Received a PIP or improvement plan: will I be dismissed?

You have received a PIP: a personal improvement plan, or improvement plan. That often comes as a blow. The good news: a PIP does not automatically mean dismissal. The honest answer, however, is that a PIP is often the first step towards building a dismissal file. How you respond now will largely determine how things proceed.

What is a PIP?

A PIP usually follows a half-yearly or annual review in which your employer considers that you have underperformed. Your employer then offers you an improvement process: a plan with objectives, a duration and, if all is well, support.

On paper, a PIP is intended to help you improve. In practice, employers also regularly use a PIP as a means of pressure to get an employee to leave. A PIP is not only unpleasant because you are being monitored. It also affects trust, and can put you in a position where you constantly have to justify yourself.

Why is a PIP so important for your employer?

If your employer wants to dismiss you on grounds of underperformance, an improvement process is one of the requirements. Without a genuine opportunity to improve, there is no ground for dismissal, and your employer cannot successfully apply to the subdistrict court. Read more about this in Received a settlement agreement? What you need to know.

Suppose your employer considers that you are underperforming, and you cannot resolve the matter in a conversation. For your employer, a PIP is then the step required to build a dismissal file.

At the same time, a PIP often opens the door to a discussion about a settlement. An employer may say: "If this process is too unpleasant for you, we can also offer you a settlement agreement."

Do you have to sign the PIP?

No, not immediately. You are entitled to influence the content of a PIP. At most, sign for receipt, not for agreement. And respond in writing if you disagree with the criticism or with the objectives. What is put on paper now may later reappear in a dismissal file.

What does a good PIP look like?

The basis of a PIP is that you are given a genuine opportunity to improve, with the support that goes with it. A good PIP contains:

• specifically identified areas for improvement. What exactly is not going well?
• measurable objectives, formulated SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound;
• a reasonable duration, so that improvement can actually become visible;
• support, for example through coaching or training;
• regular evaluation moments, which are documented.

A PIP imposed unilaterally by the employer often fails. Think of sales targets that are unachievable, or a plan that revolves entirely around revenue while the entire market is in a downturn. You are then judged on something over which you have little influence.

What do you want?

Before you respond, it is important to determine what you actually want.

You want to stay. In that case, cooperate with your employer. Indicate that you are willing to improve, but first ask for clarity about which points exactly are not going well. Ask for concrete objectives and proper support, focus on improvement and document your progress.

You actually want to leave. Then you do not have to go along with the process as if nothing is wrong. Take a critical look at the PIP, refute the points you disagree with, and make clear that, for you, trust has been damaged. You can then indicate that you would rather discuss a settlement. In this way, a PIP may in fact be the occasion for a good settlement agreement, preferably before the dismissal file is complete.

When is your position strong?

That depends on your situation. You are in a stronger position if:

• you have received good performance reviews for years, and criticism suddenly arises;
• there is a new manager who, after a few months, considers that you are underperforming;
• the objectives are vague or unachievable;
• you are not receiving any support.

You are in a weaker position if you have already been warned several times, and it can be demonstrated that you are not performing as your employer may reasonably expect.