Review, Review, Review

Just having drafted the PIP doesn’t mean that the employee is free-and-clear; now comes the time to “do the work.” And while they’re doing the work, you’re checking in with them, on a regular cadence, to see how the work is going. You can could use your weekly 1:1 with the employee to do the check-in, but if HR wants to be a part of those check-ins, you’ll probably want to set up a separate meeting to do that—you want your 1:1s to remain something that’s between just you and your employee. (And, honestly, the employee would probably like to know they get some time with you that isn’t 100% focused on their PIP.)

Your participation in the PIP is every bit as important as your employee’s participation in the PIP. If you don’t review their progress regularly, you may as well start termination proceedings right now. This is the time when your employee needs your active participation the most, and if you don’t go the extra mile to show that their success is important to you, then they’re going to walk away from the process, concluding that you’re a crappy partner. (And they’d be right.) Make these meetings a priority. Refuse meetings that would conflict with them. Move them only if your employee needs to move them.