What is a PIP?

A PIP stands for performance improvement plan. Employers will put you in a performance improvement plan when they see you’re not performing well. Most times, employers don’t have the best intentions when they start giving out PIPs.

Many people associate PIPs with employers leaving paper trails to provide justification so that they can fire you.

Unfortunately, if you do get put on a PIP, you should start looking for a new job immediately.

Politics is huge in the work place and if you’re on a PIP, that means you are known as a poor performer. This will make it difficult for you to advance your career at the company you’re in. You will be missing out on raises, bonuses, and opportunities at a company because you are put on a PIP.

March 2, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Why a PIP is bad news

A PIP shows that you’re doing something wrong.

You’re not performing well or you haven’t developed strong relationships with managers and decision makers.

As a result, employers have put you on a PIP because they see that you need to improve.

If you just so happen to be put on a PIP in the first place, you need to make some changes immediately.

First, reflect on why you’ve performed so poorly such that you had to be put on a performance improvement plan, and learn from that.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been put on a PIP, this means that you are established as a poor performer.

However, top talent in a team does not get put on PIPs.

Why your manager will put you on a PIP at work

Some reasons why your manager will put you on a PIP are:

• You’re not performing well enough
• You make too many mistakes
• You haven’t built the right relationships with your colleagues
• The quality of your work is not adequate enough
• You’re not hitting your target metrics
• You’re not delivering

Any of the above or more is justification for a manager to put you on a PIP.

As a result, make sure you deliver high quality work, show initiative, and build the right relationships among your peers.

Make sure to also have a good relationship with your immediate and functional manager. They’re the ones that do your mid-year and your annual year end reviews. Use those reviews to make sure that you’re performing well, and also build a relationship with your manager. You want your manager to like you and appreciate the work that you do.

Do some employees recover from getting a PIP?

Although a PIP sounds like terrible news, it’s possible to recover from getting a PIP. We’ve heard of cases where some employees need guidance, in which a PIP was able to help them grow and develop. As a result of being put on the PIP, they can a clear guideline to follow so that they can deliver work properly.

Although cases like that are possible, we would say that they are rare. Most of the time, it’s not good news that you’re put on a PIP.

At the end of the day, companies need to maximize profit and revenue. To do so, companies need to react accordingly and make the proper moves, whenever a low performing employee is in place.

This is also why companies are strict on setting goals that are metric driven – as this is the only way to really track the value on an employee’s work.

@ultmeche

What is a PIP? A performance improvement plan #PIP #performanceimprovementplan #management #layoff

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What you need to do after you get a PIP

You will need to step up your game immediately if you get put on a PIP.

There is something going wrong between you and the work that you are doing, that is causing all of this.

Your work may not be a right fit for you, the training materials are not up to par, unrealistic expectations are set, or all of the above are reasons that you would be put on a PIP.

Start working on improving yourself by addressing the actions put on the performance improvement plan. Use the action items that were determined by both you and your manager for your development.

At the same time, you should be wary that the company you’re working for is getting ready to fire you.

Start brushing up your resume and apply to as many jobs as possible on the side, while you focus on growth and development.

Sometimes, there may be external reasons as to why you’re put on a PIP that you’re not in control of.

But for the most part, you are doing something wrong and need to address that root cause.

Do some self evaluation

Start doing some self reflection and self evaluation when you get put on a PIP.

Understand what went wrong and how you can fix that so this won’t happen again.

It’s almost embarrassing to be put on a PIP at work. You do not want to be known as a poor performer in front of your manager. The information your manager has regarding your work output is what gets flowed to directors and executives.

Come time for layoffs, you will be more likely to be considered because you are on a PIP.

Closing Thoughts On Getting a PIP at work

Getting put on a PIP is very bad news, and you need to do something immediately.

Along with following the plans outlined on the performance improvement plan to further your growth and development, you may want to think about looking for a new job.

You might want to look into re-evaluating where you are at in your career.

Is the career path you are on the right fit for you? We’d wager no, especially if your performance was poor enough such that you’ve been put on a PIP.

You might be performing fine and just have poor relationships with those among you, which could be hindering how you are viewed.

Make sure that you are viewed at as a high performer at work by doing these things:

• Deliver quality work
• Take initiative
• Build strong relationships with colleagues, management, and leadership
• Be on time
• Take ownership and accountability of what you’re doing

If you do the 5 things above, you should have no issues and will never be put on a PIP.

We hope you understand what is a pip and that you never get put on one after reading this.