Placed on Performance Improvement Plan - What should I do?

Dear Nurse Beth Advice Column - The following letter submitted anonymously in search for answers. Join the conversation!

You are reading page 6 of Placed on Performance Improvement Plan - What should I do?

Wondern, thank you for your response and your questions. Let's see what I can answer. I have been in management for over 15 years. I work in a non-union environment. I work in a state with state ratio laws. . . a blessing but some of the restrictions make me scratch my head. I digress. I have never worked in L&D or women's health but have worked in many critical care environments.

I am not a pollyanna, I don't walk on water, nor am I the same leadership person now that I was when I started in that field. It is a specialty. Promoting a fabulously skilled clinical nurse into leadership does not necessarily = competency in leadership skills. I have to wonder how long the manager has been a manager and how much support and leadership training she has had. Her actions are not what I would do now but might have in my early years.

I know my state laws and HR policies backwards and forwards. Where I work, any written disciplinary action must be vetted through HR first along with expectations for PIP to ensure we have goals that hold manager and employee accountable. In the state where I work, the decision to terminate an employee is not taken lightly. The hospital is liable for paying the unemployment pay if the labor courts decide that the employee was unfairly fired. When we consider termination, the highest executive in HR must approve it. The manager is questioned rigorously about the events that are leading to this termination, who else is on written documentation, and the questions have included how many of X race, gender, etc are on written actions to ensure the employee is not being discriminated based on non-nursing issues. I have never lost an appeal in labor court as a result and I hate wasting my time in the judges office explaining the progressive discipline we use and why this person was eventually terminated.

Based on what I wrote above, my written disciplinary actions are factual and non-disputable. I stick to one issue that is my 'hill to die on' and I won't do 'he said/she said' because the truth is somewhere in the middle most times and I didn't see it. I always start with verbal discussions, not written warnings. It is clearly different in other places. When I speak with employees, I don't have a write up already written, I want/need to hear their perspective of how something happened. We meet a second time to discuss the consequences, especially if I need to research process issues, then if warranted do I explain what I found and what the consequences are, if there are any. We use the "Just Culture" philosophy for disciplinary action and look at a lot of things. I also make my expectations for future state very clear and in writing (follow X policy, etc). It is one reason personally issues are not the basis for the final warnings because those are too 'loose' and based on perceptions that simply won't hold up without a lot of facts and observations. Those token employees that do not hold themselves accountable for actions, in my experience, will usually shoot themselves in the foot with something very cut and dried because they don't believe they are accountable.

What is teamwork? Teamwork is when you help your peers. Simple. Answer a call light that is not yours. Don't balance your check book in the open unit or sit at the computers on face book or check real estate ads or (yes, I have seen this) fill out job applications for other places while working and your peers are running around like crazy. If you have to leave your computer in a hurry, many people will see where you were and it is pretty easy to run a history.

Teamwork means that the aides don't answer every call light or toilet every patient because you feel it is 'their job' or you are doing the above. That is factual. If I walk up and lean over the desk (after having observed on the way over 'where' you were surfing or what you were doing) and ask you to "help me understand why you ignored the fall alarm or didn't answer the call lights that weren't yours" that is teamwork and don't try to BS me. I saw your actions that your teammates have shared with me. This is a patient safety issue. If it continues I will proceed with written documentation because it is really all about the patient safety and quality of care and not your personal needs on the 3 days/nights you have to work. I will have a LOT of documentation if I ever have to go down this road (and it invariably is not my only reason for write ups or the final reason).

I don't think I have ever done written or termination based on teamwork or other perceptions that were the final warning that led to termination. I have terminated where this was one of several written warnings or failed PIPs. That teamwork issue was based on factual observations and yes, I have varied my work hours to be present at night shift starts and ends to see what is going on. Not just for this person but on a regular basis to see flow issues and other issues I need to be accountable for and aware of.

