Just got a PIP after trying to change teams.

26 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 27,2022 at 12:00AM UTC

   If you want to stay and make the best of things, then improve to the letter of the PIP. Document every single improvement with dates. Set up 1:1 with your supervisor and follow-up with emails recounting your progress and setting expectations for the following week.

   Stay vigilant and work hard to show your supervisor your effort and proof of improvement.

   This is the best plan to keep your job.

2. AnonymousApril 27,2022 at 12:24AM UTC

   Do your best to do as was asked. I have seen employees survive a PIP. I do suggest sprucing up your resume and seeing what is out there. You do not want to be caught off guard.

3. AnonymousApril 27,2022 at 1:31AM UTC

   I'm not aware of any PIP that has ever resulted in rehabilitating an employee back to a place of good standing. I speak from experience being the target of a PIP. What ensued was months of humiliating treatment from my boss and coworkers. Responsibilities were pulled, no corrective action met the approval of HR, and functioning in an office where I was clearly being targeted was hideous.

   Knowing that my employer had a history of severance packages, I hired an employment attorney and proactively approached HR and said: its obvious we're not going to salvage this work relationship and given your history of severance agreements, maybe its time to have that conversation.

   We eventually agreed to a severance package that clearly outlined the terms of my departure, it preserved benefits, and unvested equity.

   This entire experience was the low point of my professional career and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Please give serious thought to how long you can endure this limbo. Unless you're getting services like a job or executive coach, seeing true collaboration from your boss and HR, please consider cutting your losses and moving onto the next thing. I'm so very sorry this is happening to you, I hate seeing this for others. Best of luck to you.

4. Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMApril 28,2022 at 12:25AM UTC

   If the foundation of the PIP is as you described, then it is probable that the outcome is predetermined.
   It’s best to start looking for a new role.

   PIPs with the goal of improving performance have SMART (Specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time bound) goals.

5. AnonymousApril 28,2022 at 6:56PM UTC

   quite honestly, you can potentially come back from it. But the problem is once you have a PIP it means you’re marked. If something bad happens and it’s genuinely a factor of things and not only your fault, you likely won’t survive it. I’m going to rant to my experience with this here.

   in my experience I’ve only faced a PIP once. And it really was due to a “bad” manager (not a bad person) who was replacing an employee who got promoted. He didn’t want someone else. He wanted someone who came in and was operating at full capacity of the previous guy, fast. They put me on a $10M/year project (like 30% of the yearly site revenue) with a customer who did not want to yield or change anything on their side, and i was told this was my priority, that nothing else was nearly as important. I struggled for a year, in high visibility because the project was already one year “late” and then it was reassigned to my much more experienced coworker, who has yet to come up with a solution as well because it’s just a bad project. From then on, I noticed I was under way more scrutiny.

   I was accused of not caring because I didn’t breakdown at work, meanwhile I was independently building a bunch of skills (with little visibility) so I could work independently on my projects because I wanted to work at a higher level and be able to push out things faster.

   We had multiple shipments of material get delayed due to COVID and the recent war which held back validation timelines, and I was criticized as “being slow” when I cannot make backordered items appear out of thin air. Meanwhile I was responding to technical inquiries by customers at lightning speed, with plenty of detail and making sure to copy any relevant people. If it was out of my product group, I would hand off the customer to the proper person but also provide any information sheets I could as reference while they waited for that person to get to them.

   i certainly wasn’t perfect, but I was trying with the inadequate onboarding and was getting complimented up the chain in the corporation for my presentations and handling of the projects. But if I wasn’t performing the way my boss wanted, it didn’t matter. If I wasn’t acting like that employee he had desperately wanted to keep, I wasn’t “working at a high level”. If I wasn’t visibly upset about roadblocks, I didn’t care.

   i was pulled into an office with my boss and my HR the day I was due to put my notice in. They read over the PIP, gave some vague reasons that I politely tried to get elaboration on, and then once they asked me if I had any questions I took a moment before announcing my two weeks. It was an awkward moment, but it was proof of what I knew.

   The year prior, was my ability to work at a high level good? Absolutely not. I would’ve understood a PIP, although I was hired as a transfer from a site with completely different products and I was in a completely different role.

   The next year? I was making excellent progress and being praised by my peers for various things, but it didn’t matter. Once I had a target on my back, it was as if there was a fog over my actions, I was under elevated scrutiny and any delays were attributed to me. The PIP felt very vague because a lot of it was based on the previous year’s assessment of my ability, but my manager had not elected to get our HR involved until mid of the next year. Instead of proposing quarterly reviews to check in on me one on one, he just let it slide until he felt like it was time to hand the PIP because he didn’t “see enough progress”.

