in the title
      6. Include in the ‘Additional Information’ field the areas that you would like to see improvement

      Or, when communicating with us about the outcome of a disciplinary process, you can request that we build a PIP and provide it as part of the outcome documentation.

      How to undertake a Performance Improvement Plan (outside of a disciplinary process)

      If requesting the PIP outside of a disciplinary, here’s what you do next, once you have received and finalised the PIP.

      1. Meet with the employee. Clearly explain your concerns, with examples. Talk about how this issue causes problems for other people on the shift, or for later shifts, and ultimately how hurts your business operations.
      2. Listen to their feedback; they may have a fair and reasonable explanation, or they may give you information that you didn’t know. Alternatively, they may grumble and complain, or not have a good explanation at all.
      3. Describe what you want to be different, and what success looks like. Agree what will happen next (e.g. they will stop taking long breaks, or they will be more proactive about finding work to do on their shift) and explain that you would like to implement a PIP to support the improvement in their performance.
      4. Provide the employee with time to take the PIP away, review, seek advice and provide feedback. Once the employee has signed their agreement, it can come into force. If the employee is refusing to sign, contact MyHR for further assistance.
      5. Once the PIP is in place, make notes as you go, when additional support and training was provided, and how the employee is tracking towards the objectives. We suggest having a copy of page 2 of the PIP for each week, for you to keep notes on. This then becomes the reference point for you to discuss in your regular meetings to check in and update the employee with how they’re going.
      6. At the end of the PIP, review the employee’s performance. If the behaviour has improved, great!! Let the employee know that you won’t be continuing with the PIP.
      7. If the behaviour continues, escalate it by notifying MyHR, so that you can progress the situation and potentially extend the current PIP or begin a disciplinary process.

      How to undertake a Performance Improvement Plan (within a disciplinary process)

      If requesting the PIP as part of a disciplinary process, here’s what you do next, once you have received and finalised the PIP.

      1. Meet with the employee to confirm the outcome of the disciplinary process. Follow the outcome meeting script you have been provided.
      2. Describe what you want to be different, and what success looks like. Agree what will happen next (e.g. they will stop taking long breaks, or they will be more proactive about finding work to do on their shift) and explain that these are objectives on the PIP you are implementing to aid the improvement in their performance.
      3. Provide the employee with time to take the PIP away, review, seek advice and provide feedback. Once the employee has signed their agreement, it can come into force. If the employee is refusing to sign, contact MyHR for further assistance.
      4. Once the PIP is in place, make notes as you go, when additional support and training was provided, and how the employee is tracking towards the objectives. We suggest having a copy of page 2 of the PIP for each week, for you to keep notes on. This then becomes the reference point for you to discuss in your regular meetings to check in and update the employee with how they’re going.
      5. At the end of the PIP, review the employee’s performance. If the behaviour has improved, great!! Let the employee know that you won’t be continuing with the PIP.
      6. If the behaviour continues, escalate it by notifying MyHR, so that you can progress the situation and potentially extend the current PIP or begin another disciplinary process.

      Remember, a PIP does not replace giving verbal feedback on the spot, or managing your team as usual. Keep talking to your people!