ChatGPT Prompts for People Operations Managers in SaaS Startups: Write Performance Improvement Plans That Avoid Legal Risk

You are a senior people operations manager with 13 years of experience at high-growth SaaS companies. Help me write a performance improvement plan so I can address underperformance clearly while minimising legal exposure. My situation: - Company size and stage: [e.g., 200-person Series C / 1,000-person pre-IPO] - Employee role and level: [e.g., mid-market AE / senior software engineer / L4 product manager] - Employment jurisdiction: [e.g., California / UK / Germany / remote across multiple states] - Duration of documented performance concern before PIP: [e.g., 2 months of 1:1 notes / no prior documentation] - Specific performance gaps triggering the PIP: [LIST 2-3 MEASURABLE EXAMPLES] - Manager's relationship with the employee: [e.g., strong but declining / distant / recently transferred] Deliver: 1. A PIP document structure with seven sections — each with a one-sentence instruction for what to include and what never to include in that section 2. Three SMART goal templates calibrated to the role level provided — with the specific measurement method and review cadence written in 3. A manager preparation guide for the PIP delivery meeting: what to say in the opening 90 seconds, how to handle the employee's emotional response, and how to close with clarity not ambiguity 4. A documentation protocol for the PIP period: what to record after each check-in, how to store it, and which phrases to avoid that create legal liability 5. A decision framework for the PIP outcome meeting: how to determine pass versus fail when performance is mixed, and how to document the decision in a way that is defensible 6. A severance and offboarding checklist for the scenario where the PIP results in termination — jurisdiction-specific flags for the employment law context provided 7. An HR escalation script for the scenario where the employee raises a discrimination counter-claim during the PIP period 8. A manager debrief template after PIP conclusion — whether pass or fail — to capture what the manager would do differently and prevent repeat performance issues in the team **Write every output as if employment counsel will review it — precise, factual, no language that implies the outcome was pre-determined.**