   I didn’t sign the PIP because it didn’t matter, and I left two weeks later. I went somewhere with a better environment, with more transparency and a stronger emphasis on mentorship, and I flourished.

   At my previous company, in three years I saw three promotions. But having experienced a “bad” manager for the first time in the third role, I can confidently say that PIPs are really just a way to say “we’re tired of you, prove your worth and maybe we will let you stay”. If you think the job is worth the fight and you aren’t set up to fail, go for it, but if you think the reasoning behind the PIP isn’t FAIR and you weren’t given the tools to succeed, get out. It’s worth it despite how scary it can be.

6. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 12:22PM UTC

   I've never in my 40 year work history seen anyone recover once they've been placed in a PIP. It's pretty much decided by the time this is done and very hard to bounce back enough to remain employed. Accomplish each target the PIP set as best you can, document by date and hardcopy, and at the same time, work quietly to get your resume ready. I recommend a professional resume writing service to get it in the best shape possible and start applying to jobs immediately. Good luck.

7. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 12:22PM UTC

   Go with your gut. Always.

   Once they have broken that bond... You will always be looking around you.

   Take your energy and look for a new position.

8. MiceeyouApril 29,2022 at 1:01PM UTC

   Exactly! The stress from always looking over your shoulder trickles into your work performance in a negative way. Listen to your gut. Don't wait until you get terminated to get out. I always had excellent evaluations. Over 18 months and nitpicking, I was let go.If they want rid of you, they will find a reason. I was stubborn, young and ignorant when this happened to me.

9. Lisa Bracco SpinelliApril 29,2022 at 12:23PM UTC

   I was put on a PIP just three weeks - yes, you read that right - into a new job.
   I didn't stay at the job, not because I didn't have the skills, but because someone didn't want me there.

   Once I was away from that toxicity, I fared much better. While still there, I developed my skills in spite of the naysayers.

10. Shannon Richey KlenowApril 29,2022 at 12:32PM UTC

    I once got placed on a PIP my manager gave me a poor review, I responded to the review with honest items that I requested and did not receive to make me successful - easy normal stuff like requested 1:1 with manager and she wasn’t able to meet, requested clarification on files did not receive… she placed me on the craziest PIP and when I’d follow through and say you wanted to view my information before I sent it out she looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about!!

11. DeBorah S. WalkerApril 29,2022 at 12:54PM UTC

    Hello, yes I was in sales for many years and I got a pip; and yes my manager was plotting to get rid of me, because I wanted to move into management. I was so strong and I improved so much on the pip, that they had to leave me alone. I left anyway...because toxicity sets in after such emotional stress. So this depends on a couple of things: 1, do you have it in you to surpass the pip expectations, and 2, do you want to because you think it's worth it for you in the long run?

12. Me!April 29,2022 at 1:28PM UTC

    I was placed on a PIP, I listened and improved beyond the expectations.
    I remember my boss saying how great I was doing right before I delivered my 2 weeks notice. The problem was they should have provided support before placing the blame on me with the PIP.

13. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 11:16PM UTC

    Hah, hah, hah. This is so perfect. Using a PIP to have a two way conversation is a pathetic reflection on management lacking manager KSA’s. Lots of terrible managers out there.

14. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 1:35PM UTC

    Your experience resonates exactly what happened to me a year ago.

    i was given one month on PIP then let go after a 14yr successful history in the organization with various roles and growth.
    having experienced a “bad” supervisor for the first time in the last role ( I love the way you phrase it as CYA!) I was only in that role for two years.

    I can confidently say that PIPs are really just a way to say, we don’t like the way you work.

    >>>> You can be the total package at the wrong address!

    dust up resume and start looking for opportunities!You are worth it.
    your worth isn’t your job and you deserve better in your professional life!

    ** I wanted to edit this to clarify that I’ve also had direct reports for 12 years and have a good perspective on managing unmet expectations and underperforming team members.
    To say my supervisor mishandled the PIP is to put it midly. It came down to poor fit with my supervisor .

15. Jessica Hill-KnudsonApril 29,2022 at 3:50PM UTC

    I love that phrase "you can be the total package at the wrong address". :)

16. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 6:35PM UTC

    Love that phrase "You can be the total package at the right address!

17. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 1:50PM UTC

    Your PIP should outline what you need to do to come off that status. Put your head down and do it, if you really want to stay. It could be a red flag for a toxic team/supervisor. Who knows.

