Whether you are a fan of PIP’s or not, the key reason we believe Performance Improvement Plans fail is the absence of a culture which promotes Open, Honest, Transparent and Adult conversations and as a result sets individual’s up for success.
Creating and gaining consensus and permission for all parties to have a discussion, where things are not going well or to plan, and to do so in a safe and respectful way is paramount to success. These discussions and plans should then be a true representation of helping both the individual and the organisation to navigate any bumps in the road, which is of course mutually beneficial.
Let’s face it … It’s NEVER in the best interests of an employer for an employee not to work out and is always costly, in terms of both time and money!
There are of course, times where there is a simple misalignment for both the individual and the employer and equally, being able to address this early and honestly, is best for all concerned, in a manner that maintains mana and dignity is critical regardless of reasons for this.
Key in these discussions is the following:
1. Being open, transparent and factual
2. Creating a safe space for the discussion and ensuring a coaching approach, which maintains dignity and empathy are at the heart of these discussions
3. No surprises, with a clear ‘WHY’ and clear Plan and Actions agreed together.
Key Traps to avoid:
1. Avoid fluff – Too often managers/ leaders try to soften the intent and in their desire to do so (coming from a good place) they often lose the desired intent, cause confusion and lack of clarity and the risk is that the individual walks away even more disillusioned and completely at a loss in where they are going wrong and how to make a change.
2. Failure to link to business objectives
3. Neglecting to set tangible key actions and outcomes
4. No consensus gained – This is absolutely key for success and is a step that cannot be avoided
5. Failure to follow up – This demonstrates a lack of care for consequence and will result in failure every time.
6. Lacking genuine connection, coaching intent and empathy – If you have trust and demonstrate authentic care and investment in the individual’s success then they will feel supported and it will boost their self belief, investment and success.
When people are prepared for a discussion, recognise you are there to help them and truly invested in their success and understand, with absolute clarity where they need to improve and how to do this then this is no longer a scary proposition or viewed as a perceived ‘exit strategy.
How we set the scene, deliver the messaging and ‘show up’ for these discussions is key, as is the relationships we grow with our people so that they have consistent and regular discussions around performance and goal planning and not just when something is not going well. (Trust in the bank and relationships go a long way and where we have trust – we can also have really honest and brave conversations with our people).
Personally – I have managed large teams over the years and always run toward these discussions because of the success I have had, in partnership with individuals, seeing huge turn arounds and getting great joy from seeing people realise their potential and overcoming hurdles, through coaching, belief and investment (this is absolutely a two way street and both parties must be equally engaged to be successful).
For help with how to tackle these check out the following:
https://www.mindtools.com/a7em9zg/the-five-conversations-framework