Microsoft's ex-VP of HR says you should leave a company right away if you get put on a PIP: 'Surviving it is like a sign on your back'

• Chris Williams is a former VP of HR at Microsoft and podcaster, consultant, and TikTok creator.
• He writes that performance-improvement plans, or PIPs, are rarely a plan to help someone recover.

If you find yourself on a performance-improvement plan, you need to be thinking about your next steps. Even if you complete the plan, your best next step is probably not in your current job.

As the former VP of HR at Microsoft, we had more than a few people on PIPs. I saw that recovery is hard. True success in the aftermath is next to impossible. Here's why.

What is a PIP?

People are put on PIPs because of significant issues meeting the job requirements. They are unable or unwilling to get the results the job requires.

They almost always have been given repeated warnings about their performance. This usually includes counseling, training, and support to improve their performance. Despite efforts by both the employee and the manager, they still fall short, and a PIP is the result.

Occasionally, you could be put on a PIP for reasons less in your control. Perhaps you had personal issues that caused a performance problem. Or your manager was unable or unwilling to support you as you struggled in your role. This is an unfortunate situation that happens all too often.

Whatever the reasons, a PIP is nominally a plan to help you recover. These plans usually include formal steps such as training and support to help you reach the required performance. Key to the plan is a set of metrics you need to meet in a given time period. If you do that, you can recover, escape the plan, and resume less monitored work.

PIP results

The vast majority of people do not meet those metrics. Though sometimes marginally improved, the issues that caused the performance gap remain. Departure from the company results.

For those who do leave, it is a wrenching experience. But many find that an opportunity for a clean start elsewhere is a net benefit. They can start over in a different role, perhaps more suited to their skills. Or in an environment more compatible with their temperament. Though painful, the process of PIP followed by escape and renewal works to many people's longer-term advantage.

For those very few who manage to work their way up and out of a PIP, this chance for renewal is lacking. They return to their current role having escaped a near-death experience. Both they and their manager are cautious and look for every sign that would indicate further struggles.

Surviving a PIP is much like a sign on your back that warns management that you might be a poor performer. Regardless of where you travel within the company, there will always be the specter of the PIP in your past. Even if you manage to excel and become a star, the shadow of the PIP will be a weight on your success.

PIP next steps

That is why I recommend that anyone placed on a PIP immediately begin planning their next step. Updating their résumé, connecting within their network, and researching other opportunities. Not within their company but outside, where the shadow of the PIP will never loom.

Because if you've been put on a PIP, it will remain a part of your history with that company. Any hiring manager in the firm will be well aware of your struggles. And that is likely to loom large in any decision they may make about you.

So turn your attention elsewhere. Somewhere where you can gain a fresh start and a more positive outcome. It will be better for your attitude and outlook. Find new positions where you feel confident you can perform and apply for those.

When you interview for those new positions, be prepared to answer the question, "why did you leave your previous role?" I would suggest you say, "it was a situation where I was unable to excel." Resist the temptation to go into details or to disparage your former manager or company.

Simply move on promptly to your excitement for the role you are interviewing for. Excitement that will be genuine as you look to the future, not the past.

Shaking the long shadow of a PIP is hard. Best to start in a new environment with a clean slate and put the past of the PIP well behind you.

Chris Williams is the former VP of HR at Microsoft and a leadership advisor, podcaster, TikTok creator, and author.