Why PIPs suck for Everyone
One of the things I loathe as a manager is the “performance improvement plan”, colloquially known as: PIP.
I’ve been on both sides of a PIP, executing one and receiving one, a PIP is not about performance, improvement, or a plan.
Then what is PIP all about?
From my experience, as a manager, a PIP is about two things:
- can you put a team member on a PIP
- can you cover the company’s
ass, err, reputation for motivating a team member to leave
As an employee, a PIP is really about understanding the true relationship you have with your manager.
PIPs are bad because no matter which side of a PIP you are on, you have a new department involved:
Human Resources
As I’ve written about before - Human Resources are not human nor resourceful.
As a manager, HR is “on your side” - to protect the company, at the time, once it’s time for your performance review, that PIP is a clear indicator of a manager’s trouble leading the team - basically, you made HR do more work!
As an employee, HR is not on your side, because they are in the PIP to represent the interest of the company and the manager. HR has to get the PIP ready for you.
Either way, PIP are a slow death for manager and team member because the process involves Human Resources.
Now I know - Human Resources is never fun during business hours.
😒
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