I paused and tried to count how many times I have had to progress to a second write up/ written disciplinary action and the answer is maybe 10-15 times max. We start the process over after a year so you pretty much have to work hard to get to more than one disciplinary action. I believe that people want to do the right thing and the vast majority do and rapidly turn around. I have terminated employees about 5-6x. Not bad in the 15+ years of leadership. Whenever I have finally had to terminate, I always feel as though I have failed the employee and could have/should have done something different to engage them to change their ways. I take it as MY failure and probably more than they do for their part in the occurrence.

I have been blessed with supervisors and peers that were willing to mentor and coach me. I have also had the experience of a seriously toxic supervisor. My resume was polished and as much as I loved where I worked, I was starting to watch the ads and work with a head hunter. This person was hated and feared. I am stubborn enough that I decided I could outlast this person as I was pretty sure that the actions were not going unnoticed. They weren't. It took 6+ months but I was vindicated when security escorted them out.

So, it is a two-sided affair for disciplinary action. Keep it factual. Focus on patient safety not personality. Set clear expectations for everyone on the unit, no favoritism, like your staff (why would I ever hire someone that I didn't like in the first place) but draw the line that crosses from like and respect to true friendship that leads to favoritism. Talk with trusted peer mentors when you feel too close to a situation to have an objective view.

When the staff know the expectations they often keep each other accountable, also and it makes my life a heck of a lot easier.

Try not to be dismayed. Be proud that you are one of the ones who are supportive and honest! It's who you are as a person that determines who you are as a manager. I believe someone else made that point as well. Thanks for that whoever you were. That is so true.

You sound like you may be a manager who would actually work together with your employees and respect them and their devotion to patient care and skills.

It's just that she is being bashed by management at work which tends to affect one's whole life. Then us others who've been bashed like that feel the need to tell their stories which may be horrifyingly ugly and not pleasant to hear considering what some managers have put them through or in the end what we put ourselves through for staying.

It is very hurtful, especially when someone is trying with all their heart and soul and the team won't cooperate. No man is an island. Not all managers are like you. So please don't be dismayed.

It is traumatic. Yes, traumatic to be bullied at work. Management is not encouraging teamwork at these places like you apparently do. Thanks for posting maybe somehow you can have a positive influence on these other destructive types of managers if they care enough to be on this site voicing their concerns in the first place. So thank you for coming on and saying something.

Try to understand also though, really and truly there are very bad managers out there. They are not all like you! There are so many variances in people and work environments but regardless of either if the team is encouraged to not work with someone that is to isolate someone it's not right. That's why it's called teamwork, right? Not to team up against! It's just time to leave if you are being bullied by a manager if she won't help support but yet encourage further bullying with her "team".

It would be a beautiful world if all managers were like yourself and would work together and make all equally accountable , to really support their nurses and staff, even if the managers were not nurses themselves. They just are not all like you!

Teamwork is fun. Isolation is torture. It really kills someone's spirit and drive. It changes who they are if they stay too long and let it. Have you ever asked another employee to write someone else up for rude behavior? Just curious? Is that politically/morally correct to ask of someone? To ask multiple people/coworkers?

Also is it right to tell an employee they should leave your/their work area before you write them up again? anywhere but especially at a 1 on 1 in a PIC meeting where the employee is getting off that day? after like 6 months being passed over by raises even? I'm asking please because you are a manager and this is an open forum and I would value your professional opinion.

Oh my thanks again. I better go get some things done for Thanksgiving coming up! :)

I take my work seriously because I worked so hard to get there/here like I know we all did. Thank you. We need laws for ZERO tolerance for bullying at the workplace! Please share.

Thanks for taking the time to post.:nurse::blink::barefoot: :nurse::cool:

I can recall 2 decent managers in over 30 years of nursing. The rest were power hungry bullies. Yes, it is sad but it is also true.
Wondern, thank you for your response and your questions. Let's see what I can answer. I have been in management for over 15 years. I work in a non-union environment. I work in a state with state ratio laws. . . a blessing but some of the restrictions make me scratch my head. I digress. I have never worked in L&D or women's health but have worked in many critical care environments.

