Managing a struggling employee is one of the hardest parts of leading a team, and one of the most important to get right. Handled poorly, it damages the person, unsettles the rest of the team, and exposes the company to risk. Handled well, it is fair, supportive and clear, and it often ends with the person back on track. This guide describes good practice for a performance conversation and a performance improvement plan (PIP) done properly. It is general information for managers in Singapore, not legal advice. For any formal or legal step, follow your company’s HR policy and the current guidance from MOM, TAFEP and TADM.
Understand the Problem Before You Act
Before you label anyone as underperforming, get clear on what is actually happening and why. Reacting to a vague feeling that someone is “not pulling their weight” is how unfair processes begin.
Start by defining the gap in concrete terms. What is the expected standard, what is the person actually delivering, and how do you know? Look for specifics, missed deadlines, error rates, work that keeps needing rework, rather than impressions. Then ask why the gap exists, because the right response depends entirely on the cause:
- Skill or knowledge gap: They want to do well but lack a capability. This is a training and coaching problem.
- Clarity gap: They were never clear on what good looks like. This is often a management problem, not theirs.
- Motivation or engagement gap: Something has changed, workload, a life event, friction with a colleague, a sense of being stuck.
- Wrong-role fit: Their strengths do not match what the role now needs.
Talk to the person early and openly, ideally in a regular one-on-one, long before anything formal. Many “performance issues” resolve at this stage once the real cause is named and addressed. Approach it as a shared problem to solve, not a verdict to deliver.
Give Clear, Documented, Compassionate Feedback
If informal conversations do not close the gap, the feedback needs to become more direct and more clearly recorded. Being kind and being clear are not in tension; the kindest thing is to leave no doubt about where the person stands and what needs to change.
When you have the conversation:
- Be specific and factual. Describe observable behaviour and its impact, not personality or assumptions about attitude.
- Own your part. If expectations were unclear or support was missing, say so.
- Listen. There may be context you do not know, health, caregiving, a blocker elsewhere in the process.
- Be clear about the required standard and that it needs to improve.
- Write a brief, factual note of what was discussed and agreed, and share it with the person so there are no surprises.
Documentation is not about building a case to remove someone. It is about fairness: a shared, accurate record that protects both the employee and you, and that keeps everyone honest about what was actually said. Keep notes objective and professional, and store them in line with your company’s HR practices.
Run a Fair Performance Improvement Plan
When a gap is real and persistent, a structured performance improvement plan gives the person a genuine, supported chance to recover. A PIP should be a bridge, not a trapdoor. Its purpose is to help the person succeed, and it should be written that way.
A fair PIP usually sets out clear, measurable goals, the support the company will provide, a realistic timeframe to improve, and how progress will be reviewed. The manager’s job during the plan is to stay engaged, not to step back and watch.
| Element | A fair PIP (good practice) | A PIP to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Help the person recover and succeed | Paper trail to justify a decision already made |
| Goals | Specific, measurable, realistic | Vague or impossible to meet |
| Support | Training, coaching, check-ins offered | Person left to sink alone |
| Timeframe | Reasonable and clearly stated | Too short to show real change |
| Reviews | Regular, two-way, documented | One conversation at the very end |
| Tone | Candid but supportive | Threatening or a foregone conclusion |
Set the plan up together where you can, and meet regularly through it to review progress, remove blockers and adjust support. Coaching skills help here; drawing out the person’s own ideas for improving often works better than dictating them, as covered in our guide on coaching your team. Acknowledge progress when it happens. If the person improves and sustains it, close the plan clearly and positively.
Know Where the Formal and Legal Lines Are
This is where good intentions are not enough, and where you must defer to process rather than improvise. Performance management can touch on notice, dismissal, and questions of fairness, all of which are governed by rules beyond any single manager’s discretion.
Keep these boundaries firmly in mind:
- Follow your company’s HR policy. Loop in HR early. They will know the required steps, timelines and documentation, and can keep the process consistent and fair across the organisation.
- This is general information, not legal advice. Nothing here is a ruling on any specific case. Do not decide questions of dismissal, notice or entitlements on your own reading of the rules.
- Use the right Singapore bodies. For the employment framework, refer to MOM and the Employment Act. For fair, non-discriminatory treatment, refer to TAFEP and the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. For disputes, TADM handles employment dispute management. Check current requirements with these bodies rather than relying on memory or old figures.
- Do not fabricate the record. Never backdate notes or invent evidence. A fair, contemporaneous record is the point.
- Watch for discrimination and wellbeing risks. Make sure the process is not, even unintentionally, treating someone unfairly on grounds unrelated to performance. If a person is in genuine distress, point them to your employer’s assistance programme or a suitable professional and a current helpline.
If, after a fair and supported process, the gap remains, the next steps move firmly into HR and legal territory. That is exactly when to stop improvising and let your HR team, guided by MOM, TAFEP and TADM, lead the formal process.
Look After Yourself and the Team
Performance-managing someone is emotionally heavy, and it does not happen in a vacuum. The rest of the team notices, and how you handle it shapes how safe they feel. Be discreet: never discuss one person’s performance with their peers. At the same time, do not let one struggling person’s workload silently crush everyone around them; manage the redistribution openly and fairly.
Look after yourself too. Lean on your own manager and HR for support, and keep the process time-boxed rather than letting it drag for months. Above all, hold onto the goal. Most people do not want to fail, and a fair, humane, well-documented process gives them the best possible chance to turn things around, which is a good outcome for everyone.
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Strengthen the everyday foundations that prevent problems in running great one-on-ones with your team and coaching your team as a manager. If the wider context is organisational upheaval, see leading a team through change for steadying your people through it.