Seems that a couple of people I know of have been PIP'd instead of getting laid off. Seems a little fishy in that if you don't agree to the plan apparently they fire you. Not sure if they are doing this to save money on severance packages, but seems a like a new low for our company. Especially if you are a long-term associate they should give you a graceful way of leaving the company. Not kicking you out the door with nothing to show for your long-term service. And for anyone who has not been here for 10 or more years, coming in at 9:00 would have gotten you showed to the door 10 years ago. Anyone who has been here for 20 + years has been through the wringer. You should show more respect for long-term associates, especially since you have not walked in their shoes.
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I am the op. My point about long term associates is not that they are necessarily entitled, and yet to a large extent they are products of this company and the management practices of said company. You have been told for years to do something a certain way and now you are expected to change everything you were taught and trained to do. Now that the company is moving in a new direction you can be cast off like chattel because you don't fit the new paradigm. I am saying that part of the responsibility lies with our company and they should be graceful in showing long term associates to the door.
Thank you for the explanation Sge, I did not know that severance was being funded at the department level. Can see where that would create budget issues for management. It's doesn't sound like a good situation for management or workers, haste will inadvertently result in compromised decision making.
Good points Ihrx. Terminations for cause have to be well documented otherwise they become a target for a lawsuit, that is why they are documenting with a PIP. If PIPs are bogus now, and not really an opportunity to improve, it would be better to quit rather than wait for the termination to come. In a background check for future employment one does not want to show as terminated for cause, it is better to have quit.
If you know you are competent in your job and your manager presents you with a bogus PiP DONT sign whatever you do and just walk off the job. Yes you are fired but you would have been fired anyway. The Dirty secret of PiPs is that in most cases the worker is set up to Fail (intentionally vague “offenses” and deficiencies with impossible goals for passing). Think about it if manager and HR really wanted you to improve why the need for official documentation and paper trails? The most insidious is that PiPs are often given to the most loyal hard working who can’t believe the company would screw them over to avoid paying severance these people go the extra mile trying to meet these impossible plan goals and they end up fired while their manager gets a bonus. Trust me I saw this happen at Walmart and if there is any mention of a performance plan you immediately quit Do not wait around for them to screw you over and Do not waste any more precious time effort and life working for a psychopath have some dignity and self respect and quit on your own terms
Uk1,
Your post is refreshing and spot on. One of the WMT basic beliefs is: Striving for Excellence. That is meant to address the need to perform. WMT has historically been a disruptor in the marketplace. Amazon is holding that title right now.
No one has a right to a job, and WMT is neither running a union shop, nor is it an employment agency. The business model has productivity at its core, and as such, everyone needs to add value.
In the situation describing the use of PIPs to lower costs, it appears that in some cases, there is no funding for severance packages so managers under pressure to lower costs are faced with having to use another method. It may not truly be a performance issue.
Three things: 1.Severance packages are expensive; 2.The bottom 10% should constantly be let go; 3.Fear is priceless.
Job security can take a carrot or a stick approach. With the carrot approach, provide job security to keep people working hard. On the far end of the spectrum, take the stick approach by making people afraid they will get fired and get nothing; maybe that will get people to work hard.
Perhaps those making the decisions now subscribe to the thought that fear increases productivity. If the fear of layoff isn't working to up productivity, increase the stakes and start firing people, then see if there are positive results. Sort of like when a parent tells a kid, stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about.
Fear rarely works as a motivator long term, and instead becomes a toxic environment. Bullying will increase, while individual performance and innovation will decline.
In all honesty, the bottom 10% really need to be gone, if they are truly not performing. To keep non-performers in an organization is detrimental to morale. There have been a lot of underperforming people at all levels of the HO, just coasting and getting a pass while other people are treated as pack mules and held responsible for achieving results. I never saw anyone at HO get fired, even people who literally bragged that they got a fat paycheck for doing NOTHING, while laughing and skipping past the dedicated people who were buried in work. The other thing, the thought that something is owed to long term associates will get branded as being an entitlement mentality and will not fly.
I am aware of someone who displaced in this manner in the last month. This was the team’s way of lowering costs as they did not have funding for severance.