#pip

Rumors are flying that on August 3 there is going to be some kind of announcement of the finishing touches of the organizational change but with resulting layoffs. Hopefully just the PIPs will be let go?

Anyone else feel like management has been trying to build a case against them after a reorg?

My org has gotten really toxic. I’ve been hearing PIP talk, but I honestly don’t think they have enough to put me on one yet. My past mid-year and year-end reviews have been strong, my attendance has been good except for a few system issues, and I know my job well. It just feels like leadership decided they don’t want me around anymore.

If you’re in this situation, is it more likely they’ll eventually fire you for performance, or would you end up getting surplused first? Or maybe a PIP is a way to set the ground for a surplus (as a way to tell HR “Look, he is on a PIP because he doesn’t work very well, so he is our chosen duck to target for the layoff).
Curious if anyone has gone through something similar. Is it possible to fight it?

I expect to get PIP’d in a couple of weeks. Are there any disadvantages of taking PIL and retiring vs simply retiring?

Does taking PIL affect retirement status or any retirement benefits?

I was just given my first BE on Midyear review, after 29 years in the bank and never having anything below meet. I was given BS reason for it, stating I wasn't involved in AI - related tasks, as it was required. Noone ever assigned AI related tasks to me and my current job responsibilities do not involve it. I rejected the rating and commented in the form.
Additionally, I emailed my objections to the Managers. But it is my understanding, it is useless and I will be cut after year end. This is also an attempt to avoid severance payment. I do not have any illusions. I just want to hear your opinions about my possible strategy to go with the severance. Thank you.

I’ve read some PIP experiences where people mentioned scorecards, weekly or biweekly check‑ins, PIP goals, and coaching.... Can someone explain the PIP process in detail? What are these terms ?

There's actually a PIP week here? It's not a year-round thing? Haven't been here long enough to know, but if it's true, I like it.

Now that PIP week is over, I'm curious about one thing:
Did anyone between the ages of 52 and 55 get placed on a PIP or terminated?

Got the PIP and was walked out. Have a garage full of Juniper hardware, mainly Mist APs and switches. Some routers, small SRXs. $$,$$$ at least! Didn't ask / didn't tell, so how do i sell this junk?

Don’t normally attend these monthly calls but decided to tune in today. Well that was an hour wasted. Mainly insufferable people droning on in corporate speak about absolute BS. Main takeaway was hearing that 400 UK staff are on a PIP? Is this bell curve requirements, something for middle managers to do, a tick box exercise or all 3? Oh and not a word about pay review.

Or is it done throughout the year and is person-based? We had a PIP season in my last company, and it was seldom related to performance. I'm just wondering if it's the same here.

Is anybody safe when they start giving out PIPs like candy, more than obviously not based on performance?

With the shifts happening in R2B there will be far less impacts from B2B in the mid market space. Lots of the B2B accounts fall in the 10-35 space that the new R2B teams will own, and lots of cold calling from that team into the same space. Seems there is a lot of overlap in the territories, and lots of new folks with much lower comp than the holdouts with high seniority. They have been trying to weed out many in the B2B team via quotas, new PIP process, and just plain making their lives he-l at work until they quit. Seems like there will be some consolidation, especially in the outer markets and with the folks with higher seniority that have been too stubborn to leave. Anyone hearing anything?

I've seen multiple people placed on PIPs in the last six months. It's making me nervous. Is this just how things work here? Or is it a strategy to document people out the door so they don't get severance? I'd really like to know if I'm being paranoid or if this is a legitimate concern.

Is IBM using PIPs to exclusively get rid of employees who are US citizens?

Do you know of any H1B employees have been been put on PIP and fired for not being able to successfully complete the PIP.

Back to the subject of this site, what is the current landscape of RAs and pips everyone is currently seeing out there? Including business unit and organization would be helpful in response.

Liberty has been offshoring and getting rid of entire departments quietly since they announced the “don’t go make a 10 year career plan here” back in Oct of 2023. They have cut the inbound subrogation department in half over the last 7-8 months using PIP plans and forcing a small handful of employees to make lateral moves to other depts. They’ve offshored all jobs cut to India. The company has been trying to keep things quiet with secrets everywhere. The Team Managers have been traveling all over the country for “quality training”. Constantly talking about focusing on quality which is just a smoke screen for putting people on PIPs for weak reasons to get out of paying severance and unemployment. They will cut the inbound subrogation department down to about 25-30 people state side and then might do an outright layoff of them because this whole department is being offshored to India while they try to continue to innovate with their AI. There are constant organizational changes being announced. This company’s “record profits” are coming from the selling off of foreign assets and not because of their premiums. There have been talks about customers being charged in full for policy period premiums and then having their policies cancelled a week or two later with no refunds given. The company is current being sued for undervaluing auto total loss and home owners claims (which they have been). They made changes to metrics at the start of the year to make them harder to meet when inventory is low, because they’re setting everyone up for failure. This company is going to lose insane amounts of money on those total loss and home owners laws suits. Why those running the company would risk PIP’ing so many employees, when they’re already involved in all these other lawsuits and can’t take the blow back or bad PR from those, let alone from the mess they’re making out of downsizing/offshoring jobs is definitely a unique choice to make. Will anyone really be surprised if there is another lawsuit soon from all the Swiss Cheese PIP layoffs? This company is a sinking ship and anyone working there should look for something else.