I am not a pollyanna, I don't walk on water, nor am I the same leadership person now that I was when I started in that field. It is a specialty. Promoting a fabulously skilled clinical nurse into leadership does not necessarily = competency in leadership skills. I have to wonder how long the manager has been a manager and how much support and leadership training she has had. Her actions are not what I would do now but might have in my early years.

I know my state laws and HR policies backwards and forwards. Where I work, any written disciplinary action must be vetted through HR first along with expectations for PIP to ensure we have goals that hold manager and employee accountable. In the state where I work, the decision to terminate an employee is not taken lightly. The hospital is liable for paying the unemployment pay if the labor courts decide that the employee was unfairly fired. When we consider termination, the highest executive in HR must approve it. The manager is questioned rigorously about the events that are leading to this termination, who else is on written documentation, and the questions have included how many of X race, gender, etc are on written actions to ensure the employee is not being discriminated based on non-nursing issues. I have never lost an appeal in labor court as a result and I hate wasting my time in the judges office explaining the progressive discipline we use and why this person was eventually terminated.

Based on what I wrote above, my written disciplinary actions are factual and non-disputable. I stick to one issue that is my 'hill to die on' and I won't do 'he said/she said' because the truth is somewhere in the middle most times and I didn't see it. I always start with verbal discussions, not written warnings. It is clearly different in other places. When I speak with employees, I don't have a write up already written, I want/need to hear their perspective of how something happened. We meet a second time to discuss the consequences, especially if I need to research process issues, then if warranted do I explain what I found and what the consequences are, if there are any. We use the "Just Culture" philosophy for disciplinary action and look at a lot of things. I also make my expectations for future state very clear and in writing (follow X policy, etc). It is one reason personally issues are not the basis for the final warnings because those are too 'loose' and based on perceptions that simply won't hold up without a lot of facts and observations. Those token employees that do not hold themselves accountable for actions, in my experience, will usually shoot themselves in the foot with something very cut and dried because they don't believe they are accountable.

What is teamwork? Teamwork is when you help your peers. Simple. Answer a call light that is not yours. Don't balance your check book in the open unit or sit at the computers on face book or check real estate ads or (yes, I have seen this) fill out job applications for other places while working and your peers are running around like crazy. If you have to leave your computer in a hurry, many people will see where you were and it is pretty easy to run a history.

Teamwork means that the aides don't answer every call light or toilet every patient because you feel it is 'their job' or you are doing the above. That is factual. If I walk up and lean over the desk (after having observed on the way over 'where' you were surfing or what you were doing) and ask you to "help me understand why you ignored the fall alarm or didn't answer the call lights that weren't yours" that is teamwork and don't try to BS me. I saw your actions that your teammates have shared with me. This is a patient safety issue. If it continues I will proceed with written documentation because it is really all about the patient safety and quality of care and not your personal needs on the 3 days/nights you have to work. I will have a LOT of documentation if I ever have to go down this road (and it invariably is not my only reason for write ups or the final reason).

I don't think I have ever done written or termination based on teamwork or other perceptions that were the final warning that led to termination. I have terminated where this was one of several written warnings or failed PIPs. That teamwork issue was based on factual observations and yes, I have varied my work hours to be present at night shift starts and ends to see what is going on. Not just for this person but on a regular basis to see flow issues and other issues I need to be accountable for and aware of.

I paused and tried to count how many times I have had to progress to a second write up/ written disciplinary action and the answer is maybe 10-15 times max. We start the process over after a year so you pretty much have to work hard to get to more than one disciplinary action. I believe that people want to do the right thing and the vast majority do and rapidly turn around. I have terminated employees about 5-6x. Not bad in the 15+ years of leadership. Whenever I have finally had to terminate, I always feel as though I have failed the employee and could have/should have done something different to engage them to change their ways. I take it as MY failure and probably more than they do for their part in the occurrence.

I have been blessed with supervisors and peers that were willing to mentor and coach me. I have also had the experience of a seriously toxic supervisor. My resume was polished and as much as I loved where I worked, I was starting to watch the ads and work with a head hunter. This person was hated and feared. I am stubborn enough that I decided I could outlast this person as I was pretty sure that the actions were not going unnoticed. They weren't. It took 6+ months but I was vindicated when security escorted them out.

