Performance Improvement Plan Template

So you’re here to download a performance improvement plan (PIP). Hear us out: whether you’re an HR practitioner looking for a fair, equitable, customizable template, or a manager hoping to coach an underperforming employee toward meaningful growth, you’ve come to the right place.

Historically, PIPs have carried a negative connotation, often seen as a tool for exiting employees rather than supporting them, which is why the very mention of a PIP feels ominous. With Lattice PIPs, it doesn’t have to be this way. 

When executed properly, PIPs can provide clarity, support, and consistent feedback to help employees improve. They provide the necessary structure that leads to meaningful growth and performance improvements. PIPs help employees keep their jobs, and companies reduce turnover.

After all, replacing employees can be significantly more costly than coaching them toward high performance. Before you download our free template, here’s what you should know.

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What is a performance improvement plan? 

A PIP is a formal performance management process that employers use to help underperforming employees. An effective PIP typically does the following: 

• Identifies performance concerns, such as failure to meet goals or counterproductive behaviors
• Provides structure for addressing those shortcomings over a stated period of time
• Sets expectations for crucial managerial support along the way

Read more about the benefits, risks, and alternatives for PIPs in our comprehensive article: Performance Improvement Plans: Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives. 

When should you implement a performance improvement plan? 

Below are several scenarios where PIPs are appropriate interventions: 

• An underperforming employee who has expressed or demonstrated a desire to grow and remain with the company. 
• An employee who has received repeated low performance rankings, but has never received a clear path for improvement, such as a consistent manager, clear goals, or documentation of feedback. 
• An employee who is not meeting expectations and has been repeatedly addressed and instructed to make changes. 

Here’s when you don’t need a PIP: 

• A one-off incident, such as missing a deadline or a meeting. 
• An employee who didn’t achieve a goal because it was not formally documented or clearly outlined by managers or leadership
• A new hire who is slow to complete tasks or adopt processes while they adjust to a new company and team environment. 

Give your PIPs a glow-up with Lattice’s free template.

Employees deserve to be treated with care, respect, and dignity, which is why an intervention as sensitive as a PIP requires all three to the utmost degree. 

We hope our PIP template will be a useful, helpful reminder that the ultimate goal is to make work meaningful. Plus, you can put it into action directly in Lattice’s new Performance Improvement Plans product. Learn more about Lattice PIPs or request a demo to see it live.