As a new manager in a small team of startup, I am still learning how to handle a low performer in the team. We don't have too many resources to handle the HR and things like that, so some of us have to wear many hats. Please help with comments and critics, thanks. To: From: Date: 14 March 2019 Re: Letter of Performance Improvement Plan This is a formal Performance Improvement Plan to notify you that your performance is not meeting expected levels of contribution. In your job as a Business Development person, the job expectations were developed by our early founding team, which I offer you to submit a job proposal, and me. This means that they will be the accepted standard for each Business Development’s performance for future peers and xxxx in general. You are showing improvement indication to perform xxxx's operations in the following ways. • Planning: the number of planning that you have done is quantitatively as well as qualitatively way below what it needs for a startup to grow, or in other words you seem not having challenging and competitive goal. • Problem solving: you seem to be passive with assuming ownership/ responsibility, decision making and informed risk taking. • Result orientation: you seem struggling to increase the effectivity of the teamwork and throughput. From my conjecture, you will not be showing successful result if you do not embrace change for those three important performance measurements for your job. I am open to discuss with you about any concerns and difficulty that you might have related to the job. I sincerely hope that we can help you to have more elevation on those areas. Please understand that I will not tolerate mediocre mentality in a startup environment from anyone in the team. We need to see an immediate improvement in all three areas of performance follow up with more detail work assessment and measurement by the next three months or we will decide what is necessary to help you finding the best place/ function to grow. We have faith that you have the capability to improve. We need to see immediate improvement.
To: eslap@intel.com From: not_really_low_performer@intel.com Date: 14 March 2019 Re: Re: Letter of Performance Improvement Plan lmao whatever bruh. I'm going to eslap a trout across your face if you fire me dude, try me.
It’s a business development position. Give him a sales number to meet that you know he can meet. He’ll figure out how to modify his own behavior to achieve that. You could write that in a PIP that is one or two sentences. If you can’t get the PIP that simple then you might consider you are not being clear enough. And if you’re not being clear enough you risk sabotaging his chances. Good luck.
thanks a lot for genuine feedback, I really respect your response. Yes, at this point I want to be detail, but this is a startup environment where we are still working to define the plan and this low performer didn’t show a good progress.
Serious question: do you plan to keep the person or did you already take the decision but just want to cover your ass and play it "nice"? If you already decided you can also be effective and quick and just terminate the person with a 4 week severance. Might be beneficial for everyone. Only give a PIP if you have an actual hope that he will improve
good question, I wanted to fire him yesterday since he is not fit for startup. But this person is related with the investor, so I really want to help him to improve, at least I m following up the standard process and document everything for further action.
Yeah so in some way you already decided. It would honestly be better to be direct and just fire him
If he is related to the investor a PIP will make it worse. You can turn the relationship around. If you’re not up to that then convince the investor to fire him.
No offense but this email reads like someone for whom English is their second language. Get someone to help you with the grammar and also the legal problems with you promising in writing that you will help them find another position. Also use fewer words. This message is needlessly complicated with flowery language. Get to the point: do X by this deadline. Also you have a few sentences that sound like nonsense. Maybe you are missing some words there.
Thanks for your feedback about the language and legal perspective, I appreciate it.
I’ve rarely seen people turn it around after a PIP but when they do they are super resentful afterwards.
When that happens it’s because the demands of the PIP reveal it to be a demoralizing ego driven power trip. If you tell someone what to do that is specific and reasonable and within their stated job duties a PIP won’t create resentment. “Do better cause I said and by the way better is whatever I define it today.” -> resentment. “If you work 60 hour work weeks for the next two months you can keep your job..” -> no resentment.
You’re prob right. Honestly I feel it’s most often a Cover Your A** for firing someone so they don’t sue.
The PIP language sounds very wordy. I'd suggest keeping it simple.
Simple and nice advice, working on it. Thanks.
Lot of grammatical mistakes. Your mail would be an open liability if it was sent to me. Get it air tight from a legal perspective.
Does this person already know they are performing poorly? How have your attempts to guide them gone?
I think he got my message yesterday during meeting with other folks, I said that he is too slow at what he's been doing and he needs to be creative dealing with problem. The person was obviously nervous and sent me (too many) detail message to give impression that he was doing something.
I really think this email sounds like a long overdue sit down discussion where you need to be honest 1:1 You are jumping to a legal measure and this guy maybe "got a message" just 1 day ago with no time to react or even realize you don't like his work. I'm not advocating micromanagement or dredging every mistake he's ever made. Attempt to let him know expectations and honestly ask if he feels he is meeting these expectations or if he feels he needs something specific to improve performance. Certainly PiP him if he rejects any notion to improve, but he may be blind sided in a situation where there is little structure and no solid boundaries of responsibility. He may not be cut out for startups, but he needs to understand what he should be doing
Damn, this must get the andrenaline flowing for the person reading.
At some point you don't care anymore. Especially in this economy, in the worst case you interview for two weeks and jump on the next ship