By Andreas Pettersson, Founder, Leaders ADAPT
Every performance improvement plan template I have been handed by an HR portal reads like it was written by the company's lawyer to be read by the employee's lawyer. Passive voice, "it has been observed that", a signature line, and not one sentence a normal manager would say out loud.
The document below is the one I would actually use. It is on the page as text, so you can copy it into Word, a form, an email, whatever your company runs on. No download gate. Under it you get a filled-in sample for a real-shaped situation, the cover note, and a 30-day structure with weekly checkpoints, because a plan without checkpoints is a countdown.
Quick answer: A performance improvement plan template has eight parts: employee details with dates, the purpose in one sentence, the specific gaps with dated examples, measurable objectives, the support and resources the manager commits to, a timeline with weekly check-ins, the consequence if the objectives are not met, and signatures confirming the plan was discussed. Most plans run 30 to 90 days.
What a performance improvement plan template has to include
A performance improvement plan template is a fixed set of fields that turns a manager's concern about an employee's performance into dated, measurable, signed commitments on both sides. The word that matters is both. A template that lists only what the employee must do is a warning letter with a different heading.
The eight fields above are the same ones every HR site and every PIP template lists, so the fields are not where the difference lives. The difference is the wording inside them. Three rules I use:
- Name the gap the way you would say it. "The bar is here. You are here. There is a gap. We need to close it now. Here is what I need from you." That is the whole grammar of the document.
- No dead words. "It would be really nice if" and "I know you're a good guy, but" make the writer sound undecided and the reader feel managed. Strip every line to the situation, the gap, and the ask.
- Behavior lines are facts, never verdicts. Not "you were rude in the client meeting" but "in Tuesday's client meeting you interrupted three times while they explained their concerns." The first is arguable. The second is on the recording.
I published the structure behind rule three in The 5-Minute Leader as SBED: Situation, Behavior, Experience, Direction. Where and when, what you observed, the impact, and what needs to change. Every "area of improvement" in the template below is written that way.
The performance improvement plan template (copy this)
Everything in the block is meant to be pasted and edited. Square brackets are yours to fill.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Employee: [name, title, team]
Manager: [name, title]
HR contact: [name]
Plan start date: [date]. Plan end date: [date, 30 days later]. Check-ins: every [weekday] at [time], 20 minutes.
1. PURPOSE
This plan exists because your current performance is below the standard of the role, and because I believe the gap can be closed. It states the gap, what closing it looks like, what I will do to help, and what happens at the end date. It is a plan, not a verdict.
2. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT (each one: situation, behavior, impact, direction)
Area 1: [Situation: when and where.] [Behavior: what you did or did not do, with dates.] [Impact: what it cost the team, the customer, or the work.] [Direction: what needs to change.]
Area 2: [same structure]
Area 3: [same structure, and stop at three; a plan with seven areas is a list of grievances]
3. MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES BY [end date]
Objective 1: [a number, a deadline, and how it will be measured]
Objective 2: [a number, a deadline, and how it will be measured]
Objective 3: [an observable behavior, how often, verified by whom]
4. EXPECTATIONS DURING THE PLAN
Anything that affects your objectives gets flagged to me within 24 hours, in writing, even a two-line message. No filtering, no sugar coating. If I have to ask to find out, the plan is not working.
You own the objectives. I own removing the blockers you raise.
5. SUPPORT I COMMIT TO
[Weekly 20-minute check-in on the dates above.]
[Specific training, shadowing, or tooling, with a date it will be in place.]
[Who else the employee can go to, and for what.]
6. TIMELINE AND CHECKPOINTS
Week 1 check-in: [date]. Week 2: [date]. Week 3: [date]. Week 4 and final review: [date].
At each check-in we record, in writing, progress against each objective and any adjustment to support.
7. OUTCOME AT THE END DATE
If all objectives are met and sustained, the plan closes and this document is noted as completed. If they are not met, the next step is [termination of employment / a change of role], and there will be no extension unless I put one in writing.
8. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Employee signature confirms this plan was reviewed with you on [date]. It does not mean you agree with every line. You may attach a written response.
Employee: ____________ Date: ______
Manager: ____________ Date: ______
Two design choices to notice. Section 4 puts an expectation on the employee that most templates leave out and that changes more outcomes than any objective: proactive information. If your expectation is a text within the hour when something breaks, that is not micromanagement, that is setting expectations. Write it down.
Section 8 says what the signatures mean, because "should I sign this" is the first thing the employee will search that night.
