A PIP is one of the most powerful tools you have. It is also one of the easiest to get wrong. Let's walk through the whole thing.
First, ask yourself this
Is the problem actually performance, or is it something else?
A skill gap is not the same as a motivation problem. A motivation problem is not the same as a mismatch between the role and the person. Know which one you're looking at before you write a single word.
Have you already had the informal conversation?
A PIP should never be the first time someone hears there's a problem. If it is, you're not ready to write one yet.
Is this defensible if someone outside the room reads it later?
HR. Legal. The employee themselves in six months. Write for that audience, not just for today.
What to gather before you write anything
Real data, not vibes
Bad code. Response times. Missed deadlines with actual dates and data. Things you can point to, not things you remember feeling.
A timeline of prior conversations
When did you first raise this? Was it in a one-on-one? Documented anywhere? If the answer is "I mentioned it once in passing," that's not a timeline. That's a gap.
A gut check on fairness
This one gets skipped constantly. Look around the team. Is someone else hitting the exact same numbers and not getting a PIP? If yes, stop. Fix that first, or you're building a case against yourself before you've built the case for the plan.
How to set the goals
Make every goal binary
Either it happened or it didn't. Not "improve communication." Instead, "respond to client emails within 24 hours, every time, for four weeks straight."
Tie every goal to something you already discussed
If a goal shows up in the PIP that's never come up before, the employee has every right to say they were blindsided.
Build in support, not just demands
What training, tools, or time are you actually giving them to hit this? Write it down. A plan with expectations and zero support reads as a plan built to fail on purpose.
The structure that actually holds up
Weekly check-ins. No exceptions.
Not biweekly. Not "when things come up." Weekly, on the calendar, for the full length of the plan.
A real document, filled out in full
Not a blank template you meant to get back to. Employee name, dates, specific concerns, specific expected outcomes, resources provided. All of it, filled in before the first conversation.
Tell them directly, then follow it in writing
Say it in person or on a call. Then send the email the same day with the plan attached.
Get a response that confirms they saw it
Here's the part managers get wrong all the time. You are not asking them to agree. You're asking them to confirm they received and reviewed it. Something as simple as "Confirming I've received and reviewed this" is enough. Agreement is not the point. Acknowledgment is.
Log everything as it happens
Every check-in. Every piece of feedback. Every incident, the day it happens, not reconstructed later from memory. If it's not written down, it didn't happen, at least not in any way you can prove.
The part nobody says out loud
This is one of the worst parts of the job. This will likely take a significant amount of time, so you need to plan for it. But done right, it protects three people. The company. You. And honestly, the employee, because a clear plan is the only real shot they have at turning it around.