In a recent article for Inc., BigSpeak EVP Ken Sterling breaks down the importance of companies having built-in-frameworks to support improved performance. Every team has members who may fall in behind in one area or another, or have periods of decreased productivity. Labor laws vary form state to state, and leaders must take multiple factors into account when managing employee performance, both in terms of legality and simple decency.

Based on his own experience and the work of BigSpeak exclusives JP Pawliw-Fry and Bill Benjamin, he suggests reframing Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) to Success Improvement Plans (SIPs), and doing away with the practices of punitive firing as a first result for an under-performing employee. Instead, change the outlook to change the outcome, and work with team members, rather than using a PIP as a paper trail to justify the termination of a team member. This method sees the employer and employee working together to craft a plan for success, avoiding hurt feelings, labor disputes, and high turnover rates.