Performance Improvement Plan Template

A PIP is for performance problems that keep recurring after you've raised them. In an article from SHRM, the HR professional association, employment lawyer Katherine Rigby warns that a one-time failure may mean it's too soon for a PIP¹. Misconduct is different: for a safety threat or serious insubordination, the same article notes, most employers act at once.

Then check what else is going on. Take extra care if the person has recently:

• Complained about discrimination or harassment, or been a witness in a complaint
• Asked for a change at work because of a medical condition, even without saying "accommodation"
• Taken or asked for protected leave, such as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave

The EEOC, which enforces federal workplace discrimination laws, says complaining does not shield an employee from all discipline or discharge². But reprimands, unfairly low evaluations and increased scrutiny can count as retaliation if they're done because of a complaint. A record dated before the complaint helps show the plan isn't a response to it.

Health and leave need care too. In one EEOC example, a supervisor postpones a 60-day PIP to handle an accommodation request³, then starts it once the accommodation is arranged. Accommodation never requires excusing poor performance. Labor Department rules also bar treating FMLA leave as a negative factor in disciplinary actions⁴.

List every concern you're considering, and for each one look for a dated record showing the person was told. Jennifer Long, another lawyer quoted by SHRM, recommends that a PIP confirm earlier chances to improve, with dates of prior coaching or corrective action¹.

Match the specific concern, not the mood of your notes. A March note about missed deadlines doesn't show you ever raised their tone in meetings.

A concern with no record may still be true; nothing shows the person was told. Leave it out, raise it at your next one-on-one meeting and write down what you said. If it continues, it can go into a later plan.

Give every concern that passes four parts: what happened, when you first raised it, the standard to reach and the support you'll give. When the gap is a skill, a skills matrix shows who on the team could coach it. Describe the work, not the person: "missed 9 of 40 response targets," not "careless."

Reviewing 35 years of goal-setting research, psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham concluded that when people are asked to do their best, they do not do so⁵. With no number attached, almost any result can pass. "Must improve" is that kind of goal.

US federal agencies follow a written rule much like this. Under 5 CFR 432.104⁶, an agency must name where performance falls short, state the standard, give a reasonable chance to meet it and offer help. Private employers aren't bound by it, but it's a useful checklist.

Choose a length that gives the target time to show in the numbers. Rigby suggests a specific duration, such as 30 to 90 days¹. A weekly measure like response times can show change within 30 days; a sales pipeline may need 90.

Fix every check-in date before the plan starts and write them into the plan. If a check-in happens late, log it as late, against its due date.

At each check-in, rate every concern and tell the person where they stand. Locke and Latham's review found that for goals to work, people need feedback that shows their progress toward them⁵.

Long advises delivering a PIP in a private meeting, ideally late in the workday¹, away from any major deadline. That way the person isn't sent back to urgent work, or past co-workers, while upset.

1. 1

   Say what this is

   Tell them plainly that this is a formal performance improvement plan. Don't open with unrelated praise.

2. 2

   Walk through each concern

   Give its date and source, then the standard. Pause after each one for questions.

3. 3

   Answer the two hard questions

   "What exactly do I need to do?" Give the standard. "What happens if I don't?" Give the stated consequence.

4. 4

   Close with dates and a copy

   Confirm the check-in dates, hand over a copy and ask for a signature that confirms receipt, not agreement.

On the final review date, write down one decision: the plan was met, it's extended, or the stated consequence takes effect. That consequence isn't always dismissal. Rigby notes that further discipline, demotion and transfer are other options¹.

Back the decision with the evidence for each concern. Extend only for an observable reason, such as a concern moving from not met to partially met, never because ending the plan is hard.

Hand the person a written copy of the decision, and keep the plan, check-ins and outcome together. In the US, an EEOC rule requires covered employers to keep a dismissed employee's personnel records for one year from the date of termination⁷. If a discrimination charge is filed, keep them until it's resolved.

If the plan ends in dismissal, the employee termination checklist covers what comes next; if it's met, carry the evidence into the next performance review. Open this template with Edit with AI and River checks each concern against your notes before it drafts the plan.