We want all Teammates to succeed at Sourcegraph and will provide them with every opportunity to do so. There are, however, instances when a Teammate is underperforming. In these instances, it is the Manager's responsibility to manage low performance in a timely manner and provide clear feedback to the Teammate (with the support of the People Team).

Process for Navigating Underperformance

Although every circumstance is different, and some circumstances may warrant handling a particular situation in a unique way, the standard process to manage underperformance is as follows:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/7228359/233812766-3584c5ee-cea8-4baa-844e-0e10d6c2b7c6.jpg

Each step of the process is detailed below:

Step 1: Ongoing Feedback

Step 2: Contact your People Partner

Step 3: Formal coaching plan

Step 4: Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

Step 1: Ongoing Feedback

Refer to ‣ for Manager expectations on addressing growth opportunities and underperformance.

Step 2: Contact your People Partner

If you believe you have a Teammate who is underperforming on your team, begin by contacting your People Partner. They will work with and coach you through managing Teammate underperformance, while trying to help the Teammate succeed. Your People Partner will guide you through the process.

Note: Every circumstance is different and depending on the nature / seriousness of the performance issues, the recommended performance management process may differ. In some cases, it may be appropriate to follow all of the Stages of the below process in order, and in other cases it may be appropriate to skip to a later stage or to handle the performance issue outside of the PIP process altogether. Your People Partner is equipped to guide you on a path forward.

Managers are required to work with their People Partner to determine the appropriate performance management process for a particular teammate.

Step 3: Formal coaching plan

If you have an underperforming Teammate, who has received feedback but has not adequately improved their performance to meet expectations, to get them back on track we may need to initiate formal coaching.

What is formal coaching?

Formal coaching involves structured, formal coaching through documented expectations and progress, with regular documentation following each conversation.

A formal coaching plan describes where a Teammate is not meeting expectations, defines what the expectations are, and defines what success looks like, based on objective and measurable criteria.