Advice needed on performance management procedure

[rc473]

I'm looking for any HR professionals or anyone who has been through this process for advice.

My partner went through two performance management processes last year, both relating to very minor issues - the second one was based on opinion feedback from two other staff members and contradicted with positive feedback from his superiors on the project.

He was informed a few weeks ago that he had received another piece of negative feedback, relating to a project in November where he had not provided a slide deck on a Friday afternoon but instead sent it on the Monday morning.

This time he has received a letter inviting him to a meeting with 2xHR and the MD of the business area, and the letter says the outcome of the meeting may be termination.

Is this fair, or typical? Is it likely that if he presents evidence, the case will be dropped?

Obviously I am biased, but it feels like unfair dismissal to me, the issues they have raised with his performance are so trivial.

Feeling very stressed on his behalf, and appreciate any advice on how to handle this.

OP - I am so sorry your BF is going through this. It must be incredibly stressful for both of you.

Years ago I was told by an employer that I was going to be put on a PIP. The first thing I did was to get good legal advice. It was an incredibly stressful time - one that I would not wish on anyone. However, the legal advice I had was so worth it as it helped me to deal with the situation objectively rather than emotionally. I ended up negotiating with the company for a settlement and leaving without going on a PIP. In my case, it all worked out as I had a very generous settlement and got another job within 3 months. Since then, I have gone onto much better and more well-paid roles - all of which have never found issues with my performance. I found having therapy during the 3 month leave boosted my self-confidence and self-esteem.

I agree with other posters which mentioned the admin behind a PIP is a LOT. For all parties. Also, I do wonder, by the time it gets to that stage, whether the company has already decided to get rid and a PIP is a way to manage someone out legally. In my case, I wanted to leave before it got to the termination stage as I didn't want it to be the reason for me leaving nor to be on any references. At the time, however, I really did not want to leave but it was sadly the only choice. However, things have worked out for the better now and honestly helped my career today.

@DirtyDripSpout your story is a good one and I have seen a couple of cases like this too.
Ie. Talented people who, for whatever reason, are just not right for the role / the job wasn't getting done.

I think you handled it pretty perfectly and stayed classy 😉
It's how I would handle it if ever in that situation which is to say "Okay I accept the reality of the situation, it's not working, let's do a deal"

I also think it looks like termination at the meeting. If they have taken him through two PIPs already, this feels like the last straw.

No company does PIPs lightly, as others have said , its a huge amount of work and stress all round.

It's because it's consultancy, it works in a whole different way to normal employers.
I am guessing that the person that the slide deck was for is senior to him or a client and it was seen as disrespectful. I would also guess that when he got the junior to present for him it wasn't to an 'appropriate' audience - its so hierarchical there and feedback is gathered for half and year end performance.

Are you able to say which consultancy it is?

@CCSS15 I did wonder whether it being consultancy could be part of the reason, the things you have described ring true.

He's not comfortable with me sharing company name but it's a smaller boutique place not big 4, in theory they are supposed to be a bit more relaxed / flexible.

That makes sense actually, as I couldn’t fathom it before, if he’s getting negative feedback from clients, it would be taken very seriously, and he’s now had it 3 times, and then if the deck was for someone they deemed important , particularly a client, and he failed to submit as per the commitment, and they got a complaint, I can see how they’d manage him out via pip. A smaller firm not less likely to do that, as they can’t afford the continual negativity or failures, and need everyone to perform and to protect their reputation.

but it does sadly mean it’s termination at the meeting,

That's not really my experience with smaller/boutique firms. They are far more focused on things like cultural fit and ensuring that the team is working together well. In the Big 4, if someone wasn't working out, there would normally but a role for them somewhere else in the firm. It was pretty rare to terminate someone for poor performance. I work in a smaller team now and although we're not consultants, there's some similarities. People who are not performing have a huge impact on the whole team. We can't avoid to be flexible around performance issues in the way that I could in the Big 4.

Any company who is relaxed and flexible with negative feedback and missed deadlines won’t stay in business long,

can I ask why did he not submit the deck to the deadline? I’m unsure why he’s asking for evidence of that ahead of the meeting, he seems ro be accepting it’s true, so what evidence does he wish them to provide.

does he have a reason, as in I could not complete as I had not received x, y or z and ensured the person who it was due to, was fully kept up to date on progress and knew it may possibly be late, then in plenty of time that it would be late, and the new date when it would be submitted?

what was his rationale behind making a more junior person present? That’s not really the sort of delegation you’d expect really, you can give them a part of the prevention, sure, they do a slide or two, but you lead and do the majority. Did he also make them write the deck?

he needs to think about why the presentation was late , how he communicated in advance, and managed expectations. If there is really nothing more than he didn’t get it done on time and didn’t say anything, then he needs to think through his approach, if they terminate can he go for a settlement agreement, can he negotiate a good reference, can he agree to resign rather than be fired, so he stands a chance of being employed again.

he really needs to be thinking through his approach as he likely doesn’t have a case for unfair dismissal. These guys seem to know what they are doing.