So, it is a two-sided affair for disciplinary action. Keep it factual. Focus on patient safety not personality. Set clear expectations for everyone on the unit, no favoritism, like your staff (why would I ever hire someone that I didn't like in the first place) but draw the line that crosses from like and respect to true friendship that leads to favoritism. Talk with trusted peer mentors when you feel too close to a situation to have an objective view.

When the staff know the expectations they often keep each other accountable, also and it makes my life a heck of a lot easier.

And what happens when you aren't there breathing down their necks? I am talking about night shift. I have had staff sleeping while on duty, aides sleeping, watching TV or reading while I am doing work-related paperwork but they wait for me to answer the alarms and call bells. I have reported them several times. One aide was reported by many different nurses for several years for sleeping while on duty, for insubordination, for abuse to patients. Guess what, she is still working there while most of the nurses have left. Some of them left due to the ineffective management and frustration working with an employee who has not been disciplined and has been allowed to get away with her behavior. The nurse then lives in fear of retaliation by the employee and her criminal family and friends. Yeah, she passed the criminal record check but she has family and friends who would not pass this test. So tell me something. How does this happen? I have worked with managers who were bought off by employees who gifted the manager with things like a brand new car, expensive stereo systems, computers, home air-conditioning systems, etc., etc. The employee then gets away with incompetent, unsafe behavior because the manager has accepted these gifts and is beholden to the employee. I don't know for sure but I suspect that the aid who got away with sleeping on duty, etc. gifted the managers in this fashion and that is how she gets away with it. I wish this corruption did not exist but it does. I am not saying all managers are like this, not at all. I am sure there are some ethical, honest, uncorruptable managers out there. I just haven't encountered many in over 30 years experience. Where are they?
Wondern, thank you for your response and your questions. Let's see what I can answer. I have been in management for over 15 years. I work in a non-union environment. I work in a state with state ratio laws. . . a blessing but some of the restrictions make me scratch my head. I digress. I have never worked in L&D or women's health but have worked in many critical care environments.

I am not a pollyanna, I don't walk on water, nor am I the same leadership person now that I was when I started in that field. It is a specialty. Promoting a fabulously skilled clinical nurse into leadership does not necessarily = competency in leadership skills. I have to wonder how long the manager has been a manager and how much support and leadership training she has had. Her actions are not what I would do now but might have in my early years.

I know my state laws and HR policies backwards and forwards. Where I work, any written disciplinary action must be vetted through HR first along with expectations for PIP to ensure we have goals that hold manager and employee accountable. In the state where I work, the decision to terminate an employee is not taken lightly. The hospital is liable for paying the unemployment pay if the labor courts decide that the employee was unfairly fired. When we consider termination, the highest executive in HR must approve it. The manager is questioned rigorously about the events that are leading to this termination, who else is on written documentation, and the questions have included how many of X race, gender, etc are on written actions to ensure the employee is not being discriminated based on non-nursing issues. I have never lost an appeal in labor court as a result and I hate wasting my time in the judges office explaining the progressive discipline we use and why this person was eventually terminated.

Based on what I wrote above, my written disciplinary actions are factual and non-disputable. I stick to one issue that is my 'hill to die on' and I won't do 'he said/she said' because the truth is somewhere in the middle most times and I didn't see it. I always start with verbal discussions, not written warnings. It is clearly different in other places. When I speak with employees, I don't have a write up already written, I want/need to hear their perspective of how something happened. We meet a second time to discuss the consequences, especially if I need to research process issues, then if warranted do I explain what I found and what the consequences are, if there are any. We use the "Just Culture" philosophy for disciplinary action and look at a lot of things. I also make my expectations for future state very clear and in writing (follow X policy, etc). It is one reason personally issues are not the basis for the final warnings because those are too 'loose' and based on perceptions that simply won't hold up without a lot of facts and observations. Those token employees that do not hold themselves accountable for actions, in my experience, will usually shoot themselves in the foot with something very cut and dried because they don't believe they are accountable.

