By Barry Zweibel on Dec 18, 2015
Source: http://nikwallenda.com
Performance Improvement Plans
(PIPs) are powerful leadership
tools. Just not indefinitely so.
Having an employee on a PIP can
be a bit of a high-wire act for a
manager, and employee, both. So how
do you know when it’s time to, not
meaning to mix metaphors, fish or
cut bait?
Scenario: Mark is a nice enough
guy, but his performance had been
consistently lackluster. He’s failed
to meet important deadlines. When he
did meet them, the quality of his
work was substandard. And, worst of
all, he was seemingly totally
unaware that he wasn’t meeting even
the minimum requirements of the job,
notwithstanding several informal
‘feedback’ sessions you had with
him. As a result, you had no choice
but to start him on a formal
Performance Improvement Plan, or
PIP.
The Employee Performance
Improvement Process
As you likely know, most PIPs
have several discrete steps, as
defined by company policy:
- Step 0: Informal
Feedback Sessions – While
it can be argued that such
interactions are not really part
of the ‘formal’ PIP process, in
that a PIP cannot begin without
them having happen, I’m
including them as a prerequisite
of the process beginning.
- Step 1: Oral Warning
– The point here is
that you want the employee to
know, in no uncertain terms,
that: (a) his/her performance
has become problematic; (b) why
it is so problematic; (c) what,
specifically, must happen to
adequately address the matter;
and (d) if the individual does
not (or cannot) demonstrate
immediate and significant
improvement in the area(s)
you’ve articulated, further
disciplinary actions will likely
result. That this is called an
‘oral’ warning is a bit
misleading in that it should
always include a memo to the
employee, his/her file, your
boss, and HR regarding the
initiation of a formal PIP.
- Step 2: (First)
Written Warning – This
step both reminds the employee
that s/he has either failed to
demonstrate the necessary
improvements you articulated in
your Oral Warning and informal
counseling (or failed to sustain
whatever improvements were made)
AND that by failing to do so,
s/he is putting his/her
continued employment at
increasing risk.
- Step 3 (Final)
Written Warning – This
steps reiterates the performance
issues at hand, how the
necessary improvements have
still not been achieved, or
sustained, and that this lapse
in ability (or judgment) is now
negatively impacting the his/her
coworkers and the department or
work group. (Sidebar: Framing
the individual’s performance
problem(s) as affecting more
than just his/her own
performance is key.) As such,
continued inability (or
inattention) to making (or
sustaining) the required
performances improvements will
likely lead to further
disciplinary actions up to and
including termination.
- Step 4 Termination –
This doesn’t mean that the
employee is a bad person, or an
incapable person; it just means
that s/he has not been able to
meet the minimum requirements of
the job, and, as such, can no
longer be allowed to stay in
that role. (In most cases this
means that a permanent
separation from the company is
the only viable option for that
employee, although prior to this
step many employees seek, and
are granted, transfers into
other areas or positions more in
keeping with their skills,
abilities, and interests.)
When the Message is Properly
Received and Acted Upon
The steps of the formal PIP are
what they are and, if done right, by
time you’ve taken an employee to
Step 4, there are really no
surprises as to what’s about to
happen. And I say good – the person
can now get on with his/her life and
find a job more suited to his/her
particular skills and abilities. But
what if someone actually IS able to
improve enough to meet those minimum
requirements?
Justifying to your boss, and HR,
that it’s time to take the person
OFF of their PIP can be challenging
so be sure to consider the following
when crafting your rationale:
- Improvement Factors
– There are two sides
to this coin:
- validation of
the positive/presence of
– What
irrefutable evidence
(quants, metrics,
statistics, and other
hard/soft data trends, etc.)
can you provide that
validates the newfound
presence of the very
performance improvements you
were seeking to create?
- validation of
the non-negative/absence
of – What
irrefutable evidence
(quants, metrics,
statistics, and other
hard/soft data trends, etc.)
can you provide that
validates the newfound
absence of the very
performance problems you
were seeking to eliminate?
- Sustainability
Factors – Again, there
are two sides to this, as well:
- validation of
the positive/presence of
– What irrefutable
evidence (quants, metrics,
statistics, and other
hard/soft data trends, etc.)
can you provide that
validates that the necessary
performance improvements you
were seeking to create have
not only occurred but have
been sustained for a
meaningful period of time?
- validation of
the non-negative/absence
of – What
irrefutable evidence
(quants, metrics,
statistics, and other
hard/soft data trends, etc.)
can you provide that
validates that no
backsliding has occurred and
that there are no
impediments to the
employee’s continued focus,
process, and transparency in
preventing future
backsliding from occurring?
- Ongoing Managerial
Attentiveness – Yes,
it’s the employee’s job to
sustain his/her improved level
of performance, but you have
responsibilities, here, as well:
- How will you, as the
employee’s immediate
supervisor, keep tabs on
things to insure no
backsliding?
- How will you, as the
employee’s immediate
supervisor, respond should
any backsliding (real or
perceived) become evident?
- How will you, as the
employee’s immediate
supervisor, hold
yourself accountable to
insure that you respond to
any backsliding (real or
perceived) in a respectful,
meaningful, and rapid
manner?
If you have good answers to these
questions, it’s likely time that the
employee be taken of his/her PIP,
and that you’ll be able to gain the
necessary support from your boss,
and HR, to do so.
But whatever you do, don’t let a
PIP linger, unnecessarily – don’t
leave the person in limbo, in
abeyance, in Siberia! It’s your job
to either take them to the next step
or stand down – not to let a PIP
drag on for yet another quarter
because of you’re inattention.