Just to pick up your point about the missed deadline

it doesn't matter when the person it was sent to looked at it

The point is that he missed a deadline

If I was him I would be looking for another role

This one is clearly not working for him so it sounds like it’s time to move on

Sounds like they want him out OP and they are following the procedure to do just that. It sounds like his attitude is combative and his work is sub par.

Hi everyone, I have an update.

They emailed last night, they have said he can't bring his chosen colleague along to the meeting because she used to be his manager, and so he has asked to postpone the meeting by a few days, so that he can arrange a replacement.

They also sent a summary of the issues they have, one more serious (imo) than he previously said. On the project from November, one more junior member of staff reported feeling stressed and not comfortable with the way the project was managed, due to stress. DP showed me the message history with the individual, and they did report working late one night, and DP then immediately offered to take on more of the work to reduce pressure on them - they declined. He asked them if he could do anything else to help, they said no, and he also has a record of booking and attending regular 121s with them, and would ask how it was going. I've told him he needs to handle this very carefully, he should not brush it off because stress is very serious, but also suggested he should present the info on what he did to support them.

I have relayed some of the responses to him to get him thinking about how to handle it, he agrees that he needs to be careful not to disregard the feedback and must show he is willing to improve even if he doesn't agree with it.

We also both agreed that it's probably not the best place for him long term and he's going to look for other jobs, but we are both really hoping he can stay until the summer when our baby is due (I'm 16 weeks now!) because he was due to get 3 months of paternity leave.

He also told his manager 2 weeks ago about the pregnancy so it's hard not to wonder whether his needing paternity leave has impacted the way they have dealt with this.

I would be interested to know opinions on this, I don't think there's any way to prove it but is it worth him mentioning it to them?

I should add as well, I realise this situation makes him sound like a complete arse! But he is really the sweetest and most caring man, he's very extroverted and likes to get on with colleagues and knows them well, he is generally liked in the department by almost all.

I am honestly thinking that "performance management" is the wrong term being used. It is fairly clear (and the text of the invite letter also speaks to this) that this is a disciplinary meeting for (alleged) serious misconduct. I am still wondering - are you absolutely sure that the previous things weren't disciplinary and that there are not still active warnings on record?

Op who is telling you he is generally liked? Him? Because evidence would suggest otherwise, they are complaining about him and he’s been on two pips and is now facing dismissal. It generally takes a lot for people to formally complain.

and I think it’s a real desperate stretch to insinuate this is due to paternity leave, considering you’re only 16 weeks and he’s been through two pips before you were pregnant. I don’t think anyone would buy that and it looks like desperation. It isn’t going to help his case if he tries to then say this is because they don’t want him to have paternity, especially since they clearly think they can do quite well without him full stop.

You have said you think his attitude of disagreeing with everyone might have made matters worse and now you are wondering if he should throw in some paternity argument, I assume you are hinting at discrimination of some kind although I am not clear which. To be clear this does not sound like it remotely related to your pregnancy not least because it predates it. It sounds a lot of people find your husband hard to work with and the complaints are stacking up.

Anyway I don’t wish termination on your husband and hope he can work through this with his employer. But I would hold off throwing pregnancy accusations into the conversation and maybe he should be a little more humble and open to feedback.

and I think it’s a real desperate stretch to insinuate this is due to paternity leave, considering you’re only 16 weeks and he’s been through two pips before you were pregnant.

I agree with this.
It would be foolish to reference this as based on what you’ve said the latest incident(s) occurred in November before he disclosed your pregnancy. With 2 X HR in the room I can guarantee it’s going to be legally watertight and by the book.

