Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Businesses

Performance Improvement Plans Surge in US as Companies Seek Stealth Job Cuts (msn.com) 196

Posted by msmash from the management-by-PIP dept.
Performance improvement plans, a controversial corporate tool for managing underperforming employees, are becoming increasingly prevalent in U.S. workplaces. HR Acuity data shows workers subject to performance actions rose from 33.4 per 1,000 in 2020 to 43.6 per 1,000 in 2023.

While companies maintain PIPs offer a path to improvement, WSJ -- citing HR executives and former employees -- describes them as primarily providing legal protection against wrongful termination lawsuits and an alternative to formal layoffs. Only 10-25% of employees survive the 30-90 day improvement plans, with most either being terminated or leaving voluntarily.

Performance Improvement Plans Surge in US as Companies Seek Stealth Job Cuts More | Reply

Performance Improvement Plans Surge in US as Companies Seek Stealth Job Cuts

Comments Filter:
  • Here was one of the sources quoted "...who went on to be the HR chief at LinkedIn and now advises companies on HR strategy." LinkedIn, the world authority on, uh, what? Are there even any H there to R?

    • Here was one of the sources quoted "...who went on to be the HR chief at LinkedIn and now advises companies on HR strategy." LinkedIn, the world authority on, uh, what? Are there even any H there to R?

      Being at LinkedIn, implies you work for that organization.

      I’d imagine if you’re not in IT working for them, then you’re probably either a consultant, a consultant, or a consultant.

      Naturally consultants can advise on anything. Hell, I’ll bet they can even advise someone on how they need a “chief” under the guise of “HR”.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Here was one of the sources quoted "...who went on to be the HR chief at LinkedIn and now advises companies on HR strategy." LinkedIn, the world authority on, uh, what? Are there even any H there to R?

      If you want to see the kind of drivel and out of touch people are, read LinkedIn. Many C-suite people use it as a way to post their thoughts, and it almost always comes out as out of touch with reality.

      Now, social media is bad and things shown are often artificial, but chances are those kinds of postings are n

  • I suppose this is a step up from the shenanigans some employers pulled on workers a generation ago (stories I could tell), but...

    Has there been any, you know, actual data that PIPs improve productivity, performance, or the bottom line?

    And isn't this an indictment of management to manage their workers? Why are you getting the office with walls that go to the ceiling again?

    More- nearly every worker goes through a rough patch, is in transition, or some other matter. You can get gratitude from people by having

    • Re:Old Boys Club gets computerized (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sd4f ( 1891894 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @05:51AM (#64980845)

      I've always been told that a performance Improvement Plan is anything but, it's just a process to follow to begin getting rid of someone, particularly in countries with more regulated labour law. A PIP is basically a signal to get out before one is pushed out.

      I can't say why companies would elect to do it this way, but it may help with morale in a company if this gets followed instead of drawn out retrenchments. I think there's a lot of psychology at play in corporations, as companies rely on having loyal lackeys who don't question or balk at directions which may raise an eyebrow or two. It may be to also white-wash what invariably is just a case of a manager not liking someone they have to manage. I've seen it when basically someone asserts themselves and the manager takes that as a challenge to his or her authority, and therefore can't have it.

      • Re:Old Boys Club gets computerized (Score:4, Insightful)

        by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @05:58AM (#64980849) Journal

        I can't say why companies would elect to do it this way,

        Because they don't want to lose a lawsuit if they are sued for unlawful termination.

        • Sure, but how does it help? You still fired them, and words you've written on a screen, printed out, and compelled an employee to sign are no more compelling evidence than your direct testimony.

          I ask this in all seriousness. I'm certainly not a labor lawyer, but having considered this subject at some length, I still can't really conceive of how it changes the employer's legal footing.
          • It does help. You go to court, they have all this written evidence documenting their decision, you have almost none supporting theirs. If they have a 90 day email deletion policy, and they are stingy during discovery (likely), then all the employee will have as evidence is their own testimony.

            To get a taste for the situation, if you're on a jury, and on one side it's a pile of written evidence, and testimony from a manager and an HR person, and on the other side it's just the testimony of one person, whi
            • I realize the "pile" is indeed admissible evidence. I just don't think it actually tends to prove or disprove anything- the statutory business record exception to hearsay stands up to way less scrutiny than the exceptions originating in common law. Why wouldn't a liar have some backdated paper trail?

              If juries aren't actually lending too much weight to a written record that (in my view) is merely bolstering a witness, then the HR staff and employer's labor lawyers certainly are.

