Performance Improvement Plan Conversation Guide
Set your managers up to lead their toughest conversations with their teammates
In most organizations, being placed on a performance improvement plan is understood as a final decision, not of investment. Managers dread initiating them. Employees dread receiving them. And as a result, they are often delayed until performance concerns have already become business problems.
At JST People Strategy, we believe performance improvement plans should be a structured investment in talent, not a prelude to separation. When designed well, they create clarity around expectations, surface the barriers standing between an employee and their best work, and provide the support employees need to get back on track.
Will every employee successfully complete one? No. But if an employee has the potential to succeed, it is almost always better, for the individual, the team, and the organization, to invest in the talent you already have than to absorb the cost and disruption of recruiting, onboarding, and training someone new.
Performance improvement is not about punishment. It is about giving people a fair opportunity to succeed.