A filled-in performance improvement plan sample
The situation: a mid-level account manager in a 40-person services firm, eighteen months in, whose renewals have slipped for two quarters and whose clients have started emailing the manager directly. Roles only; the details are a composite of the shape I see most often, not a client.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Employee: [name], Account Manager, Client Services
Manager: [name], Head of Client Services
HR contact: [name]
Start: Monday, [date]. End: Friday, [date, day 30]. Check-ins: Fridays at 2:00 pm, 20 minutes.
1. PURPOSE
Your renewal results and client communication are below the standard of the role. I believe you can close the gap, and this plan is how we find out in 30 days.
2. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Area 1, renewals. In Q2 and Q3, six of your fourteen renewals closed late or lapsed, against a team norm of one or two per quarter. Late renewals put [amount] of annual revenue at risk and two clients told me they had not heard from you in the final month. Going forward, every renewal conversation starts 60 days before the end date.
Area 2, client responsiveness. Between [date] and [date], three clients escalated to me because emails went unanswered for more than three business days. That costs the team credibility and costs me hours I should be spending elsewhere. Going forward, every client email gets a reply within one business day, even if the reply is "I will have an answer by Thursday."
Area 3, pipeline visibility. Your CRM entries have been updated an average of once every eleven days. I cannot see risk until it is already a lost account. Going forward, every open renewal is updated by Friday noon.
3. MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES BY DAY 30
Objective 1: all nine renewals due in the next 90 days have a documented first conversation logged by day 30.
Objective 2: zero client escalations to me for unanswered email during the plan.
Objective 3: CRM updated every Friday by noon for four consecutive weeks, checked by me.
4. EXPECTATIONS DURING THE PLAN
Anything that puts a renewal at risk is flagged to me within 24 hours, in writing. You own the three objectives. I own removing the blockers you raise.
5. SUPPORT I COMMIT TO
Friday check-ins for four weeks. I will sit in on your two largest renewal calls in weeks 1 and 2 and debrief each within a day. A 45-minute CRM refresher with [operations lead] by Wednesday of week 1.
6. TIMELINE AND CHECKPOINTS
Week 1: all renewals due in 90 days listed with a first-contact date. Week 2: first two conversations logged, escalation count at zero. Week 3: five conversations logged, CRM current three Fridays running. Week 4: final review against all three objectives.
7. OUTCOME AT THE END DATE
If all three objectives are met, the plan closes as completed. If not, your employment with the company will end on [date]. There will be no extension unless I put one in writing.
8. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Reviewed together on [date]. Employee: ____ Manager: ____
Notice what the sample does not do. It does not ask for "improved attitude". It does not list every irritation from the last year. It picks three things a person can actually change in four weeks and says how each will be counted.
The 30-day structure, week by week
I use 30 days for a formal plan because I expect visible improvement inside 30 days on any real performance gap, and I let a plan run to 60 only when the first 30 showed movement. A 90-day plan is usually a quarter in which nobody has to decide.
| Week | What the check-in verifies | What the manager does | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | The employee restates the three objectives in their own words; the first concrete step on each is done | Removes any blocker raised; puts the promised support in place by its date | The employee cannot repeat the objectives back, or disputes the facts in the areas of improvement |
| Week 2 | Objective 1 and 2 show measurable movement; the 24-hour flag rule has been used at least once | Gives one piece of written feedback per objective, SBED format | Nothing flagged, nothing moved, and the check-in is spent on reasons |
| Week 3 | Two of three objectives on track; behavior objective sustained three weeks | Names in writing what "met" will look like at the final review, no surprises | Improvement in week 2 that disappeared in week 3 |
| Week 4 | Final review against all three objectives, in writing, decision stated | Closes the plan as completed, or delivers the outcome from section 7 | An ask for an extension with no new information |
The red-flag column is the honest part of the template. If the week 1 flag appears, the plan is not going to work and you already know it. Do not wait for week 4 to admit it.
Word document, form, or performance improvement plan letter: which format to use
Any of them. What matters is that the same document is signed, dated, and stored where HR can find it, and that nothing is delivered verbally that is not also in the file.
- A Word document (or Google Doc) is the default because both of you can attach a written response and the check-in notes underneath.
- A form is fine when your HR system forces one; make sure it has room for the situation-behavior-impact-direction wording, because most forms only have a box for "issue".
- A letter is what the employee receives on day one. It is the cover note, not the plan itself.
What goes in the performance improvement plan letter to the employee
Short, plain, and sent after the meeting, never instead of it.
Subject: Performance improvement plan, starting [date]
[Name],
Attached is the plan we discussed today. It states where your performance is below the standard of the role, the three objectives for the next 30 days, what I will do to support you, and what happens at the end date. Our check-ins are Fridays at 2:00 pm.