              • Why wouldn't a liar have some backdated paper trail?

                Oh yeah, that's definitely something that could happen. The first question again will be, where is the proof?

                You'll need to allege that they falsified the paper trail, and then prove it to some degree of certainty. The courts won't raise these doubts by themselves.

                (Also worth mentioning (from the perspective of the CEO), that HR is there to prevent lawsuits against the company. So although HR by default is on the side of the manager, if the manager starts backdating a paper trail, HR is happy to toss

                • That was one of the better replies in this discussion.
                  A properly functioning HR Department will work to protect the company. Not by fudging anything, but by working to make sure policies are in place that are legal and that they are followed. That's how you make sure you don't lose when challenged. (Note that it is not lose instead of win. No one truly wins when you have to terminate employment.)
                  The fact that a reasonable amount of PIPs do not result in termination of enjoyment means they have a positive p

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by dgatwood ( 11270 )

                    The fact that a reasonable amount of PIPs do not result in termination of enjoyment means they have a positive purpose. PIPs are an alternative to being let go immediately.

                    It means that occasionally PIPs have a positive purpose. The question is how many of the 85% who don't survive it fail because they truly didn't do what was required to get back in their employer's good graces, and how many fail because they were going to be let go anyway and the entire PIP process was performative, with the outcome rigged to make survival impossible.

                    A good way to spot the difference is by looking at who evaluates an employee's success. If the exit conditions for a PIP are being evaluated

              • I just don't think it actually tends to prove or disprove anything

                In civil court, you don't need to prove anything. The outcome is based on the preponderance of the evidence, not proof.

                Why wouldn't a liar have some backdated paper trail?

                The point of a PIP is that there's a real paper trail. There will be a dated electronic copy, and multiple people will be involved.

                It shows that the underperformer was given clear information about their shortcomings and specific steps to improve. If the employee didn't protest in writing at the time, they'll have a weak case protesting after termination.

                If juries aren't actually ...

                A termination dispute is not likely

                • In civil court, you don't need to prove anything. The outcome is based on the preponderance of the evidence, not proof.

                  This is exactly what I was planning to say, but I wanted to make sure nobody else made the point first, and I'm glad I did. One of the problems here is that all of this is taught in school, in Civics classes, or as they were called back when I took them, Social Studies. Alas, all too many "students" today either don't pay attention to such things or just forget them as soon as they've
                  • I'm actually a lawyer and understand the burdens of proof very well. The issue here is admissible evidence, not the burden of proof. You can disagree with me, and it's in fact clear that legislators do, but I do not believe a written record made by the party testifying tends to make a fact to which they're testifying more or less probable. Any liar can create a record- and they absolutely routinely do- and there's no reason to believe that even litigation-sensitive honest people will be more likely to crea

            • Not after reading this article! Fuck HR and corporate.

              Besides, your scenario probably wouldn't happen today given there is a probably an arbitrage requirement in the employment contract. Take that you surf!

          • Nevermind. I often forget the obvious explanation: juries are stupid. Of course this guy's telling the truth about the bad employee- he's got a piece of paper that he says he made at the time as a record in the normal course of business!

            • Re: Old Boys Club gets computerized (Score:5, Interesting)

              by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @07:09AM (#64980897) Journal
              I don't even think you need to call juries stupid, it's just the lack of evidence. The opposing lawyer will put the employee on the witness stand and will ask about the pip:

              Lawyer: "It says in your pip that you said X. Did you say that?"
              Employee: "Yes."
              Lawyer: "Do you agree that was rude?"
              Employee: "Yes."
              Lawyer: "But you don't think that was why you were fired?"
              Employee: "No, my manager fired me because he is racist. He called me a N***"
              Lawyer: "Do you have any evidence of that?"
              Employee: "No."

              The employee might be telling the truth, but how do you prove it? Like Veronica [youtube.com].

              • So what you are saying is I need to write my own set of lies down to counter their set of lies? Gotcha.

                Still, there is no jury trial. You'll go to arbitrage, which was paid for by the employer, and you'll be dismissed in short order.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by rta ( 559125 )

                  Yes you should keep your own records of stuff that happens, on your own computers as a matter of course. I rarely do it enough, because i'm lazy and keep hoping that i won't need to but sometimes i have and its come in handy. Truth is that, for the most part, HR people aren't very smart or very good at what they do so if you keep your cool and have some records it's not an entirely lost cause when presenting to a third party, even in arbitration.

