Writing an Improvement Plan

General Information:

If an employee has performance in any Key Responsibilities / Results (KRR) or Dimension that falls below the "Good" level at any time during the work cycle, you will need to develop an improvement plan that identifies necessary steps for the employee to bring performance up to the "Good" level.

Preparing the Improvement Plan:

Follow the steps below to prepare a workable Improvement Plan.

Before meeting with the employee, review the documentation with your manager to determine if your manager will support an Improvement Plan. Also, talk to your HR manager or Employee Relations Specialist to discuss whether disciplinary action is also needed. This discussion will reduce any potential documentation or process problems if the employee's performance does not improve in the future and you are faced with dismissal or disciplinary issues.

Let the employee know that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss his or her performance problem. Explain that you are willing to work with the employee and have confidence in his or her ability to improve.

During the discussion, try to balance seeking the employee's input with being clear on what the employee needs to do to improve. Review your documentation (including any STARs) that identifies the employee's performance problem. Ask for the employee's ideas on how he or she can improve.

Remember to use the "Key Principles" and "Critical Steps" to communicate effectively with the employee as you discuss the Improvement Plan. Go to Effective Communication for a summary of these principles and steps.

Discuss and record what actions the employee needs to take to correct the deficiency and how you will support the employee. Sometimes, the employee has all of the skills necessary to complete the improvement steps alone. In other situations, you may need to provide or arrange some additional skill training or resources to help the employee meet the improvement goals.

Make a realistic plan with the employee, allowing sufficient time for the employee to reach the improvement goals.

Record the improvement goals on the Workplan, documenting the actions required by the employee, the timeframes, and any actions you will take to support the employee's improvement efforts.

Following your discussion with the employee and making any necessary changes to the Improvement Plan, give a copy of the finalized Improvement Plan to the employee and your manager.

Plan to meet again within 30 days to review improvement. If necessary, continue to meet monthly until performance is improved or you find it necessary to take other action if the employee is unable to improve to the level required.

The following is an example of an Improvement Plan:

John, a housekeeper, has a KRR for Floor Care. His Results Expectations include maintaining the floor in his building according to Housekeeping Standards. The standards manual indicates that floors are kept free of debris and are wet-mopped to remove dust before buffing floors. The manual also notes the square footage he must complete daily to maintain his floors. Heavy traffic areas are spray buffed daily and lesser traffic areas are buffed on a rotating schedule.

The KRR section of John's workplan might look like the following:

His workplan also includes the dimensions of Attention to Detail and Equipment Operation. His supervisor has noted on recent building inspections that on several occasions, John has left noticeable dust and dirt in the corner and along baseboards. His supervisor has also noticed damage to walls from the floor machine.

The Dimensions section of John's workplan might look like the following:

John's supervisor met with him to review both his Results Expectations and the Dimensions of Attention to Detail and Equipment Operation. He provided STARs to John that documented his observations on the visible dirt and wall damage. John has indicated a problem with the floor buffer. His supervisor will initiate a ticket for the repair person to look at the machine. He is also asking John to work with another housekeeper who has strong floor care skills to review procedures and use of the machine. His supervisor reinforced that having clean floors reduces the risk of an employee being hurt and provides visitors and employee with an attractive public image. In coaching John, his supervisor has reinforced the importance of meeting both the results and behavior expectations at the "Good" level.

John and his supervisor will meet again in three weeks to review his improvement. In the meantime, his supervisor will document his observations of John's work using the STAR method to capture John's actions and results.

The supervisor's comments on the Improvement Plan section might be as follows: