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[Music] HR basics is a series of short courses designed to highlight what you need to know about a particular human resource management topic in today's HR basics we explore performance improvement plans discussing best practices for both process and management a performance improvement plan known as a P IP is a great way to give struggling employees the opportunity to succeed while still holding them accountable for past performance there may come a time when an employee's performance is not meeting expectations when performance is lacking a performance improvement plan can provide a helpful step in the coaching and counseling process a performance improvement plan is a critical tool and process for managing employee performance performance management refers to the process to ensure the organization connects mission with the work of employees outcomes of effective performance management include clarifying job responsibilities and expectations enhancing individual and group productivity developing employee capabilities through effective feedback and coaching driving behavior to align with the organization's values goals and strategy providing the basis for making human resource decisions and improving communication between employees and managers it is important to remember that a P ap is a type of coaching and not part of the discipline process often the decision needs to be made whether to use a non disciplinary route or to document the discipline formally with an employee P IPS may lead to several different outcomes including improvement in overall performance the recognition of a skills or training gap or possible employment actions such as transfer demotion or termination alternatively a P a P may be used for employees who may be new to a role as a tool to communicate performance expectations the success of a performance improvement plan depends on effective process and management process refers to the appropriate steps to design and execute a performance improvement plan management refers to the planning leadership and direction provided by a supervisor through the process when an employee's performance is not meeting expectations a performance improvement plan can be a helpful process let's take a look at a three step process that helps create awareness clarifies expectations establishes a timeline for improvement and can help improve employee performance managers should follow these three steps step 1 develop the performance improvement plan step 2 implement the plan with clear documentation and meetings and step 3 conclude the plan step 1 develop the plan the first step in the PAP process begins with the supervisor documenting the areas of employee performance that need improvement next the supervisor should develop the performance improvement plan organizations should use a consistent format for all performance improvement plans I suggest using the template I also recommend that the PAP be a four step process generally conducted in a 90-day time frame at each step provide the employee with a written document these documents are delivered within this general schedule step one begins the process and is delivered on day one step two is delivered within three weeks of step one step three is delivered within three or four weeks of step two and finally step four concludes the process and has delivered the last week of the identified time frame based on this timetable supervisors will schedule four meetings to deliver each step document supervisors are expected to be in daily communication with the employee during the entire 90 day time period managers simply need to use two forms of documentation to complete the performance improvement plan first an employee's performance evaluation forms and second all other documentation of employee performance step 2 implement the plan during each step meeting the supervisor must clearly lay out the areas for improvement and plan for action the supervisor may need to modify the action plan slightly after receiving employee's input and feedback in these meetings the employee and supervisor should establish regular follow-up meetings which can be outlined in the pap these meetings should discuss and document progress towards objectives it is best when an employee is provided the opportunity and follow-up meetings to ask questions and seek guidance or clarification on performance expectations the supervisor should ensure that any potential roadblocks are discussed and that the employee has been provided the necessary tools and resources to succeed successful progress made towards the performance goal should be recognized as a means of motivating the employee to continued improvement step 3 conclude the plan the performance improvement process needs a clearly defined conclusion in which the employees performance improvement is ultimately assessed if an employee is unable to improve or refuses to commit to the PAP or if his or her performance actually worsens then the employer should close the PAP and consider possible reassignment transfer or demotion or to terminate employment based on specific circumstances when the employee has responded positively by meeting the objectives the employer should formally close the PAP and allow the employee to continue employment this may occur prior to the deadline outlined in the PAP document this should be a positive occasion for the employee but the supervisor must be sure that the employee understands the continued good performance is expected managing a performance improvement plan is the responsibility of the direct supervisor careful planning with attention to good documentation practices and strong feedback leads to effective performance improvement processes HR professionals recognize that strong documentation is critical in performance management their challenge is to teach managers how to document performance issues in an appropriate manner the purpose of documenting performance problems properly isn't just to protect the employer in the case that a worker files a lawsuit it's also to show the steps that were taken to help someone be successful performance documentation must tell a story rooted in fact painting a descriptive picture of employee behavior with war good documentation creates credibility for the employer by showing that employees are treated in a fair and consistent manner however some common mistakes and documentation are made first making vague unclear statements about what the employee needs to do to improve second adding personal attacks or subjective comments and third and finally providing little or no evidence to support decisions to discipline or terminate an employee most managers don't provide enough feedback and when they do they either make it to negative or are too vague will try and keep it positive managers who scored in the top 10% on giving feedback had employees who were three times more engaged that employees with leaders scoring in the bottom 10% the study also revealed that the bottom 10% of leaders had employees who were three times more likely to think about quitting you will note that both positive and negative feedback shares several critical and common elements overall feedback should be first timely occurring as soon as possible after the behavior is observed and done on a regular basis second it should be appropriate the environment matters employees receiving feedback should feel safe and comfortable third behavior based behavior an employee can change or sustain should be defined fourth specific focused on the what and the how and fifth and finally it should be action-oriented what the employee needs to do next the earn feedback process defines a method for communicating effective feedback for maximum clarity and development first the event provide your employee with the place and time during which the action or behavior which you're providing feedback on was observed next the action described the specific action or behavior which are providing feedback on then the result explain the impact or consequence of the behavior or action and finally next steps make a specific request to change or to continue the identified action or behavior or ask for ideas on how to move forward careful planning through the performance improvement process coupled with sound management practice especially those in documentation and feedback create the best possibilities for improved employee performance [Music] you