                  One limitation is to get over one's embarrassment of having

      • btw, we can divide the situation into two cases here:

        1) The employee is going to be fired for cause. In that case, the PIP will work as a documentation trail, and provide evidence to back up the company's story. This is the use case the PIP was designed for, and the employee will have no evidence of anything wrong (because there is none).

        2) The PIP is just a pretext to fire the employee. This is not the use case the PIP was designed for. If it is too obvious that the PIP is just a pretext (things like

      • Is there anything an employee can do to counter a PIP at a corporate? If history teaches anything it's that corporates will look to maximise arse covering if they wan to do layoffs.

        If a PIP is unjust, what can a hard working, good employee do other than talk to a union, which may not get them anywhere.

        Genuinely concerned if the figures show the use is on the rise it will become a trend.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rta ( 559125 )

          Keep a record of "things" both good and bad that you will maintain access to.

          Don't live (entirely) for work. Have support networks, friends, relationships and identity outside of the company so that you don't get depressed and quit if things at work get rough.

          Live below one's means and save money so as to achieve some level of financial independence so that you can choose to fight the company if you need to w/o being worried that you'll end up homeless in 3 months (or more likely 12 or 36 months).

          If you

    • It’s quite incredible the mental gymnastics and new math exercises we will contort ourselves into, to ensure anyone and everyone who might even suggest we’re anywhere close to a hint of a recession, is immediately curtailed and shut down.

      Thousands in tech being laid off in the last 6 months. Employers posting “ghost” jobs to make it LOOK like they’re hiring in order to give a false appearance of success. And naturally every government on the planet in collusive denial, along

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pizza ( 87623 )

        Employers posting “ghost” jobs to make it LOOK like they’re hiring in order to give a false appearance of success.

        They've been doing that non-stop for at least the past two decades.

        Perhaps employees should create a blacklist of employers pulling this shit. They want resources? Let ‘em fucking starve.

        Putting aside the point that "employers" don't starve. *people* do, your typical company has far deeper reserves than their average would-be employee.

    • If PIPs and the yearly cutoff of the lowest performing 10% actually meant something, then those companies doing that would be the best things going.

      But, they are not. The companies I see doing that are at best, supported by the stock market and know how to look good for Wall Street. I don't see the innovation coming from those companies.

      The companies that are doing the innovating are SMBs or larger companies that have autonomous divisions that can do what they need to do without constant theatrics from ab

  • Meanwhile the people mostly benefiting spend their time interrogating their household staff about a missing spoon or a smudge on the Lambo.

  • If you want to survive a PIP (Score:5, Informative)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @05:33AM (#64980833) Journal
    If you want to survive a PIP, make a note of all the things that apply to only you. "Be on time" sounds great, unless everyone on the team normally comes late to meetings.

    For the rest of it, get it focused down as narrowly as possible. For each item, make sure there is a clear criteria on success and failure. If it's not objective, then make a complaint to HR.

    If you see the PIP coming, start filing complaints about your manager to HR. This will give you a paper trail to show that the problem is not all you (no one is perfect so you're at least part of the problem, but so is your manager), and will make it easier to push back at all points along the way. HR will usually side with the manager, but if you don't complain, HR may report that "when we said this to him, he gave no objection."

    In all this, be calm and professional. Don't raise your voice even when people are yelling at you, don't swear, just document and report in writing.

    Be like Veronica [youtube.com]. HR might be on the side of the manager, but if they feel like firing you might cause a lawsuit, they will absolutely go against the lawyer. In some states you can do this [youtube.com].

    • Re:If you want to survive a PIP (Score:4, Interesting)

      by garcia ( 6573 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @08:35AM (#64980987)

      In my experience, PIPs are NEVER intended to be a tool to help you; they're intended to help the company find reasons to fire you.

      Use the 90 days to find a new job; not try and pass the arbitrary/impossible to meet requirements.

      Plus, once you've been put on a PIP, do you really want to continue working for a company that was literally trying to create documentation to fire you?

      No; you don't.

      • Sometimes it's to help you. This guy seems to do a good job (at least sincere) trying to help his employees [slashdot.org].

        At the time the PIP happens, it's best to get to the bottom of why you are being put on the PIP in any case. That will give you more options.
      • I got one once and survived. But I was never under-performing. I was just putting too much time into a project benefiting the company as a whole and not enough time on the team's priorities. I did change teams shortly thereafter, of course. Found a manager who appreciated my kind of contribution more.

      • In my experience, PIPs are NEVER intended to be a tool to help you; they're intended to help the company find reasons to fire you.

        As a (former) manager who used the PIP process, that's not quite right. A PIP isn't to find reasons to fire you, because the manager has to have documented the reasons to fire you in order to create the PIP.

