Employee failing a PIP

[LCF2021]

My direct report has been on a PIP for the last month and it was agreed upon by both HR, my manager and my employee that it was measurable and nothing on there was unachievable. However, I’m not seeing any improvement at all; costly mistakes are still being made, she’s showing up to meetings late, missing deadlines. I have three diarised catch ups with her a week, one hour 121 where we discuss her workload, issues etc and two 30 min check ins where we go over weekly priorities and make sure she’s on track. We’ve also had a PIP check in where we discussed each point and I gave some feedback as to how I thought she was doing and some examples of what more she could do to improve. I work 4 days a week myself with more than a 5 day a week workload and I’m struggling to find more time to offer support and even if I could I don’t know how much more I can help.
Are PIPs often extended or does it move to a more formal capability procedure? The director of our team has never rated her and I know he’ll be keen to move things along, but ultimately I want her to succeed but am I just giving too many chances?

@LCF2021 in your employee's PIP did you include a timeframe at which their progress would be reviewed formally?

I would suggest that if they are still not meeting deadlines and being late for meetings, then at that point it needs a more formal disciplinary response.

You have said that you have arranged three catch ups/ discussions a week with your employee and there is still no improvement after a month.

It sounds to me that the situation doesn't need more meetings/ feedback/ support from you. It sounds like this person just isn't up to the job.

Disclaimer: I have never been on a PIP nor have I had a member of staff who has needed one. I think it's admirable that you want to support this employee, but short of mitigating circumstances, they just aren't up to the role, and in failing to take appropriate action yourself, you run the risk of others judging your ability to do your job. I'm really sorry; I know that sounds harsh and that all this is easier said than done.

Best of luck.

Thanks @Glitterandunicorns. Yes, all dated with dates that we’d check in on progress and agreed dates that the PIP would end (this week) and be reviewed.
It’s my first management role and I’d hate to think that this is reflecting poorly on me and my management skills. The saving grace is that I’m not alone and that I have full backing of my management team.

The missing deadlines is one thing - late to meetings is odd that's not something you often see because it's really not hard to get to somewhere on time - what was her reason? It sounds like she is not trying - and I'm wondering why?

It’s awful having to go through this as a new manager, I had to do the same in my first management role too - baptism of fire to being a manager!

You’re going above and beyond on the support you’re giving 1-1, you could perfectly reasonably cut that down to once a week. I’d shorten the hour to 45 mins (in view of your 4 day week) and have a 15 min priorities meeting at the start of the week. It sounds a bit like you’re putting in more effort than she is at the moment! Just remember that YOU cannot make her improve, only SHE can do that - it’s so tempting to measure your own success as a manager on their outcome but that’s a mistake. You’ll get the right outcome, no matter what that is, if you approach it on the understanding that it’s not about you.

It’s good you have the management team’s backing but be aware that you have probably been landed with a long standing problem to solve...

I don’t think a month is really that long myself, I’ve always done PIP over 3 months with clear goals/milestones along the way, and got them to provide input into the plan so it’s a collaborative effort rather than me imposing it on them. A month feels a bit inevitable regarding the outcome as it’s so short, but if you set it over a longer period there is nothing to stop you intervening if it’s clearly not working somewhere or other after a couple of weeks. For instance with her being late to meetings I’d speak to her about that explicitly and directly if she’s not improved that quite quickly, but other things might need more time to bed in.

@CommandoDog The last couple of times it’s been for meetings after lunchtime and she’s said she thought they were later on but I always double check my calendar before going on lunch and I assumed everyone does.
We’ve spoken in the past about her role and if she enjoys it etc and she says she does but I rarely get that impression.

She's not even trying, op. If this hasn't put a bomb under her nothing will. I certainly wouldn't be offering her any extension.

@Doorhandleghost Thanks for that, some really good points in there. The only reason we worked to a month long PIP was due to the expectations being fairly basic but I feel as though the basics in the role still aren’t being met. These situations are so awkward!

Don't worry about appearing to be a poor manager OP. It's a really strong message to actually put someone on a PIP - many people avoid it because as you've found out it causes a lot of work for the LM.
A month does feel like quite a short time frame though. I'd speak to HR but if it were me I'd document everything and give her one more month and then look to start termination proceedings if possible.

Presume you've given her the feedback that you've "not seen any improvement at all" as she has been on the PIP for a month.
As long as it's all documented there doesn't seem to be much point in stringing it out even more when she's obviously just not up to the job.

Don't be expending your energy and skills trying to flog a dead horse as it's just not worth it.

Sorry to sound so negative but sometimes you just need to let people go and stop investing in them for no return.

As PP, I was struck by not getting to meetings on time. You say she doesn't look like she is enjoying the job. Is it possible she actually wants to leave, but doesn't want to take responsibility for it?

Maybe you need to
Ask your employee why they aren’t engaging? To me first off it sounds like you have too many check ins. Maybe they’re overwhelmed by it. Could you reduce the check ins either down to 1 and a 121 or keep what you have hit just 5/10 minutes?

I was also just about to post asking whether you've asked the employee WHY they are not doing X,Y &Z.

If you know what the issue/ cause of the underperformance is then you can offer more appropriate support - training, different ways of communication or whatever.

It sounds like repeatedly telling them what do do without trying to understand what might be causing the underperformance isn't working?

Maybe the employee won't give you any reasons but I think you have to ask if you haven't already.

* She's not even trying, op. If this hasn't put a bomb under her nothing will. I certainly wouldn't be offering her any extension.*

^Completely agree. Get rid of her. There are so many people out there that would value a job.