What is teamwork? Teamwork is when you help your peers. Simple. Answer a call light that is not yours. Don't balance your check book in the open unit or sit at the computers on face book or check real estate ads or (yes, I have seen this) fill out job applications for other places while working and your peers are running around like crazy. If you have to leave your computer in a hurry, many people will see where you were and it is pretty easy to run a history.

Teamwork means that the aides don't answer every call light or toilet every patient because you feel it is 'their job' or you are doing the above. That is factual. If I walk up and lean over the desk (after having observed on the way over 'where' you were surfing or what you were doing) and ask you to "help me understand why you ignored the fall alarm or didn't answer the call lights that weren't yours" that is teamwork and don't try to BS me. I saw your actions that your teammates have shared with me. This is a patient safety issue. If it continues I will proceed with written documentation because it is really all about the patient safety and quality of care and not your personal needs on the 3 days/nights you have to work. I will have a LOT of documentation if I ever have to go down this road (and it invariably is not my only reason for write ups or the final reason).

I don't think I have ever done written or termination based on teamwork or other perceptions that were the final warning that led to termination. I have terminated where this was one of several written warnings or failed PIPs. That teamwork issue was based on factual observations and yes, I have varied my work hours to be present at night shift starts and ends to see what is going on. Not just for this person but on a regular basis to see flow issues and other issues I need to be accountable for and aware of.

I paused and tried to count how many times I have had to progress to a second write up/ written disciplinary action and the answer is maybe 10-15 times max. We start the process over after a year so you pretty much have to work hard to get to more than one disciplinary action. I believe that people want to do the right thing and the vast majority do and rapidly turn around. I have terminated employees about 5-6x. Not bad in the 15+ years of leadership. Whenever I have finally had to terminate, I always feel as though I have failed the employee and could have/should have done something different to engage them to change their ways. I take it as MY failure and probably more than they do for their part in the occurrence.

I have been blessed with supervisors and peers that were willing to mentor and coach me. I have also had the experience of a seriously toxic supervisor. My resume was polished and as much as I loved where I worked, I was starting to watch the ads and work with a head hunter. This person was hated and feared. I am stubborn enough that I decided I could outlast this person as I was pretty sure that the actions were not going unnoticed. They weren't. It took 6+ months but I was vindicated when security escorted them out.

So, it is a two-sided affair for disciplinary action. Keep it factual. Focus on patient safety not personality. Set clear expectations for everyone on the unit, no favoritism, like your staff (why would I ever hire someone that I didn't like in the first place) but draw the line that crosses from like and respect to true friendship that leads to favoritism. Talk with trusted peer mentors when you feel too close to a situation to have an objective view.

When the staff know the expectations they often keep each other accountable, also and it makes my life a heck of a lot easier.

It is really refreshing to read your post. Very refreshing. Unfortunately, I have only met 2 like you in 30 years. Someone like you deserves to be a manager and I would love to work under you.

manager123, thank you for your thoughtful response. I loved what you said about personal usage of the computer at work. When I asked management to please do something about that problem; she walked over from her office and stood at the computer with them shopping and laughing. I promise you. It was so strange and immature. Usually I was trying to call biopsy reports to patients during this time. I actually had to leave my desk and go into a treatment room to call pts. they were so noisy. I really didn't fit into that childish game. I like working together. I worked as an aide and a clerk before I earned my RN. I hope OP lets us know what happens as well.

Oh I did one up myself getting terminated with 'no rehire' after 17 years there by finally 'going out of the chain of command' for help. I then wasted more time appealing. Live and learn.

Just don't want OP to make that mistake as well. It can get so complicated, all those appeals. Lost hope. I got burnt out from all that.

Thanks again. You sound like a nice fair and honest manager.

The writing is on the wall----hit the job line and fast. Once this type of scenario starts, that is all people see, whether true or not. You can't like everyone and everyone can't like you----it is time for some fresh air, and a new start!

