I have a coworker who was placed on a performance plan and our whole team is absolutely d-mbfounded. Not a single person can fathom what he could have possibly done to get on a PIP. He's the most dependable person on the team and extremely smart, has never missed a deadline and literally oozes Nike spirit... so what's the deal with them? This is the first time I've ever heard of a teammate being put on one. Does anyone have experience with them? Honestly looking for any insight/info.
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PIPs are up to manager discretion. Literally a manager can put anyone on a PIP at any given time. I stood up to my manager for something they did to me and the team and a few weeks later was on a PIP. Completely shocked my team as I was the one with the most tenure and managed most of our major initiatives. My stellar reputation didn’t protect me from one dudes fragile ego and he put me on a PIP. A mentor told me that once that paperwork is in place, if you sneeze wrong they can lay you off without being sued. HOWEVER, if you’re good at documenting, saving all your notes, and record zoom meetings (not in person ones), and then hire yourself an outside lawyer, you can definitely come at them if they do lay you off. Just saying…
Thanks everyone for the feedback (I'm the OP). Employee had another TB with the manager about a week ago now and it doesn't sound good. Manager still can't give any concrete examples of what they're doing wrong or any actionable items so they can show improvement. All feedback that is negative is "anonymous" but when employee is having TBs with teammates everything is positive. Something isn't adding up. So, I'm guessing based on what everyone has said, the employee is probably going to be let go soon. The team morale is definitely suffering as it's gotten out this person is on a PIP and everyone is shocked and think they're next (I'm telling you, the person is a GOOD employee. It's mind-boggling to everyone that they're on a PIP). I've worked in this department for years and this is the first time I'm wondering if I should even stay after seeing how they're treating this person. Again, thanks for all the insight, it was genuinely helpful to understand what was going on.
I was a Sr D told to put an employee on a PIP as I did not hire the person this VP wanted from vertical AP retail for a FW role. I actually hired someone with a FW background. I was told if I didn’t move them on by year end I’d be the one out. After 6 mos this person was doing great and I did not ding them on their review which is the signal to HR to move them on or out completely. When my review happened a few weeks later (after leading a team to the best results Ever for this function)I was told I wasn’t part of the future and moved out to a completely different area. Though they told me they’d do it I was still shocked when it happened. (Turns out new team…not toxic…big win) Went to HR for first time in career and they gave the VP a wrist slap. PIPs ….can definitely be agenda driven….not Performance driven. I’d take as a strong signal to find a new role or leave before they make your life a living h..l.
I was put on a PIP in theory but when I asked what I needed to do my manager told me that would be too hard for them to figure out. I was put on an island and retaliated against when I filed a formal complaint about my co-worker lying about me to my manager. BTW they both were having an affair. I agree they are just trying to push them out.
I had a manager years ago that put almost every FTE on a PIP - regardless of their actual performance. We were shocked when we compared notes, and realized that they were indeed laying the groundwork to fire anyone they didn't like.
Not surprisingly, this manager would publicly ridicule employees in front of others, ordered us to stop "wasting time" doing code reviews and writing software tests, and "just get it out quickly". Throw in some bottom-of-the-barrel (but cheap) contractors, and big surprise, quality plummeted and bugs in production skyrocketed. However, they reduced expenses, got a nice promotion, and their replacement had to fix all the damage they'd done.
And, guess what - that manager is still at Nike! Abrasive and abusive as ever...
I spent a decade at Nike, and most of my managers were narcissistic sociopaths. More than one told me they always needed to have one direct report "being managed out" as a rule of thumb. Even if that person was performing the job. Also, there was lots of pettiness and even if you gave honest feedback to those managers in a delicate way....or god forbid stand up for yourself, they would retaliate with a PIP or other means to ruin your time at Nike. My advice to your colleague is to start interviewing for a new company immediately. I went through this same non-sense and leaving was the best thing to ever happen to me. My career (and salary) took off after I left that cesspool.
I had a director that just “didn’t like my vibe” try to put me on a PIP.
Thankfully after discussing non-vibe based facts with my manager it was avoided and probably the only reason I still have a job.
As mentioned, someone has it out for your friend. They need to start planing a department or company exit strategy.
I was put on a PIP to be managed out. My manager also failed to provide me with the feedback when I provided evidence her claims in the PIP were inaccurate.
It was a joke. I quit. Your friends should quit too. This is a new way to get folks out who rock the boat.
The employee definitely isn't underperforming, they're truly such a great teammate and so dependable and their work is always great. The manager said during their CFE they need to be better at meeting deadlines but couldn't give a single example of when he ever missed one which I think is a red flag. He said his first TB after getting on the PIP (yesterday) with his manager was unhelpful and his manager had no feedback and just said he was doing a good job. I'm just feeling for this guy because it's like, if he can get on a PIP now we all feel like we can because he's amazing. I'm aware though that I definitely don't know the whole story, so thank you for all the insight!
PIPs are never about improvement. They’re paperwork for booting someone out the door without a lawsuit.
I suggest your “coworker” leave before they get fired.
Could be behavior issue, I've worked with people on performance plans. Sometimes doesn't have to do directly with how they get worked done, but sometimes the way they go about it.
Here's the ones I've seen:
- Talks extremely negative to people directly.
- Known to be a bad team player.
- Underperforming in general. (This one is painful for everyone because it really get bottled up and everyone on the team wants to help out but the person is just not capable of doing the job.) < - This one hurts the most for the person involved, the team, and the manager.
Last one I've seen, person is terrible at their job and they're a terrible human being. This scenario I've seen people piling it in on the person.
Sorry to say, but something is off here: I had to put teammates on PIPs before, and it’s an arduous task that no manager takes lightly. Part of this is also making the case for the plan very clear to the employee. Why are we doing this? What specifically needs to improve? What are the specific behaviors and actions expected? So, either your teammate is only telling you have the truth, or a PIP is the least of that person’s problems.