Clear and reasonable performance standards relevant to the employee's actual role.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & PIPS
A performance process should be about improvement, not manufacturing an exit.
Performance concerns can be legitimate, but the employee should understand the required standard, the alleged gap, the support available and the consequences if improvement does not occur.
UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
Performance management should identify a real gap and give a realistic opportunity to improve it.
Poor performance is different from misconduct. A performance process should usually define the expected standard, explain where performance falls short, provide reasonable support or guidance, and allow a fair opportunity to improve before dismissal is considered.
A useful response tests whether the standard is clear and achievable, whether examples are accurate, whether training or workload issues are relevant, and whether the review period genuinely allows improvement to be demonstrated.
WHAT MATTERS
What a defensible performance process normally shows
Specific examples showing the alleged shortfall rather than broad statements about attitude or fit.
Feedback, support, training or other reasonable assistance where improvement is expected.
A genuine review period and fair consideration of progress before escalating to warning or dismissal.
THREE QUESTIONS FIRST
Get these straight before the argument gets bigger.
What standard are you said to be missing?
How is the employer measuring the gap?
What support, training and time have you been given to improve?
WHAT TO DO NOW
How to approach a PIP
Define the measures
Ask what success looks like, how it will be measured and what evidence will be used.
Correct the baseline
Identify inaccurate examples, workload changes, missing resources or expectations that were never communicated.
Document improvement
Keep records of completed work, feedback, targets met and any support requested.
Respond at each stage
Do not let an inaccurate warning or review summary become the uncontested record for the next stage.
WARNING SIGNS
Things worth looking at closely.
- Targets appear only after conflict arises
- Metrics are vague or keep changing
- The timeframe is unrealistically short
- Support promised in the plan is not provided
- The employer talks about termination before evaluating improvement
COMMON MISTAKES
Ways employees accidentally make the problem harder.
DON'T
Treating a performance plan as purely managerial and not keeping your own evidence.
DON'T
Accepting vague targets such as 'improve attitude' without asking for observable standards.
DON'T
Focusing only on whether you are trying hard rather than whether the stated performance evidence is accurate.
DON'T
Waiting until the final warning to challenge defects that were obvious at the first review.
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
What a useful result can look like.
Clarified expectations and a workable improvement plan
Correction of an unfair warning
A negotiated exit
A personal grievance if unjustified disadvantage or dismissal follows
FAQ
Performance management & PIPs
Can I be dismissed for poor performance?
Potentially, but performance dismissal ordinarily requires a fair process and a reasonable basis for concluding that required performance was not achieved.
Is a PIP automatically disciplinary?
Not necessarily. The substance matters more than the label.
What if the targets are impossible?
Keep evidence showing why the measures are unrealistic, inconsistent with the role or outside your control.
Should I respond in writing?
Often yes. A concise written record can correct factual errors and show progress or missing support.
FROM PROBLEM TO OUTCOME
Most disputes move through the same basic sequence.
- 1Preserve
Documents, dates, evidence and the deadline.
- 2Raise
Put the actual grievance or response clearly.
- 3Resolve
Negotiate or mediate where a sensible resolution is available.
- 4Escalate
Use the ERA or Court where the dispute cannot be resolved.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & PIPS
Want us to look at the actual facts?
Employee-side employment advocacy. No Win No Fee for suitable matters.