    Honestly, I would be looking for a new position so as to have options either way.

18. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 2:07PM UTC

    In my experience of managing employees, a PIP is used to outline specific plans to help the employee grow, develop, flourish and be successful in their role OR to begin a paper trail of documentation the company will use to terminate the employee.

    If it doesn't feel like the plan was put in place to help you, go with your gut and begin a job search.

    Best of luck to you!

19. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 2:12PM UTC

    Was in a similar situation with distorted/old stuff that had been addressed, and 1) they didn't actually call it a PIP; 2) they kept changing the goal posts because I kept generating the same results (which had been outstanding for the 2.5 years before) despite them disapproving all the previously approved resources for the work. I tried all the things to "survive", but I ultimately left. Now I work in a place where I feel valued every day. , my health is better, and I see my family more. But I still have flashbacks and nightmares two years later. I only wish I had dusted off that resume sooner. If you can, think about why you want to stay. Find an impartial trusted mentor/friend/coach to help you think through, and strategies for thriving including a plan to leave if you find it's just not where your heart is.

20. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 2:20PM UTC

    You can double down and try to meet the goals. I would definitely use the time the PIP is in place to find myself a better opportunity. If you can , take some time between jobs to recover. PIPs can leave a mental scar.

21. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 2:29PM UTC

    I had the same thing just happen to me. I interviewed and actually signed the offer for the new role only to have them rescind it and write me up. It was incredibly odd and illogical order at the very least. It would have been a raise. Turns out my VP is the one behind it all. I have since gotten an attorney and am actively looking for a new job.

22. Sabrina RahmanApril 29,2022 at 3:03PM UTC

    An alternative to job searching would be to go over their heads and see if a sympathetic manager could acts as an objective set of eyes on the situation.

    But first choice when someone is trying to screw you over is to just leave.

    Unless you have the financial resources to fight them, once they eventually fire you, just leave before they tarnish your name.

23. Angie Lawson BlumeApril 29,2022 at 3:04PM UTC

    As a manager, I have had to draft these and in some cases, they were self-fulfilling. However, I have also had some rare instances where someone actually turned their performance around. One thing I always try and remind myself when developing a PIP is that regardless of what I might personally think of the employee, the true purpose of the PIP is to give them a clear direction on how make concrete and measurable improvements and put themselves back on a reasonable footing with the organization. I don't delude myself into thinking that some management might utilize this more as a weapon rather than a repair tool.

    While you have no control over the management's mindset, look for the things within the PIP that give you an idea of what to deliver (timelines, deliverable items, measurements). If they don't have those things, before moving forward make sure to schedule a meeting with the management and HR to ask for clarification. It's important for a variety of reasons - if you are invested in making an improvement or just are open to evaluating if there are things could be doing differently on the next job, it could provide feedback and/or due diligence for your future if additional disciplinary action is in the cards to show you were actually trying to do everything you could. If regular meetings are part of the requirement, make sure they are either conducted with you and documented if they are cancelled, and if they are not part of the PIP, then empower yourself by requesting that they be added. If there were items that you were under the impression had been addressed but are now popping up again, it is okay to inquire in a professional manner why they may now be resurrected, especially if it's is (or appears to be) in response to you making a transition away from your current management into a different group.

    Best wishes to you professionally and yes, in theory PIPs can be survived, even if your eventual course of action is a new position or organization. You can learn from them (sometimes even if they are poorly developed and/or implemented).

24. EMILY KIKUE FRANKApril 29,2022 at 4:19PM UTC

    Ugh, the PIP! My experience was with exactly what you say: a bad manager trying to get rid of me. I quit and am happier for it.

25. AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 11:09PM UTC

    If you didn’t have your boss’ blessing to move teams, the PIP can also be retaliation.

    Most company’s freeze internal “transfers” and other opportunities if there has been a PIP or discipline for a certain period. Check the handbook.

    Also, if the first time you’re getting the performance feedback in a PIP, check your employee handbook for “performance” and progressive discipline.

    Also have your facts together and printed. It’s only April. Hopefully you get performance reviews. If the PIP represents a person you don’t recognize, your performance reviews and thank you emails from colleagues, customers and managers will usually reflect your real performance.

26. Karen GongawareMay 4,2022 at 8:55PM UTC

    I never sign anything that is fraudulent, including PIP. I will cross off items, initial them, and write what really happened. Always expect crap to happen and you will never be blindsided. People lie and misrepresent things so they look good. Bad bosses do this as they have poor self-esteem. You choose how you react, but never sign anything that is a lie.