How HR Can Empower Managers to Lead Performance Improvement Plans

At a time when 68% of HR professionals report struggling to fill full-time roles, talent retention is critical. Performance improvement plans (PIPs) are often seen as a vital safeguard for organizations to support the employee experience, but when HR owns the PIP process from start to finish, new risks emerge.  

While it can seem helpful for HR to drive the PIP process, doing so can undermine managerial growth and weaken the fabric of the workplace, advised speakers during SHRM’s recent webinar, “PIPs Done Right: A Compliance-First Approach to Managing Performance Issues.” Legal compliance can be ruptured, managers may miss essential opportunities to develop their leadership skills, and the organization’s culture can suffer. 

Leila Bulling Towne, founder of The Bulling Towne Group, an executive coaching and leadership development firm, and Cris Barrett, a talent and organizational development leader, advised HR leaders to instead shift PIP ownership to managers, helping coach them through the process so managers can build their skills in overall performance management. 

Why HR Should Not Own PIPs

According to Barrett, HR often feels responsible for stepping in and taking over when it comes to PIPs, but this can work against long-term success for both HR and managers. 

“If we spend all of our time writing the PIPs for the managers, delivering the PIPs for the managers, and doing performance coaching conversations for them, I could make two arguments. One, why do we have people managers outside of HR? And two, how are we ever going to get to do the things that are really important to build the organization?” Barrett said. Manager ownership of the PIP process means that managers take the lead in supporting employees. HR’s role is then offering those managers guidance every step of the way. 

This model helps leaders confront a fear many quietly face: providing feedback. “No one wants to manage a poor performer,” Barrett said. 

It’s difficult, in part, because providing feedback can be tough. In fact, 41% of talent management executives said ensuring managers provide objective, constructive performance feedback is a challenge, according to SHRM’s 2025 Talent Management Executives: Priorities and Perspectives report. 41% also reported managing poor performers to be a challenge. 

PIPs, and the conversations leading up to them, offer an opportunity for managers to get comfortable delivering constructive feedback.

How-To: Performance Improvement Plans: When and How to Use Them

How HR Can Coach Without Taking Over 

HR’s role is to build an environment where managers feel supported by providing clear instructions, practical resources, and ongoing feedback. By taking time to coach managers on essential PIP skills — documentation, giving direct feedback, setting clear timelines — HR helps managers grow while ensuring the integrity and compliance of the process. 

Train Managers Before They Need a PIP

To get managers comfortable delivering constructive feedback through a PIP, HR leaders should equip managers with the knowledge and support early — well before a challenging situation arises. 

"If you want managers to confidently handle tough conversations, they need practice and guidance long before a real issue comes their way,” Barrett said. 

HR leaders should look to offer support to managers on documenting coaching, defining observable performance gaps, setting clear timelines, and holding check-ins that stay consistent with the written plan.

Require Managers to Draft the Plan

A simple rule can change behavior: managers write the first draft. Barrett advises letting managers do the writing and delivery of the PIP so that the responsibility is on the manager to think clearly about what is not working, what success looks like, and what support the employee needs. 

“HR can review [the plan] and give them ideas about how to make it better, more meaningful,” he said. 

Check In with Managers

Coaching managers also includes checking in with them on progress during a PIP. 

“Don’t assume when they say, ‘everything’s going okay,’ that everything is fine. They should be able to say, ‘I had a conversation with Lila. She was able to do this step. She’s struggling here,’ ” Bulling Towne said. 

She advises HR leaders ask open-ended questions of managers throughout the PIP process to make sure they’re on the right page. For example, Bulling Towne suggests asking:

• How can I help you as a manager?
• How is the conversation with your employee going? 

This kind of thoughtful support can help managers to spot issues before they grow bigger and provide an opportunity to course correct when needed.

Article: 8 Steps for Effective Performance Improvement Plans

The Long-Term Benefits of Shifting Accountability

When managers take ownership of the PIP process, everyone benefits — not just for a single case, but across the organization over time. HR professionals gain capacity to focus on strategic work that strengthens the business, managers develop confidence, and employees feel supported. “When managers are empowered to lead PIPs, it shows employees that we take performance seriously, support their growth, and hold everyone to fair, consistent standards,” Barrett said.