When employers do things right, performance management should be a routine part of your working life. Performance management does not always need to be disciplinary – it can include annual or quarterly reviews, or even regular check-ins with your manager to make sure that work is going well and moving at the right pace.
If there are problems with your work, or your manager is looking to discipline you for what they view as a series of errors, then they might bring in some form of performance management, such as a Performance Improvement Plan (“PIP”). If the employer is doing things right, then a PIP should not be an unexpected step or come as a surprise. Company policies should dictate the standard that your employer is expecting, and should make it clear that performance management is the next step if there are performance concerns.