I don’t know why he wants a third party present to witness his termination… but each to their own… and I guess it pushes it out and mean he gets an extra weeks pay…

Congrats and sorry this is happening to you now OP… I would find this so stressful.

it’s worth starting looking at your finances now and seeing where your partner you can start cutting back and if / how this will impact your maternity leave.
its a bit early for it but when it comes to baby items everything under 1 can be got for free or very little second hand…

I think it depends on whether the stress was caused by mismanagement of the Deliverables - potentially he is at fault or whether they were just poor at their job.
My experience of consultancy is that everyone is 'stressed' and working long hours, its all hands on deck to get work over the line and it creates a high stress environment which is why you get paid the big bucks. One night of working late would be a bonus in a big four. As long as there was no bullying

You can't take general advice from people here as the expectations of consultancy are different - you get thrown in the deep end with sometimes no expertise but then you have to pretend you do and lead a high performing team at the same time, long hours are just part of the job - its a nightmare for high stress levels but most only do it for a few years and use it as a springboard

The accusation of discrimination due to paternity leave doesn’t pass the sniff test,

paternity leave is not ever treated the same as maternity leave, not least as it is only a short 3 months v a year, but usually the man comes back and he isn’t typically going part time of juggling childcare. Sad fact.

binning someone off as they are taking paternity makes no sense. And it certainly makes no sense when the pips took place before the pregnancy even occurred.

going in and making unfounded accusations is pointless.

as said, he needs to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. So expect termination and plan for that, references, notice, any settlement etc,

also is he on something he needs to continue now, or could they escort from the building ie immediate dismissal, and notice period paid?

But he is really the sweetest and most caring man, he's very extroverted and likes to get on with colleagues and knows them well, he is generally liked in the department by almost all.

Sorry OP but you can't know this. Even if you met his colleagues and they say nice things, they are unlikely to say he is a disagreeable person to your face, are they?

I stand by what I said earlier, they want him out for whatever reason, and it won't be the 3 months paternity leave. He needs to update his CV and start looking, the writing is on the wall. I wish you and him good luck.

Thing is he might be sweet and caring and like to be friends with everyone, but that’s really not relevant to whether he can or is doing his job to the required standard or not.

And two staff reported feeling stressed and then he reacted, it shouldn’t have got to thr stage they felt they had to formally complain. And these guys will be used to stress. Reacting after the fact is not good. Supporting after the fact doesn’t help him, it should never have got that far.

The question his management will ask is about the running of the project that he let it get to that stage and wasn’t aware. Why this was on email and the employees couldn’t talk to him. Why he wasn’t aware of the stress of his team. He had to be told. In addition they were unhappy with the management of it. That’s serious. Could he have been adding to the stress, short deadlines, poor guidance, confusing instructions, last min requests?

as said, in my experience, it takes a lot for people to move to formally complaining, a lot.

The fact they wonf allow his former manager in, is really not a good sign, it means it is very serious indeed, if it was just a warning, they’d allow her, welcome her, as she could then help mentor or support once the warning was in place. she would be ideal.

personally I’d be trying to find out what is likely to occur here, but they are unlikely to say if it is termination. as soon as they say termination is possible, and in writing, the odds of that not happening is very limited indeed. If it’s a warning they’d likely indicate that as the likely outcome.

what he got is the exact phrasing we write when we are going in to terminate and we advise the employee they can bring a representative, possibly to suport him emotionally but they can also bring legal representation . You can’t play it as a done deal, but you need to give the person the heads up this is what’s happening so it’s not a total shock.

It sounds like the junior member of staff may have made an allegation of bullying. Which should, rightly, be treated seriously

So he was more senior on the project, and he asked the junior staffer to suggest what would help / put the onus on them to figure it out?

A few things to note, nobody has made a formal complaint about him, his line manager approached the other project team members for critical feedback on his performance, they gave it because they were asked to.

He does not have a current written or verbal warning, he passed the previous pips satisfactorily, they agreed his performance had improved enough and no further action required

They have mentioned the possibility of termination "with notice" in all of the previous letters and he wasn't terminated on those occasions

As a manager, I am often aware that members of my staff are not telling me stuff. They think I am deaf, blind and stupid at times. Sometimes I am fine about wqhat they aren't telling me. But if I thought there was a problem the I would also approach people and ask - and I have done so in the past. There is nothing untoward about doing so - it is what managers should do. If people had no complaints, they wouldn't have told the manager any complaints.

I get he's your husband, and your "job" is to support him. Ours isn't. And on balance, even based on what you say, I can see issues - and when you are being honest, so can you!

Just because they told him they would consider dismissal twice before and didn't has no bearing on the fact they might do so this time. I'd be more concerned that they have needed to say it three times now!

I’m not sure of the point you’re making, it is still formal when you give it to management and the fact they asked, doesn’t change this, the employee still needs to chose to speak up or not.

and I’m not sure the fact he’s had two other letters threatening termination is really in his favour to be honest.

I see you both think this will just be another warning, and I genuinely hope that’s the case. It will be odd of them to keep threatening and not acting, but I do hope you’re both right.

can I ask was the last two meetings also with the md and two hr reps? Like 3 times now he’s had that same meeting with the same folks? Who did he take in last time?