Is a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) actually about "improvement," "coaching," or is it just a paper trail for your exit?

In this explosive episode of Diaspora’s Career Challenge, we pull back the corporate curtain on the workplace's most "Open Secret." With a failure rate of over 90%, the PIP has become the primary weapon for "Quiet Layoffs," "Quiet Firing" allowing companies to fire high-salaried talent and "outsiders" without paying severance.

Host Sweta Regmi shares a raw, first-hand account of being on both sides of the desk. From the manager pressured to "document" employees out of a job, to the high-performer who was gaslit in a small-town branch—standing for 8 hours in heels without a chair, while being told she was "learning too slowly."

What we’re calling out in this episode:

• The 90% Failure Rate: Why HR uses the PIP as a legal shield, not a coaching tool.
• Corporate Gaslighting: Recognizing the signs of being "managed out" (denied training, gossip, and moving goalposts).
• Toxic Culture: Dealing with the "Mean Girl" "Happy hour" cliques, and "Smoking Circle" politics that target high-performers.
• The Power of the Burned Bridge: Why I chose to slap my resignation on the desk and walk away to protect my mental health after 20 years of high performance.

Your Tactical Survival Guide:

If you are being served a PIP, do not just sign it. We provide the HR-Approved Scripts inside the podcast you need to document the "Resource Gaps" and protect your side of the story.

"A PIP should be a bridge to a better you, but today, it’s a plank you’re forced to walk. Your worth belongs to you—not to a company that won't even give you a chair to sit in."

If you are looking for an authentic keynote speaker in Canada or globally who speaks on career development, workplace diversity, AI biases, and the immigrant journey, book Sweta Regmi for your next event.

Book Sweta Regmi, Founder & CEO, Teachndo as a keynote speaker: https://www.teachndo.com/speaker

Download Free career resources: https://www.teachndo.com/resources