How sc--wed am I?

If a person goes on a Professional Improvement Plan (or PIP in the rest of the world) they are eligible for a buyout. However there doesnt seem to be any details on what that includes.

My old company used PIPs when it wanted to get rid of people without paying them severance. It's always possible to find something, anything to justify it. The way things have been going here, I'm starting to worry the same thing will happen. Am I wrong?

Many large companies still use some version of forced ranking, stack ranking, or quota-based performance management where a certain percentage of employees end up in the bottom bucket regardless of overall team performance.

Supporters say it drives accountability and prevents complacency.

Critics argue it creates:

• Internal competition instead of collaboration
• Risk aversion and politics
• Managers spending time managing rankings instead of developing people
• Employees focusing on visibility rather than impact
• Anxiety that reduces long-term engagement

If an organization is profitable, meeting business objectives, and retaining strong talent, what would actually convince leadership to eliminate forced ranking and PIPs as a routine management tool?

Would it take:

• Better performance metrics?
• Evidence of lower turnover?
• A major labor shortage?
• Executive leadership that came up through different systems?
• Or is forced ranking simply too useful for managing headcount and compensation budgets?

For those who have worked at companies that abandoned stack ranking, what replaced it and did it work better?

Interested in hearing experiences from both managers and individual contributors.

I was promoted to SM after completing the “high potential” program.

The reality of being a store manager is you get blamed for everything. You are the scapegoat.

A year into it, I began questioning if my paces were being manipulated, almost like a dangling carrot that I could never reach.

I was placed on an action plan. Taken off the action plan, then placed on an action plan again.

My store team was dismantled by budget cuts

Managers quit, associates quit, manager layoffs, restructuring, titles and duties changed

My hours were drastically cut

Deferred maintenance began happening

I said my happiness is worth more than stress and misery. I have notice, and obtained a job which actually has a work life balance.

With all the discussion lately about the “low-hire, low-fire” labor market, I’m curious whether PIPs are effectively being used as a low-fire tool at Exxon.

Hypothetical example:

John Smith is in his mid-30s, has been with the company 5+ years, has consistently been above NI throughout his career (not OWD, but not NI either).

A few questions for those familiar with how things work in practice:

• What are his chances of making it to retirement age (say, 55+) if he continues performing at roughly the same level?
• If he ends up on a PIP, is a single PIP typically enough to result in termination, or are there usually multiple opportunities to improve?
• If someone successfully completes a first PIP, what happens if they are placed on a second PIP later in their career? Is termination effectively inevitable at that point, or can people recover and continue progressing?

Not asking about any specific individual—just trying to better understand how the process works in reality versus on paper.

And dfs employees are being thrown under the bus and calibrating to below strong.

This is to fill up the pip quota in order to save Cof employees.

Managers in dfs are new to this process so they can’t adequately defend their employees.

Anyone else having a different experience?

In my experience, not many.

My site is pushing hard on metrics for client facing phone roles in brokerage. They are putting any below the national average on key metrics like CPH on an “unofficial” PIP. So, lots of people getting put on a PIP.

I’m hearing from other site leaders this is a strategy to push reps up or out, documenting everything and focusing more on tenured reps.

Anyone else affected by this or seen this play out before?

We barely have layoffs anymore. Yes, there are PIPs, but if you're good and a high-performer, you have nothing to be worried about. Frankly, I've never felt safer here than I do right now.

I used to think that once I got a job at EM, I could stop looking and just settle in. I don't think that anymore. I've seen too many people blindsided by layoffs or PIPs, people who thought they were safe. Now I keep my resume updated and I browse listings even when I'm not actively searching. You never know when you'll need to move fast, and having a head start makes all the difference.

I am put on a PIP. The second line manager is according to the HR message the evaluator. First line manager is supposed to support.
First line manager creates hard to achieves goals.
The normal thing would be that the second line manager gets his own opinion. However 1st says he is in charge and I have not directly reached out to 2nd line.

How others have experienced it.

DXC is too morally bankrupt to actually do a layoff where they would have to pay severance packages. Instead HR goes around trying to find low performers on the sales team ( which is basically the whole company) and they put them on PIPs. Even if you make the PIP. They then put you on a new one. Constantly moving the goal post. They also lie on the documentation. These people are bottom of the barrel sc-mbags

Why ExxonMobil’s PIP Process Is Controversial

ExxonMobil’s Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is controversial because it is widely perceived — and in some cases documented — as a performance-based exit mechanism rather than a purely developmental tool.

1. Official stance vs. employee perception
The company publicly says PIPs are meant to help underperforming employees improve and return to full performance Help from HR. However, internal discussions, employee forums, and media reports suggest that many PIPs are effectively “severance offers” for employees in the “Needs Significant Improvement” (NSI) category The Retirement Group+1. This is especially true when Exxon expands the NSI group to reduce headcount without using the word “layoff” Help from HR.

