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PIP is being removed. Okay, sit down and have a documented, honest conversation with him.
"I can imagine that having a new leader come in and make changes can seem alarming. I'd like to hear your honest perspective so I can understand how to move forward. To be frank, I am concerned with these gaps at work (list the gaps) and if there is a way we can work together to address them, I'd like to do so."
There could be all kinds of reasons why. Previous management didn't set expectations properly, disabilities the employee isn't properly handling, needing accommodations, etc. A manager will mentally stay with the situation, same as the employee. A leader will evaluate the situation by listening to the employee and presenting options.
When is the last time he took time off? Is there a pattern to the gaps? Is this just him or the whole team? So many questions to be curious about and document document document
Always partner with your HR on next steps. Document absolutely everything and come up with a resolution plan to benefit the individual. Set check points to measure progress and hope for the best lol
Do not remove the PIP. You put him on one for a reason. He is just trying to hide his poor performance with bad behavior. He will see it as a “win” if it’s removed.
@Author - Honestly, going from commenting on poor work to putting someone on a PIP after a month may have been a little fast if they had never been given improvements by their previous managers, but keep working at it slowly to protect yourself! Bad employees do get filtered out in the long run.
I once had a similar situation. I was promoted into my former manager's position which meant that I was then supervising former peers, one of whom had a lot of issues that our previous manager had ignored. Frankly, it sucked for quite a while. In our regular 1:1s I tried to address some of the negative behaviors and poor quality work. When it came time to conduct annual reviews I learned that my predecessor had just been rating everyone on the team the same and I felt that I couldn't take this person from receiving all 5s to all 1s so I eased into it with some specific, priority areas for improvement. They did not improve at all, which let me rate them even lower the next year and come down harder. They still didn't improve, so at that point I was able to put them on a PIP, which honestly just made things worse until they were ultimately let go. I'll add that they were completely insubordinate that entire time, and I'm convinced they started to make intentional errors. It was basically a two year process, and then after they were let go the tried to sue. Thankfully because I took so long to lead up to it I had massive documentation and our HR and legal departments immediately recognized it as a nuisance suit.
You can not remove the PIP, that’s just validating the response. Stand by your decision.
Agreed. Stand your ground and stay confident in your decision. HR should back you if they see that you’re confident about the situation
Been there. Document everything. Everything. And know the relationship is damaged and won’t recover from this. Find a way to move on for the both of you.
Internal investigation of both me …and my manager too, who also was the target of complaint from this employee. We got interviewed by HR, so did all of our reports, probably more people around us got interviewed too.
If you were to remove the PIP, I doubt you’d ever be able to work with him on gaps. He’d believe he’s untouchable, because all he’d have to do is claim harrassment whenever you gave feedback.
Coach
You are not alone in this. I dealt with one of these as well.
Document everything as factual as possible.
June 13 2:30 pm had conversation with employee name topic included X, y. I said this, he said that. Resolution was this.
Treat every conversation as a mini meeting and send meeting notes after the conversation. (Even if he doesn’t reply) save the email as your documentation.
Save a physical copy offsite for your own records. Make sure you have multiple versions saved on your computer in a safe place if your computer corrupts.
In my situation, I was spending about 10 hours a week on top of normal 40hr work week activities documenting things.
In my situation, he still filed with the EEOC, state and a lawsuit against the company and me. (The guy waited until almost the statue of limitations was done to file) Instead of taking him to court- they ended up paying him $250k for his “troubles”.
I ended up with panic attacks, fear for my safety and lost trust in leadership. (They protected me but I saw how hr protects the company).
So, make sure you pace yourself and make sure your boss, HR and your boss’s boss in on the same page with next steps, timeline, “retraining”
And then find a mental health counselor now (talkspace, better health, your company health plan) because it will get icy, political and grey really quickly.
I was in a similar situation, how did the lawsuit against you turn out? Or did he just sue the company?
Why do you think he’s being protected? Is he widely liked in the office (other than by his direct supervisors)
Agree with getting the lay of the land - to understand the culture and team dynamic, and also to set the stage for actions like this.
PIP is probably warranted but would have been better delivered after he'd already received a documented cycle of poor performance feedback from OP to back it up.
Mentor
Very simple HR and your Manager are in charge so ask them how they would like the gaps addressed and document everything from what they say to your interactions with the employee.
Do not remove the PIP. Does HR and management need to be involved to green light a PIP? If this has been continuously been brought up, it shouldn’t be a surprise to them that no improvement is leading to this. It can be very challenging as a new leader - I had a similar experience and an HR investigation was conducted. Make sure to document EVERYTHING. It seems silly but lack of documentation can lead to different issues down the road, will help with PIPs and termination if needed and protects YOU. I would also suggest sending a follow up email after these meetings thanking them for meeting that day and a recap of the conversation and save the email.
I’m going to speak from experience. When an employee claims hostile work environment HR will automatically stand on their side. That is a trigger word to an investigation and possibly a lawsuit. Problem is their is no evidence and the employee is doing this because he is upset. HR knows this, and they are to protect the company and mitigate risk. If that means sacrificing you, so be it. From experience they are going to be following up with the employee to comfort them, and you will be treated like an isolated leopard. Get out ASAP.
If valid ,Do not remove the PIP. He sees your inexperience and you are prey right now. The fact that you are considering removing the PIP says to me you could use some knowledge and support. Get your SHRM-CP and HRCI-PHR. Also, get in those communities so you can get guidance from professionals outside that organization. Normally I would say work with HR on everything but in this instance I do have questions as to why HR and your leadership are in support of removing the PIP. Did they determine
Questions to ask yourself:
Why was I so quick to use PIP after only 1 month in my role?
Did I let my personal feelings interfere with my business decision?
What are the repercussions for me if my superiors over-rule me?
Is this a fight worth having?
Your actions today are a negotiation on behalf of your future self.
Stay on your ‘path’ , note down everything get evidences. State your exact reason for his performance feedback to whom you report.
1) Have you tried to work to improve his gaps without a formal PIP first? 2) What is the main goal of your PIP, to gather documentation and have him fired? 3) If your main goal is to really improve his performance and believe he is capable, you should be able to work on a development plan without a formal PIP 4) Employees usually sense when the tool is being used just to waste their time and cause more distress when a decision has really been made, thus they do not trust your intentions and they are reactive to that.