        By the time a PIP is considered, one of two things is true (or a mixture of the two):

        1. The employee sucks at their job, and should be fired.
        2. The manager sucks at their job, and should be fired or trained.

        Which is it? HR doesn't know, the company doesn't know. But it's really important that

      • Basically this. I have only ever once had an employer attempt to put me on a PIP. As soon as HR and the manager tried to hand me the paperwork, I got up, dropped my company ID cards on the table, and I walked out without saying a word. If a PIP lands on my desk, I do not care what justifications management has dreamed up, clearly they are out for blood. Better to immediately leave and find work elsewhere than play their idiotic political games.

    • If you see the PIP coming, start filing complaints about your manager to HR. This will give you a paper trail to show that the problem is not all you

      That one won't work out the way you think. Retribution is a very real thing that exists in many companies, including those who claim they don't do it in their code of conduct. If you don't have an actual proper complaint to take to HR (one that you should be taking there regardless of an incoming PIP) then you may as well just paint a big red target on the back of your head.

      • Absolutely. When work is normal, then best not to involve HR. Deal with the person directly.

        If they involve HR, then get your side of the story out there immediately. Don't be angry or hostile, but don't concede just because you have a crappy manager.

      • That one won't work out the way you think. Retribution is a very real thing that exists in many companies, including those who claim they don't do it in their code of conduct.

        In fact the suggestion itself was to practice retribution. "OK boss, you say I'm doing a bad job? Let's see how much dirt I can get on record about you."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Well, I would just conclude that particular employer has lost the privilege of access to my expertise and time and leave. Granted, I have never been fired.

      • Re:If you want to survive a PIP (Score:4, Informative)

        by hwstar ( 35834 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @10:50AM (#64981211)

        If you get a PIP, its time to move on. Not many people survive PIP's and that's a feature not a bug. The employer is now in the mode of papering your personnel file.

        Get out before they tell you to leave.

        Or better yet, if you have the financial means to do so, give your two weeks notice as soon as you receive the PIP, and then start your own business.

        After 45 years of employment, most of which has been in long stints, I've come to the conclusion that most Employers suck. Things aren't what they used to be in the 70's and 80's. There's a lot of time wasting soul crushing bullshit tasks and there's no way around refusing these tasks without getting placed on a PIP or being fired on the spot.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          There's a lot of time wasting soul crushing bullshit tasks and there's no way around refusing these tasks without getting placed on a PIP or being fired on the spot.

          That may just be a dissonance between the actual amount of work needed to keep society going and the dysfunctional way wealth is distributed via "work". Obviously, rich assholes and authoritarian scum need that general abuse to continue...

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

            I don't think it's all the rich assholes. The Protestant work ethic equates your self-worth with work. That's great PR when you're trying to get the peasants to rise against the pope, and even works pretty well when you're living in a medieval subsistence society. When you're not it results in a lot of people demanding their right to grind away their lives at make work jobs and the insane habit of measuring prosperity by job creation.

          • Obviously, rich assholes and authoritarian scum need that general abuse to continue...

            Never show any joy when working, unless the big boss makes a killing, then high fives all around. Seriously, worked with a great guy a star player, we had some ping pong after hours and the boss said "isn't their some work to do." Its after hours, we never used the break room again. I made it a point to never show happiness again, not a sour mood, just not happy. Get two or more employees laughing and see how fast management comes running. Oh, the exercise/break room was in the basement so boss had to b

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by gweihir ( 88907 )

              Well, I have had the privilege never even needing to consider working for scum like that. I am aware not everybody has that. What they display is the "slaveholder mindset", i.e. the slaves must work hard and be unhappy. Essentially sadists and torturers.

        • Having been self-employed as a contactor and now as a small business owner, I can say that the worst boss I have ever had is myself. No one will ever be harder on you or have higher expectations than you.

          But I have to agree -never work somewhere you are not wanted and valued. A PIP is notice that you are not welcome. Get out on your own terms.

    • In my experience, if a company is handing out PIPs, that is time for everyone in the division to start looking for work. A PIP means no severance benefits, and maybe even no unemployment benefits. That is when everyone needs to consider lining up, hanging their resumes out and getting out of that place ASAP.

      If one is hapless enough to get a PIP, stop everything and start looking for work. Ask for references, and leave, because in the scope of that company, you have an expiration date on your forehead. D

  • too many lawyers and lawsuits have created PIP's to cover their tail.

