The Dreaded Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

by Ryan Walsh

You’ve heard about them.  Maybe your colleague was on one recently, but they’re kind of always hush / hush.  Maybe at one point you found yourself on one.  The dreaded PIP.  You were pipped.  Roommates with Pippy Longstocking.  Presented the Scottie Pippen jersey for your efforts.

PIP, as it’s currently known is a performance improvement plan. Designed to ‘improve your performance’.

But do you really believe they are trying to improve your performance or are you just ‘dead man walking’. Like, do they really want you to succeed? Do they really want you to get off that plan? And more importantly, can you do it? Maybe it should be called a BTBFP (’bout to be fired plan’).

Managers typically know that when they present a PIP, the reps are going to react in one of two ways; either check out and go into full job search mode…