
Guide
TOIL
In this guide, we'll discuss what TOIL is, how it works, and the benefits it can bring to your business.
- Working Time
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
If you have an employee who's struggling, then a performance improvement plan can help push them towards success in your business. We explain how the process works in this guide.
If your business has an employee who is struggling, then there are ways to offer them support. A promising member of your team can always have issues. And instead of replacing them, you can provide them with training to push them on towards success. In this guide, we explain one such process you can establish in your business.
Also commonly referred to as a performance improvement action plan, it’s a way for you to formally identify areas of concern in an employee’s performance. Then you can work together over a period of time to address the issues. The idea going forward is then to support them towards a higher rate of work quality and productivity.
The benefits of a performance improvement plan are that it allows you to clearly inform staff where they’re falling short of expectations. In turn, that gives them a clear focus on areas that may require extra attention. You can implement a plan for a number of reasons. These can include:
Despite there being no legislation governing the use of a performance improvement plan, Acas recommend you use them to motivate and develop staff, spot and improve poor performance as well as deliver tasks and projects quickly to the required standards.
While they’re often in use to assist staff with less responsibility, it’s also possible to introduce a performance improvement plan for poor leadership that experienced line managers are likely to benefit from. Again, this acts as a way of getting employees to focus on higher standards of work. You can train already skilled managers to bring out their full potential, rather than looking to replace them. Developing a performance improvement plan in the UK can be difficult in the first instance. However, you can help the process with the use of a sample. The process will usually include:
With a performance improvement plan template, you can then set KPIs across a spreadsheet for you to address at regular intervals. Items on the list can include:
The performance improvement plan sample identifies at the outset if the employee has any outstanding medical condition to take into consideration when setting performance targets, ensuring reasonable adjustments are in place where necessary. A relevant manager or HR representative will oversee the process. And it’s advisable to check in with the employee at regular intervals to review their progress. While its primary purpose is to improve the quality of an individual’s performance at work, it can also be an early step of a disciplinary or capability process if an employee fails to show significant improvement. The plan will help demonstrate you took reasonable steps and the employee had sufficient opportunity to improve before any warning or dismissal occurred. It’s important the employee is aware of the potential repercussions when they’re initially placed on the plan, including what may happen to them if they fail to improve.
If you’re looking to introduce an employee plan, get in touch with us for advice on developing your process from the ground up: 0800 028 2420.
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