  • A manager's perspective (Score:5, Interesting)

    by maiden_taiwan ( 516943 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @08:18AM (#64980969)

    As a manager, I've placed employees on PIPs before, always with the honest intention to give them another chance in a new context. And "new context" is key here. Success in a job is a combination of the right person in the right situation with the right support. I've seen several employees completely turn around their performance for the better when placed onto a new project on a PIP. Of the last 3 employees I've seen on PIPs, two of them became top performers and had great careers within the original company. (The third left voluntarily before things got started.)

    PIPs are also hard work for the manager. You really have to commit to helping the employee improve and make sure all milestones are clear & actionable.

    Maybe things have changed now, like the article says, but PIPs are a great alternative to losing a talented employee who's just in the wrong role.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Njovich ( 553857 )

      Nothing has changed, ever since PIP's came into vogue in the 80's they were always a tool of HR to streamline and manage the termination process. Some managers use them to legitimately try to coach and helpbimprove the employee, and this has always been the case that some do. However that has never been the real goal of PIP's. In fact I would recommend against it as both HR and the employee may get confused if you do that. Better use different terminology like 'action plan'.

    • Re:A manager's perspective (Score:5, Informative)

      by rayzat ( 733303 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @10:54AM (#64981217)
      I don't know how many dozens of people I've worked with on PIPs over the years, the number that made it through, 0. Half were using the time to find another job, half were trying to keep the job they had. Even when they turn it up, and actually work like a top employee, I've always seen them cut, even when every KPI is met. You and your company may be different, but I've not seen it work that way.

    • I've only ever seen PIPs used as a weapon to get rid of teachers who spoke up about various things painting a huge target on their backs. Or, to get rid of them to make room for incoming dictator loyalists. Every principal change means a lot of staff turn over as it's all politics.

      The union has lawyers but they've largely been defanged in terms of real power by state law in this very red state.

    • As a manager, I've placed employees on PIPs before, always with the honest intention to give them another chance in a new context.

      Why use a PIP for that? If you see that an employee is floundering in their role but can do well in another, why would you start a PIP rather than just helping them change roles? The PIP creates a lot of unnecessary stress and (as you mention) a lot of extra work for the manager -- and the employee, too, if they're smart, because they should also be documenting everything they do in case the manager's evaluation of their PIP results is negative.

      A PIP is for when you've exhausted all other avenues and nee

  • Once again it's going to get worse (Score:3)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Saturday November 30, 2024 @08:32AM (#64980985)
    the Tariffs are going to spike inflation, that'll cause the fed to raise interest rates, which will cause job losses because that's how high interest rates control inflation.

    When it gets hard to borrow money companies turn to layoffs and firings to balance the books. They also stop expanding.

    The idea is we all lose our jobs, are forced to take lower paying jobs after blowing through our savings, spend a lot less and that lowers demand, and with it prices.

    It's balancing the books on our backs.

    Most economists agree that the "soft landing" (read: lowering inflation w/o causing a recession) is a miracle and we're about to piss it all away for the dream of 99 cent eggs or whatever. A dream we'll never see. Doesn't help that the Albertsons/Kroger merger is probably going through now.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Well, if the iragne moron does what he promised to do, the US economy will go to crap really fast. But my prediction is he will conveniently forget about most of his lies and just make his whole presidency a narcist crap-show.

    • Import duties are a source of revenue for the government and encourages local production. Too much free trade is not a good thing, unless you are the owner of a mega huge factory in a poor country with indentured serfs working for you for a pittance of course.
    • When you say Tarriffs will spike inflation, you mean because the extra cost will be added to the cost of goods. What will happen though is that extra cost could be mitigated by on-shoring production. So, long term, there will be more on-shoring and that is also somewhat inflationary because more demand for workers equals higher salaries. The rest of what you said is accurate. Once inflation hits (because of Tarriffs + on-shoring) the Fed will have to cool it down a bit but we're talking long way from now. T

    • Given the FTC has put that merger on ice and both Washington and Colorado have rejected it means that merger is very much in the air. I work for Albertsons, by the way.

      Our next move will probably be to decide if divesting all our assets from those two states would be enough to push it through for the rest of the country.

      Historically though, when an FTC slaps an injunction against a potential merge, 9 times out of 10, it's a death sentence for that merge. A lot of resources get tired up for these to happen a

  • Many have said before that the RTO mandates made no sense except as a quiet layoff to push people to quit. This is just the next stage.

    More will come.

  • The beatings will continue until performance improves.

  • time to go union!

Slashdot Top Deals

To communicate is the beginning of understanding. -- AT&T

Close