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If it were really about coaching and communication, HR would probably not be there and your boss would have likely provided some suggestions on ways to increase your skills. If HR was there, it was most likely because this is a required notice period under the company's employee handbook rules before they can fire you for performance issues. So, start looking very hard for a new job because it's easier to get one while you are still employed. Once you lose your job, it will be harder to get a new one. And while you are still with this company, do everything you can to show your commitment to improving.
Update your resume now, and start looking for a new job. You have no more future with this employer. A target has been placed on your back. Seriously, just move on, and try to find a new job. It's best that you leave on your own rather than them doing it for you.
If it were really about coaching and communication, HR would probably not be there and your boss would have likely provided some suggestions on ways to increase your skills. If HR was there, it was most likely because this is a required notice period under the company's employee handbook rules before they can fire you for performance issues. So, start looking very hard for a new job because it's easier to get one while you are still employed. Once you lose your job, it will be harder to get a new one. And while you are still with this company, do everything you can to show your commitment to improving.
^^^This^^^
It's strange that HR was there but there was no Improvement Plan laid out, no meetings scheduled to assess progress.
Up your game this job and spend your non-working hours looking for another job.
Looking for a position where I can utilize my skills in ...
I got called into meet with my boss and HR to address performance concerns. I was told that I should be performing at a certain level after the amount of time has passed that i've been working in this position and that I am not currently performing at that level.
I was told on four or five areas that I need to improve on, which my boss was concerned with. Basically that I am performing poorly in by my bosses standards.
HR told me that the purpose of this meeting is communication and coaching. However my boss seemed very concerned with my performance in those areas.
At this point I am very worried that this is a step in the process of firing someone at my company and I am really worried that I am going to be fired. I mean why else would I get called into talk to HR and my boss? Why wouldn't my boss just email me and tell me what I should be doing?
They let me know that if I had any questions I could ask my boss and I was sent back on my way to continue working as if nothing had happened.
Do you think that this is their way of helping me improve and giving me a chance, is that even possible? Or is this simply a way of firing me legally/easily?
Aside from working on the areas of improvement, should I schedule one on ones or do anything more?
Its hard to say exactly how serious this is. Some companies do things similar to this as a way to motivate an employee and if they still don't see improvement then they start the steps to fire you. For some companies this is the first step.
Seeing that HR is involved I would say that its more likely a first step. I would hazard a guess that your boss isn't that great either or he/she would have pulled you to the side and given you pep talk or performance review in a 1 on 1 situation.
Have you done documented performance reviews with your boss? Do they show the same areas that need improving as they are telling you now? If so, then your on the way out, start looking for a new job.
If this really completely blindsided you I would go talk to your boss on a weekly basis and document how you are working on each area that they say needs improvement. Update your resume and if you get another signal that the process is moving further towards firing I would start job hunting then. If you like the job, I suspect you still have a chance but your future promotion at that company probably just got hurt a bit.
I am guessing that either your company needs to let someone in your position go and they picked you, since you don't have any documented faults they are doing that now so they can fire you. In this case your gone. Not much you can do.
The other scenario is your boss is in hot water also because someone above him noticed a problem in your bosses dept or you specifically and your boss is doing cya.
I stand behind my suggestion to start looking for something new ASAP, but in the mean time I recommend going to your supervisor directly and saying something along the lines of "I just wanted to let you know that I was completely surprised about the feedback I received in our meeting the other day. If I had any idea that I was not working up to your expectations, I would have immediately worked to do better. I think that you're a great boss and this is a great company, and I am committed to making this work. I enjoy my job and want to do it the best way possible. Would you mind taking a few minutes and giving me some specific examples of times that I didn't meet your expectations, and help me define a clear path to doing better so that I can eventually exceed your expectations?"
You need to understand specifically what the issues are. Often your idea of doing a good job and your boss' are completely different. You need to know what is important to your boss. A good example is a girl that I let go last year. While I thought that I was giving her frequent feedback, when I pulled her into HR to put her on an action plan she was completely shocked. She was defining her success by the fact that her work was getting done on time (it was a very deadline driven position). The problem was that our definition of "on time" were two very different things. I expected her to make a workplan and get her work done according to internal deadlines - the dates that she was committing to in the workplan. She thought that as long as the work got done according to the actual deadline (ie. the last possible day that it could get to the state or city in order to be processed on time) that she was succeeding. She failed to see that I needed time to review things, accounts payable needed time to process payments, and I didn't want everything sent at the last possible minute in case there was a problem. Ultimately her inability to meet internal deadlines is what got her fired, even though the external deadlines were being met.
Well, majority opinion has been given to OP, but OP continues to create multiple other threads asking for 'advice.'
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.
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