A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is a formal management tool that outlines specific concerns regarding an employees job performance. It is a document that aims to help employees who are not meeting job performance goals. A PIP covers specific areas of performance deficiencies, identifies skills or training gaps, and sets clear expectations for an associate’s future conduct. The overall goal of a PIP is to give employees with performance issues the tools and an opportunity to improve before facing other actions, such as termination. A PIP can be effective in situations where an employee needs to significantly improve job performance. However, PIPs can backfire against the workers theyre supposed to help. In practice, they are often a box-checking mechanism for employers looking for legal protection before firing someone. Employers often rely on PIPs as a way of “covering their bases” and preventing liability in the case that the employee sues. In some cases, PIPs are not intended to be survivable, and the employee is not going to win. PIPs can frustrate workers when the terms are vague, subjective, or impossible to measure.