Performance Improvement Plans and Why They are Necessary

I've never been on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) myself, but I know people who have been put on one at Amazon and other companies. It's not something you want to be on if you want to improve your performance - you should be creating that plan, not others.

If you may be headed for a PIP, feel free to DM and I can give you some advice without judgement. Stuff happens, life happens, this post is my experience having to give one, as a last resort and the consequence it cost me dragging it out not joining a company sooner and not having full hiring decisions of my team.

Second chance at an opportunity lost, this time as a manager

I once interviewed with a company during the COVID pandemic for a team lead role, but I didn't sign and return the offer immediately. Within 48 hours, they moved on to another candidate as they should, making the decision for me. However, 20 months later, I received an opportunity to join the company in an elevated role with better compensation (25%+ increase) as a software developer manager/tech lead.

This time, they were aware of my accomplishments with their customer organization, and I had gained more knowledge about the company and the project specifically in the role I had taken instead as I had a lot of insight into a lot of projects as I was at a program level. It was a great mutual fit that I wouldn't let slip away again - I could join a lean startup and build a team from scratch even though the project was fairly far along. In hindsight, I wish I had started sooner, even just as a tech lead without managerial responsibilities to start.

Before I joined, the company had made one hire for my team, who started after I arrived since they were relocating from out of town. It was fairly important hire, as they were the customer facing role of my team. I would never have hired this person, and they shouldn't have been hired. They were chosen because, unlike many Scrum Masters, they had 4 years of development experience on their resume. However, a 15-minute conversation would have revealed that their experience was not valuable, and they lacked interest in development or adjacent work.

Failure to adapt to their new surroundings, and fulfill all responsibilities

This person struggled from the beginning, and I counseled them in a healthy, positive way, but it was a recurring issue every sprint. I even prepared them before sprint reviews and customer meetings. Normally, I like to give team members autonomy, but they weren't delivering. They would arrive late, leave early, and although they were amicable and projected positivity, they seemed to be determined to change us, not their process or output, despite feedback and action items given.

I was going to have to put them on a PIP. This company was great - it operated like a startup, paid well, and was fun to work at, but expected good work in return. As a manager, and as a company, we weren't failing this person - we provided ample opportunities and feedback, documenting our efforts. I was actually being counselled and followed up on how I was counseling and documenting I can't say enough great things about this company even though I am no longer there. The project was successful I stayed on until after delivery date and took an elevated position a new program from inception. It was great project and experience, I learned many lessons along the way from my mentor/manager, and it has a happy ending for everyone, thankfully.

The contract we were on funding was actually released on a milestone basis; this person should have known what they were stepping into. My first reaction was internal and to avoid repeating this mistake in future hiring, I was told that expectations had been set during the interview. However, I had my doubts, as I always assume the best of people until they prove otherwise. In hindsight, I believe this person would have normally been let go within the first four weeks if they hadn't relocated from out of town (and possibly due to other factors).

Moving on with dignity: find a better suited role

I took the individual out for lunch and candidly suggested they explore other opportunities, as this role didn't seem to be a good fit. I had previously tried to manage their expectations, explaining that this position was uniquely challenging, with a particularly demanding customer, and that success would require flexibility and adaptability - but if they were dead set on doing things their own way, I encouraged them to consider alternative paths, offering to make introductions to facilitate a smooth transition.

However, despite our generous feedback and support, they struggled to meet the team's needs and align with our expectations. Meanwhile, the customer's dissatisfaction was no secret, and they explicitly stated their desires - essentially, to follow the lead of other Scrum Masters. I was aware of other projects that might genuinely interest them, but I'm not sure they grasped my sincerity. Furthermore, having earned the highest salary of their career, they seemed hesitant to leave, unsure if they could command similar compensation elsewhere; however, they lacked a sense of urgency to heed advice given and preserve their position.

There were plenty of job openings at other companies where they could work "their way" and focus solely on leading scrum meetings, managing JIRA, planning, and demos. Unfortunately, they didn't listen to my advice, just as they had ignored my previous counsel. I even went so far as to ask recruiters to contact this person, which I must admit was the first and last time I've ever tried to recruit someone away. The recruiters informed me that this person wasn't looking.

The role they accepted was that of a Technical Scrum Master, which entailed far more responsibilities than just leading scrum meetings, sprint planning, and demos. They were expected to extract technical requirements from a customer who intentionally didn't provide a written statement of work, allowing them to constantly request more. They were also expected to build the app on their local environment, assist with performance testing, ramp up in domain knowledge which included being familiar with the database structure and all the budgeting terms, as well as familiarize the app that had a lot of different workflows, different user roles.

I am sure this individual probably thought when taking the position these were aspirational and not expecting they would need to ramp up and shadow other people and do way more than Jira tasking, based on their previously experience being a developer and observing their Scrum Masters elsewhere.

This project had phenomenal Scrum Masters in place, setting a high bar, and the customer wanted to maintain the status quo. To be fair, both Scrum Masters possessed deep domain knowledge and had established a strong rapport with the customer, dating back two years prior to the project's start. Notably, they fostered a collaborative environment, inclusive of my Scrum Master, by sharing meeting invites and providing constructive feedback, serving as exemplary models and willing mentors.

Musical chairs after the holiday season

In the end, not only was this person put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), but partly to expedite their departure, as it was that bad, we also underwent a reorganization that reduced our teams from six to four. When musical chairs ended, they were the only one left standing without a seat, as it didn't make sense to have two Scrum Masters on a team and they never showed they were capable of contributing any other way.

I was a casualty as well, in that I had to lose my team. My salary didn't suffer, but now I was technically just an individual high contributor. I actually got a pay increase and just did the work of my team by managing a team of generative AI, and I didn't have to do any performance reviews or have separate sprint planning or demos. I am so blessed, circumstance led me to get my reps in leading generative AI and learning how to scale myself out of necessity.

I maintain a good relationship with this individual, who departed within four months of being hired. Fortunately, they found a better-suited role for themselves, and everything worked out in their favor. They were lucky to be leaving during a strong job market, avoiding the risks of joining a startup, and able to continue working with Agile methodologies. In fact, I'm not even sure they took a pay cut. In hindsight, it's clear that they didn't fully believe me, or perhaps struggled to process the situation they found themself in. Ultimately, the best decision had to be made for them.

PIPs are necessary, adapt or move on

If you find yourself on a PIP, forgive yourself, learn from it, remain positive, maybe find a better fit, be it a slower pace, limited scope, or a less demanding role.

By reframing failure as a necessary step towards growth, we can turn what seems like defeat into a powerful opportunity for renewal and triumph.