Let’s start with the boring-but-true part: Performance Improvement Plans are meant to improve performance. I know. Wild! PIPs were designed as “tools for growth”—a structured way to clarify expectations, provide feedback, and give employees a fair chance to succeed.
And here’s the kicker: A PIP often forces the manager to actually manage. 🫠
In practice, many PIPs succeed not because the employee suddenly becomes magical, but because the manager finally:
-Sets clear expectations
-Gives regular feedback
-Stops managing via vibes and Slack drive-bys
In other words, most successful PIPs happen when managers start doing their jobs. But before you place blame on managers – answer this: did you train the managers how to do their job? Are you holding the managers accountable?
The reputation problem: what everyone actually thinks about a “PIP.”
PIPs are widely known as a way for companies to:
-Document “underperformance”
-Protect themselves from wrongful termination claims
-Create a tidy legal paper trail before firing someone (ugh)
This isn’t conspiracy theory territory; many employees see PIPs less as a growth tool and more as “the firing squad”. And honestly? In plenty of organizations, that perception is earned.
When PIPs become a layoff loophole. 😬 Some companies are now using PIPs as a quiet headcount reduction strategy, especially to avoid triggering WARN Act requirements tied to mass layoffs.
WorkLife reports that PIPs are increasingly being used to “quietly cut” employees—pushing people out individually instead of conducting formal layoffs that require notice and public disclosure.
Translation:
-No severance announcement.
-No WARN filings.
-Just a bunch of “performance issues” that somehow all appeared at the same time.
Hey, crappy companies gonna continue to be crappy.
– In healthy companies, PIPs can be powerful tools for clarity, growth, and accountability.
– In dysfunctional ones, they’re often just a slow-motion termination letter with calendar invites.
The difference isn’t the document. It’s the intent, the culture, and whether leadership actually wants people to succeed—or just wants them gone quietly.
Don’t be a crappy leader.