The ANA has made one decree after another on ethics, workplace bullying and even nurse fatigue. Yet, many members who are managers or higher are not held accountable. If they egregiously violate the values of the organization, they should not be allowed to remain members. If this was enforced, it would go a long way to earn the respect of the 90 per cent of nurses who won't join until they see the stated words put into action.

I think what manager123's post illustrates clearly is that there is a right way and a wrong way to do a PIP. At the end of the day, a PIP is just a tool, and, like any other tool, can be used for good or ill, depending on the user.

If the manager creates a PIP with the intention of helping an employee get back on track, creates SMART goals, and evaluates the employee honestly, a PIP can be a great thing. Of course that also means the employee has to be open to constructive criticism, even when it might sting a bit, and be willing and able to make changes.

On the other hand, there are managers who use PIPs as a tool to cover their rear ends, and have no real intention of helping an employee become better. In those cases, the PIP is simply a sham that either contains unrealistic/nebulous goals or is unfairly implemented with the manager nitpicking flaws and refusing to acknowledge competence.

I think what it really comes down to are the intentions of the manager. Does this particular manager want to see the employee improve or does the manager want a way to get rid of an employee she doesn't like? The PIP is simply a tool by which each purpose can be attained.

With a complaint as vague as "attitude" and not a single supporting illustration, it seems like OP has a manager who is using the PIP to create a paper trail that will allow her to terminate OP, regardless of OP's actual job performance. I don't know if this is true, but it doesn't look good. OP, perhaps you will come back with some details on what the proposed PIP contains. If it's vague and full of crap, run for the hills.

Oh, so have I! And I too tried management for awhile.....and my effort to emulate those I admired got me stabbed in the back by my immediate superior, and fired. At that point I decided I made a better Indian than a chief and never had any desire to be a manager again. I'm now happily retired and better for it.
Hi Jay, I went back to general duty nursing too. Well more protected because of union membership. Where I live, we had govt. changes which meant health care system changes. I was in management for a number of years and then the new govt. decided we didn't need that many managers. Then that govt. got voted out and over the years, the incumbent govt. has slowly but surely built up a bureaucracy of managers. There are ore managers than bedside nurses. So I guess these managers don't have a lot to do, so they are gunning for the staff they employ to make themselves look and feel important. Yes retirement is a godsend, isn't it?
Thanks ActualNurse. It was actually a pattern of 'rude and unprofessional' behavior that was created, the last of which was going out of the 'chain of command'. I just fought too hard thinking I had rights when letting it go may have been way wiser to take heed of my manager's warning/threat and just transfer out before she wrote me up again like she ended up doing shortly thereafter. Ouch, that hurt when she told me that. I guess that was really honest. I had transferred from the hospital to a clinic area when I began getting these write ups. Maybe OP can transfer.
Yes I have learned over the years that once the witch hunt has begun it will not end well. Better to cut your losses and move on before the wretch totally destroys you and your career. I know a couple of nurses who have sued and won but I personally would not do it. You have to put out a lot of money to lawyers and there is a chance you might lose. Having said that, once these people won their lawsuits, the felt invincible and untouchable by management. However, I think management will just dream up another angle. There is one case where the nurse was ruthlessly harassed, sued, won, retired at age 39 with his lawsuit winnings and the manager was booted out. But I think that is rare. I would tell the original poster to get out, run as fast as she can in the opposite direction, and never look back.
Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
The ANA has made one decree after another on ethics, workplace bullying and even nurse fatigue. Yet, many members who are managers or higher are not held accountable. If they egregiously violate the values of the organization, they should not be allowed to remain members.

The problem is, being a member of ANA (or any other nursing professional organization, for that matter) matters only in a narrow circle of nursing politicking and academia, leaving outside approximately 99% of what is real nursing world.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Not lenghtly at all... i just, with all due respect, disagree with it and feel that quiet and respectful disagreement is the only one thing that makes sense here.

What part? That it actually happened, or that I took a course that helped me get a better job. I put up with a lot over many years in nursing. What I did was right for me, and I hoped there might have been something in it that was helpful to the OP.

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