“Due to marginal performance, I put a contributor on a Performance Improvement Plan,” a manager said to me.

“Did the person improve?” I asked.

“His performance improved and we took him off the plan.  But a month later, his production dipped back to marginal at best.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.  His current performance causes frustration to other team members.  I don’t want to put him on another plan.  I will get the same result I got in the first one.”

This is why I do not like performance improvement plans (PIP’s).  They generate extra work for the manager, and in six out of seven cases the person does not achieve lasting improvement. About half will quit. The PIP does gather documentation needed for termination if the nonproductive person lingers in the job.

For marginal performers, consider reassigning, restructuring or removing.

If there is another open job which would better fit the contributor’s skills, transfer the individual. Or you may restructure the job to eliminate tasks the contributor does poorly. If neither is an option, document job failures and policy violations, provide verbal and written warnings and increase the severity of consequences. Do this, if allowed by your policy, without introducing the structure of a PIP.