An employee of a white-shoe law firm in New York survived a PIP. He created a document, listing point-by-point how he would respond to his bosses' criticisms and their goals outlined for him. He shared it with human-resources staffers, and asked for their feedback.

"I did not dispute anything," the worker says. Instead, he used the response document, outlining the specific ways he planned to change his behavior, as "my plan to your plan." For example, one of the PIP goals was to speak up more in meetings. So he vowed to ask questions, even if he felt uncomfortable doing so.

Bosses liked it, and the strategy worked: Two months later, the company took the employee off the PIP.

Others start job searching when they sense a PIP is coming. A corporate employee placed on a PIP at Amazon earlier this year says he sees performance plans as a timer, ticking down until an almost inevitable termination. "The smartest people see it coming," he says, "and find another job before it happens."

Write to Lauren Weber at Lauren.Weber@wsj.com and Chip Cutter at chip.cutter@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2024 23:00 ET (04:00 GMT)

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