Performance Improvement Plan Template

A free performance improvement plan template for US small businesses. Use it to set out a 30, 60 or 90-day PIP when an employee’s work isn’t meeting the standard and earlier conversations haven’t fixed it. It records the gap in facts, sets measurable goals with dates, lists the support you’ll give and the check-in schedule, and ends with an outcome page.

What is a performance improvement plan?

A performance improvement plan (PIP) is a written, time-limited plan for an employee whose work isn’t meeting the standard. It names the gap, sets measurable goals and a deadline, and commits the employer to specific support and regular check-ins. It sits between informal coaching and final steps such as a final warning or termination. A good PIP is honest about the problem and gives the employee a real chance to fix it.

What you get

A seven-page PDF and an editable Word file, sized for US Letter paper:

• Pages 1–3: the blank PIP form to print and fill in.
• Pages 4–6: the same plan completed for a fictional online tea shop, so you can see what good answers look like.
• Page 7: step-by-step notes, retaliation, leave and disability checks, and state law examples, with links to the sources.

Page one records the employee, manager, plan dates and length, then the performance gap, earlier conversations and a goals table. Each goal has a success measure and a due date. Page two lists the support you’ll give, a check-in schedule with “on track” and “not yet” tick boxes, and what happens if the goals aren’t met. It ends with the employee’s comments and signatures. Page three is for the final meeting: the result against each goal, the outcome (successful, extended or not met), a summary and signatures.

The Word version has editable placeholders, such as the consequence if the goals aren’t met, so you can match your own policy.

What a good PIP includes

• The standard and the gap, in numbers. “41 of 1,206 orders (3.4%) had a wrong item, against a standard under 1%” is clear. “Careless” isn’t.
• Earlier conversations. A PIP shouldn’t be the first time the employee hears about the problem.
• Two to four measurable goals that can be reached in the time given, each with a due date.
• Real support: training, coaching, tools or changes to the work, with a name and a date.
• Regular check-ins, at least every two weeks, with notes on progress.
• A plain consequence. Say what may happen if the goals aren’t met.
• A recorded outcome. Close the plan in writing, whatever the result.

How to write a performance improvement plan

1. Check that a PIP is the right step. It fits a skills or results problem the employee can fix. Serious misconduct is usually handled with a write-up instead.
2. Write the gap: the standard for the job, what is actually happening, the dates, and where the numbers come from.
3. Check that others in the same job are held to the same standard.
4. Turn each part of the gap into a goal with a success measure and a due date. Make the goals reachable.
5. Decide the support you’ll give and put the check-in dates in the schedule.
6. Meet in private. Go through the plan, listen, record the employee’s comments, and both sign. Give them a copy.
7. Hold every check-in, even when things are going well, and note what you saw.
8. At the final meeting, record the result for each goal and tick the outcome on page 3.

Completed example

The example is a 60-day plan for a fulfillment associate at a fictional online tea shop. The gap is measured: a 3.4% picking error rate and 15 orders packed an hour, against a standard of under 1% and 22 an hour. The plan records two earlier conversations, three goals with measures and dates, and support such as shadow shifts and a new station layout. The check-ins show steady progress every two weeks. On the outcome page, all three goals are met and the plan is closed, with weekly reports continuing for a month.

PIP template: 30, 60 and 90-day plans

The form works for any length. Tick the length and write the end date at the top.

• 30-day PIP: for a simple, measurable issue, such as accuracy or lateness. Check in weekly.
• 60-day PIP: the most common length. Enough time to show a trend. Check in every two weeks.
• 90-day PIP: for work with a longer cycle, such as sales or project work, or where training takes time.

If the employee has made real progress but isn’t quite there, you can extend the plan with a new end date. Tick “extended” on the outcome page and write the new date.

Before you start a PIP

Get advice first if the employee has recently complained about discrimination or harassment, asked for an accommodation, or taken leave; action soon after can look like retaliation. If you’re covered by the FMLA, you can’t use FMLA leave as a negative factor in discipline. If an employee asks for an accommodation once on a PIP, EEOC guidance says you don’t have to cancel the plan or excuse past performance. But you should discuss the request promptly, and may want to pause the plan while you do. If the plan ends in a termination, check your state’s final-pay deadline; in California, for example, wages are due immediately at discharge.

Not sure if a PIP is the right step, or what your state requires? That’s what hrsupport.io is for: HR answers for your state, with the law behind every answer.