Anything less That’s neither fair to
them, nor to their coworkers. So let
your employee know that it is
his/her responsibility to provide
that irrefutable evidence to you –
and that if, for whatever reason,
s/he cannot (or does not), then it
will almost certainly guarantee the
the next step of the disciplinary
process being taken.
Again, be clear that it is the
employees’ job to prove to
you that your message was properly
received and acted upon. If they
fail to do so, it’s on them, not
you.
A-minus vs. B-plus Motivations
So let’s say you are provided
with the irrefutable evidence you
requested, are able to convince your
boss and HR to agree with your
recommendation, and step someone
down off the PIP. Now what?
Since some employees are
motivated more by a well-timed pat
on the back and others more by being
reminded that there’s still more
left to do, knowing, in advance,
which approach better inspires this
employee (and each of your
employees, for that matter) is key.
By the way, all that last point
to whether an employee is currently
on a PIP, has recently rolled off
one, or has always been productive,
solid, contributor. Why? Because
when it comes to leading others,
it’s in your best interest to help
everyone do as well as they possibly
can. And the fewer people up, there,
on that tight rope, the better.
By Barry Zweibel on Dec 15, 2015
Here are 10 reasons why
leaders make things unnecessarily
complicated for themselves and those
they work with…
- Too many leaders
don’t handle conflict
particularly well –
What is leadership,
after all, but the ability to
get smart, capable people to
want to to stop working on
their priorities and work
on yours, instead? And
that, my friends, is often all
about conflict.
- Too many leaders
think that leadership is only
about managing ‘down’ the chain
– But try getting
something truly meaningful done
without the full, ongoing
support from your boss, peers,
and others inside (and out) of
the organization. In all
probability, you can’t. Not if
it’s something really worth
doing, anyway.
- Too many leaders
fail to hold themselves
accountable as they would others
– Sure, they may think
they do, they may even
pretend they do, but we
know differently. We see
differently, don’t we?
- Too many leaders
don’t give nearly enough
attention to their own
leadership skills –
Leadership development doesn’t
happen by osmosis, it takes both
intention and
attention. As it says on my
business card, “Becoming a
better leader is an
intentional activity.”
- Too many leaders
fail to connect their actions to
their company’s core business
metrics – Sure, they’re
busy, but what are they
really achieving that’s
above-and-beyond the basic
responsibilities of the job?
- Too many leaders
insist they don’t have time to
further educate themselves
– The latest Wall Street
Journal tagline really
nails it: “People who don’t have
time make time to read The
Wall Street Journal.” Too,
there’s always
Leadership Haiku,
my book. It’s my attempt to
creatively, engagingly, and
thought-provokingly demystify
the art, science, and practice
of exemplary leadership – 3
lines and 17 syllables at a
time.
- Too many leaders
measure their success with the
wrong criteria – Money?
Power? Prestige? Sure. But how
much fun are they having? How
aligned is what they do with
their core values? How grateful
are they to be able to truly
make a difference in other
people’s lives? How physically,
emotionally, creatively, and
courageously fit are they? And,
of course, how vibrant are their
relationships at home and
outside of work?
- Too many leaders
work on the wrong things
– I call it ‘productive
procrastination’, when we
confuse the work we happen
to be doing with the work we
really need to be
doing. Similar, maybe, but more
often than not, decidedly
different. (Examples: Catching
up on your emails during a
conference call, instead of
actively contributing;
firefighting the latest surprise
news instead of creating
channels to learn about the
priority changes being
considered.)
- Too many leaders
rarely say anything interesting
enough for people to even want to
follow their lead –
Years ago I heard a great
description of middle managers:
“Store and forward devices, with
filters.” Anyone who just apes
the company line without first
making sense of it is missing a
huge leadership opportunity.
- Too many leaders are
not resilient enough –
Stress is a non-optional part of
most jobs, but how we handle
stress, and the strain we do or
do not feel as a result – that
is, our hardiness, resilience,
and ability to manage crises –
can most definitely be learned
and better managed.
What to DO about this?
If you recognize any of these
affects in the leaders around you,
buy them a cup of coffee (or a beer)
and engage in a little downtime.
Just getting to know them a little
better can go a long way. Why?
Because people are sometimes so
stuck in their roles that they
forget to be human and increasingly
isolate themselves, from others,
which further exacerbates the
dysfunction. But when someone
reaches out to them, there’s often a
wonderful humanizing effect that
kicks in. It’s worth trying to help
make that happen.
If, on the other hand, you’ve
started to recognize some of these
attitudes and behaviors in yourself,
buy yourself that coffee or
beer – yes, you’ll want to do
something about your ‘peeling
paint,’ but you also deserve to
celebrate this important moment in
your self-awareness, too.
Cheers!
Recent Articles:
How Well
Does Your Staff Handle Conflict?
-
How capable are your direct
reports (and can they become) at
utilizing the specific behaviors
known to make conflicts more
productive?
-
How capable are they (and can
they become) at avoiding the use
of the specific behaviors know
to make conflicts worse?
-
How in control are they (and can
they become) of what triggers
them (and others) into
feeling they're under
attack, whether they really are
or not?
The
Conflict Dynamics Profile
(CDP) assessment,
coupled with one or two personalized
debriefings with me, is a proven
technique for helping people become
more confident, capable, and
proactive in addressing the (big and
little) scrapes they have to
navigate on a regular basis.
Interested in learning more?
Just ask.
I hope you found this issue
of the LeadershipTraction
newsletter a helpful and
enjoyable read. If so,
please forward a copy to
those you think it might
also benefit from it and
recommend they subscribe, as
well. Thanks! - bz |
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