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I've been put on a Personal Improvement Plan whilst on probation
Hello, I would love to ask for some advice as I have found myself in an incredibly stressful situation.
I started a new role in account management having come from a completely different field (retail buying). When I was interviewing there was a junior role also available on the team, however it wasn't a role that I was after given the transferable skills and experience that I possess.
Starting my role during lockdown has been challenging, however I feel like I have build strong relations with the team and have embraced the culture at my new company.
Being that I am in a sales role, sales have been close to non existent during this period which has seen my team and the wider team under new levels of pressure for not delivering on this front. There is a long term view that my role was needed for company growth, however it leaves me having sleepless nights worrying about my future at my new company, particularly as I have now been put on an improvement plan.
Feedback received on my reaction to this news was positive, I am doing my best to put on a brave front and embrace the opportunity to focus on a proper induction, but the truth is that I am incredibly worried, disappointed in myself and embarrassed that I haven't been able to show off that I can do this role effectively. The personal improvement plan came after I gave a presentation to my leadership team which lacked the conviction that they were after, as I was unclear of expectation from me and I very much missed the point by treated my assignment as an internal conversation exploring he different strategic options at hand (which is what was expected from me in my previous role). This one presentation has opened a can of worms and has really undermined my role in the company, with my new task at hand to prove myself within the team and ultimately to bring the sales which I was hired to deliver. I would love some advice on starting a role remotely, how you've been impressed by colleagues and employees, and what you've done to impress your teams. As said, I am showing a brave face for my improvement plan but it has personally been very disheartening. I have graded myself against the job spec and the key areas of improvement are around bringing in new clients which has been particularly difficult to do, with the team not getting any new business since the pandemic hit.
Gigi Fergus, MBA, BSN, RN
Healthcare Executive and Consultant
14
09/16/20 at 11:28PM UTC
A PIP is never a good thing. Start looking. Exhaust your resources in your current position to learn what you can do if your intent is truly to be successful at that company. Otherwise, time to move on. Regardless if you pull yourself out of the PIP or not, you are on the radar. Putting someone on a PIP is a step up or step out move. Another tell tale sign: are the PIP objectives achievable? If not, this is a move to squeeze you. You need only feel bad if you have not 1) done your best, 2) failed to learn the job, or 3) demonstrated poor judgment. Otherwise, the onus is on the company to orient, train, and support you. As a longtime healthcare executive, I've hired and fired many. If the company truly wants you to succeed they will offer more tools, more resources, even a mentor. Otherwise this is their way of encouraging your voluntary leaving before it becomes involuntary. Good Luck!
Barb BaldingI am a 20+ year Costco employee.
55
07/24/20 at 11:27PM UTC
I can really relate I manage a team of 5 and just prior to our remote work assignment I agreed to temporarily take an additional team of 12 on - then the pandemic hit. I actually just about begged them not to proceed in the current circumstance and really they could have left it as is with no unwanted consequences - but they forced me to do it anyways. My biggest worry is that would not be able to adequately support my "new" team in this time and not knowing all of their processes very well. I got so overly stressed and had to approach my manager and say I was about to break and needed a week to re-set. I was granted the week off but returned to the same dilemma and have not at all felt that I am able to give my normal effort or lead my teams effectively - I never struggle with these feelings - but EVERYTHING is different now. Don't be too hard on yourself I can tell you care so you will be fine!!
Sharon MarksUnapologetically opinionated
96
07/23/20 at 9:59PM UTC
Ugh. That's such an uncomfortable place to be in. Not only are you still under the run-of-the-mill new-hire scrutiny, but this additional unwanted attention can really jangle your nerves, making you second guess every decision even more. There's some really great perspectives here on how you can reframe the opportunity and shine way your out of your current sitch. Take a moment to marinate in it all.
I've never been a sales person--I have no stomach for it--but I do know that sales is all about relationship building. So in addition to having a good deep conversation with your manager about his or her exact expectations, the nuances of your responsibilities, and how much leeway you have in making certain decisions or following through on your most creative ideas, try to connect with the top seller in the org, and see whether they're willing to take you under their wing. If they're very cut-throat about competition, maybe you can engage them in a friendly wager or butter them up with some incentives to help you. That usually works on us consumers. ;)
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 8:48PM UTC
If they fail to communicate expectations then blame you, maybe you don’t want to be there. I’ve been let go once, because I didn’t understand that “yes” meant “no.” It was a lucky break.
a lina
21
07/23/20 at 5:55PM UTC
There’s a lot of actionable advice above. Based on my experience of 14 years with a multi-national corporation, most PIP were preludes to a job loss. In theory you are given the opportunity to redeem yourself from perceived low performance/ unsatisfactory point. In practice it’s quite different and it will be demoralizing and affect your performance and others’ perception of you in the workplace.
Very rarely did a PIP lead to a turnaround in an employee’s career at the company. PIPs lasted 90 days: that should be your goal to transition into a new role at another company where your future manager is clear about your performance goals from day 1.
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 1:58PM UTC
The best advice I can give is to focus on what YOU have control over right now. Since we all know this is such a different time and space professionally, use this time to really look over the job qualifications for this role and organize your own strengths to each of those. Make lists under each qualification/expectation and bullet our your strengths and weakness for each, then make YOUR OWN PIP.
One thing we all get caught up in when changing our career path, is getting stuck in the pattern of using our "old" way in thinking in past roles and trying to translate that into our "new" position. Having both been a retail buyer myself AND a sales person, although there are definitely translatable skills, there is a completely different mindset you need to learn to use. Take this time to network, speak to others, read blogs etc and hone in your skills to now fit a sales mindset.
You may also decide after doing all of this personal work, that this job does not fit your personality or what you expected and that's ok too! Sales is extremely tough and while many companies are being flexible, I see that many are pushing their salesteam to over perform, as realistically (and sadly) that is the only way some companies can generate profit to continue on. If your company is in the former (which it sounds like they may be) it may be too high stress of a situation right now or you may require more experience and training to get to the point to perform at that level.
Sydney Susan Hart
153
07/23/20 at 1:25PM UTC (Edited)
I would start looking for a new position at another company ASAP!
Saidah AbdulhaqqDigital Strategist
Marketing Technologist
Coach
979
07/23/20 at 2:27PM UTC
Agreed. PIP might be an improvement plan in theory; it is often just a way for managers to justify getting rid of an employee with the help of HR. I've only met 1 PIP survivor in 20 years.
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 3:59PM UTC
I second this. It’s the beginning of the end. It seems to me that this job/environment may not be a good fit for you. I’d start looking.
Anonymous
07/23/20 at 12:46PM UTC
You might also consider talking to your performance manager or boss on a regular basis about navigating your new role. I'd be setting up weekly meetings with him/her to discuss the PIP, what you are doing, gathering feedback, sharing ideas and really demonstrating that a PIP is not going to get you down. I would openly share the challenges you've discovered doing sales in a remote environment and getting his/her feedback on the solutions you've come up with. And for any person in account based sales, I recommend you look into the Miller Heiman strategic selling methodology. Some very simple and easily executed methods for making your sales a win for your customer and a win for you. Methods I believe you can do in a remote environment.
Amy BucciferroConsulting is my profession, equality my passion
167
07/23/20 at 12:37PM UTC
I would echo previous commenters in the idea that you’ve been put in a challenging situation with high expectations, and I think it shows that the company is putting a lot on you because they need to, you are important and they are looking to you to achieve something objectively difficult. Make this an opportunity for personal learning and to write yourself a little success story. And absolutely keep networking and keep your options open, because I don’t think a company in a really strong state would approach this quite so aggressively.
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