Performance Improvement Plans...

[Scout]

is it just me, or is it not general knowledge that putting an employee on a Performance Improvement Plan is an excellent indication that said employee is already on their way out the door, and management is now just documenting to cover their ass for firing you?

i'm not on a plan myself, but it came up in staff meeting today. i just thought it was general common knowledge, but my manager got pissy about it and accused me of scaring everyone, etc.

so am i wrong?

[Major Nikon]

1. It greatly depends on how they are used

I've put several employees on PIPs and most have not been fired.

Human nature is such that some, if not most employees are going to do the absolute minimum they have to do. This is not necessarily a bad thing so long as they are doing what is required. The problem comes in when they want to do less than what's required, and in some situations this can go on for years. A PIP gives them an opportunity to get back to standards, and is generally preferable to both sides compared to outright firing. Some people need that wakeup call that if they don't improve, they will be out the door and it keeps them in their job as well as keeping the company from having to invest in a new employee.

However some managers see PIPs as just a hoop they have to jump through in order to fire someone based on performance. I call these people low performance managers who really are worse than the employees they seek to remove.