2. Timing and context
PIP-related workforce changes often occur during periods of financial stress or industry downturns, such as after oil price crashes or company losses Help from HR. In those situations, employees interpret PIPs as part of a broader cost-cutting or restructuring effort, not just individual performance issues.

3. Subjectivity and fairness concerns
Employees report that PIPs can be influenced by supervisor bias, peer feedback, and narrative alignment rather than objective performance metrics TheLayoff.com+1. Some describe it as a “tryout” where you must prove yourself quickly, and if you fail, your job is on the line LinkedIn. This creates anxiety and uncertainty, especially when the criteria are not clearly defined in writing LinkedIn.

4. Career impact
Even if you pass a PIP, some former employees say career trajectories can still be negatively affected Reddit. Others leave while on PIP to pursue better opportunities, citing the process as a sign that their role or future at Exxon is uncertain.

5. Pension and benefits considerations
While Exxon offers strong retirement benefits, employees note that pension vesting is long-term (often 40+ months) and 401(k) vesting is shorter (3 years) Reddit. This means the financial security of staying on PIP can be uncertain, adding to the perception that it’s a high-risk period.

In short: The controversy stems from the gap between ExxonMobil’s public description of PIPs as a development tool and the reality for many employees — that they are a performance-based exit route. This perception is reinforced by timing, subjectivity in evaluation, and the career and financial risks involved.

I submitted a few names for KOFS, and my manager emailed me saying he didn’t approve the names I chose and that I needed to replace them with the names he wanted. During the PDS review session, he kept emphasizing the “improvement” sections. Even when six KOFS said I communicated effectively, he focused on the one person who said otherwise. Bottom line: I feel like I’m being targeted for a PIP. I’ve read posts where people mentioned coaching, training, and scorecards, but I’m not clear on how the process actually works. Is it just you and your manager or other people get also involved?

Can someone explain what really happens? Is it just between you and your manager, or do other people get involved in the process as well?

Not many employees can pass Performance Improvement Plan, and they can be out the sooner than employees given a 60 day layoff notice.

Absolutely fascinating data and insights into the gluttonous IBM executive insider trading going back to 1994. Many of the execs are granted tens of thousands of shares of IBM stock and then immediaely sell them for millions of dollars.

https://www.barchart.com/stocks/quotes/IBM/insider-trades?orderBy=amount&orderDir=desc

For example the guy who destroyed IBM when he came in like a king 4-1-93 G Man Gerstner sold $350,000,000 (!) in IBM stock he was awared as grants in just 3 yrs 1998-2001!!!

Perhaps someone much better with data analytics can play with this site and come back and show us to absolute greed these people have done as they cut the IBM US population by 75% +/-. STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another example IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn (typical slimy Wall St guy and invisible at IBM for the last 5 yrs, 25 yrs @ Goldman Sachs) seems to have been given and then quickly sold $66,000,000 of IBM stock in 5 yrs!

And of course our beloved and humble CEO Arvind...please find a chair...he seems to have amassed (ie awarded himself) 658,000 IBM shares...At closing price of $300....that is $197,000,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Corporate environments today are not the stable, lifelong paths they once claimed to be. So often we see people changing assignments, leaving the company, being put on PIPs, or facing layoffs. Stop repeating corporate talking points “At ExxonMobil, we hire for careers. ”Instead let employees build adaptable skills and navigate change effectively. This brain washing needs to stop

PIP/NSI these obvious choices ASAP:

Your fellow worker who does nothing but attends meetings.

Your colleague who is addicted to International Business Travel and spent most of their time looking for and scheming for their next company paid unwarranted business trip.

Your acquaintance who have schemed to get lucrative ex-pat assignments one after another and only live for that extra cash and perks.

Coworkers who worked the LCS fraud.

Coworker was upset that her boss was escalating an informal warning she received last month to a formal warning. I asked her if that’s a PIP and she said she was told that there are no PIP’s. Is this true? Is she sc--wed? She said her manager told her to meet with her more frequently to discuss anything. She said manager seems to be supportive of legitimately helping and actually wanted her to take over some work from another coworker.

Seems to me that this may be their due diligence to letting her go, but why have her take over more work if they want to let her go?

My manager, who can't stand me for some reason, has been working overtime to find faults with my work, so I'm guessing there's a PIP in my future. In my last company, PIP meant you might as well leave right away. Is it the same here? Should I start looking for something else right away?

As many know bp rolled pips out again last year as a more underhanded way to get rid of employees vs doing restructuring every year. 😂

Unfortunately as many employees feared, there is now mounting multi-employee evidence building that PIPS are being used purely to retaliate for protected whistleblower and medical leave activity.

We have become aware of multiple employees facing the exact same treatment after reporting compliance concerns or taking protected leave.

This is not only highly unethical this is illegal.

A class action lawsuit is forming and we are looking for additional current or prior employees who may want their case to be included.

This seems to be a recurring theme with TR and it’s not a good look… This seems to be especially prevalent among Thomson Reuters employees in Minnesota.

https://www.reddit.com/r/minnesota/s/LMkqKVMUf6

I guess I should start packing my bags?