Please read it, sign the acknowledgment by [date], and attach a written response if you want one on file. Signing confirms we reviewed it together, not that you agree with every line.
I would not be doing this if I did not think the gap could be closed.
[Manager]
How to write the measurable objectives
An objective belongs in the template only if a stranger could look at the evidence on day 30 and say met or not met without asking you. Three tests:
- Is there a number or a countable event? "Reply to client email within one business day" is countable. "Communicate better" is not.
- Is there a deadline inside the plan? A goal due after the end date cannot be reviewed.
- Who verifies it, and how? If the answer is "I'll know it when I see it", rewrite it or drop it.
Three objectives is the ceiling. If the gap needs seven, you are not describing a performance problem, you are describing a hiring mistake, and the guide to when a performance improvement plan is the wrong tool covers that decision before you write a word.
What the support and resources section is really for
The support section is where you find out whether you are writing a plan or paperwork. If you cannot name one concrete thing you will do differently, with a date, the honest version of the document is a termination notice with a delay attached.
Support is also cheap. A weekly 20-minute check-in, sitting in on two calls, one training session with a date. What it buys is documentation that the company tried, which matters if the plan fails, and a real chance, which matters if it works.
Keep the check-ins separate from your normal one-on-ones. The one-on-one meeting template is a coaching conversation; the PIP review meeting verifies three numbers and records them. Mixing the two makes both worse.
Performance improvement plan template FAQ
What should a performance improvement plan template include?
A performance improvement plan template includes the employee and manager names and dates, a one-sentence purpose, the specific gaps written as situation, behavior, impact and direction, measurable objectives with a deadline, the support the manager commits to, weekly check-in dates, the stated outcome if objectives are not met, and signature lines that confirm the plan was reviewed. Three areas and three objectives is a workable ceiling.
How long should a 30-day performance improvement plan be?
A 30-day performance improvement plan is one to two pages: three areas of improvement, three objectives, the support commitments, four weekly check-in dates and the outcome clause. Longer plans usually mean too many objectives. The 30-day window is common because visible improvement on a real gap shows inside a month; some companies extend to 60 or 90 days when the first month shows movement.
Should a PIP be a Word document, a form or a letter?
The format does not change the plan. A Word or Google document is the most common because check-in notes and the employee's written response can be attached under it. HR forms work when they have room for dated examples, not only an "issue" box. The letter is the cover note that goes to the employee with the plan after the meeting, not a replacement for it.
What does a performance improvement plan sample look like?
A performance improvement plan sample states a purpose in one sentence, three dated gaps with their impact, three objectives that can be counted on the end date, the manager's support with dates, weekly checkpoints, and the outcome clause. The sample on this page uses an account manager with late renewals: first conversation on every renewal 60 days out, replies within one business day, CRM updated every Friday.
Do both parties have to sign the performance improvement plan form?
Most templates include signature lines for the employee and the manager, and many companies ask HR to sign as a witness. The employee's signature usually confirms the plan was reviewed with them on a given date, not that they agree with its contents, and a well-written form says so. Employees can typically attach a written response. Company policy governs what happens when an employee declines to sign; commonly the manager notes the refusal and the plan proceeds.
What should the consequences line in a PIP say?
The consequences line states plainly what happens if the objectives are not met by the end date, in most cases termination of employment or a change of role, and whether an extension is possible. Vague wording such as "further action may be taken" leaves both sides guessing. A clear line protects the employee from a surprise and the manager from an argument at the final review.
The document is not the plan
A performance improvement plan template gives you the fields. The plan is what you do on four Fridays: verify three numbers, remove the blockers that came up, write it down, and decide on day 30 with the evidence in front of you.
If you want to see the same fields filled for very different situations, a sales rep, a manager, a quality problem, read the performance improvement plan examples sorted into the ones that helped and the ones that were exit paperwork. If you are still at the blank page, the step-by-step on how to write a performance improvement plan starts one step earlier than this page does, with the decision of whether to write one at all. And if the plan comes out of a pattern of avoided feedback, the fix is upstream: effective feedback, delivered inside 24 hours, so the next gap never gets to 30 days.
The system this template comes out of
The SBED lines, the 24-hour flag rule and the warm-but-firm delivery in this performance improvement plan template are three pieces of the accountability protocol in The 5-Minute Leader, the operating system I wrote for managers who have five minutes, not fifty. It has four protocols, delegation, one-on-ones, accountability and cadence, plus one section on the conversation most managers put off for six months. I built it running a company that grew past 150 people, as one of Canon's youngest CEOs, and I run it with the leaders I advise today. The five-minute version of this whole page is inside it: The 5-Minute Leader.
