[PopeOfNope]

I went through almost the exact same thing working full time for a consulting company in the USA. The situation was even worse since we had to log so many hours a week due to billing hourly. The biggest difference with me is that when I was first put on the PIP, it looked like I was going to successfully complete it. So a 4 week process was extended to 12 and then I was given a new PIP that was impossible to fulfill[0] and the micromanagement was increased to ridiculous levels. I didn't even try to improve at that point and was fired a week later. No severance, no benefits, no nothing. They were nice in that they gave a glowing recommendation that didn't mention any of this. They said we parted ways amicably and that it just wasn't a good fit.

It seems the recurring theme here is if your employees are slacking, more micromanagement isn't the answer. Either give them a reason to get excited about coming to work or fire them. The PIP process is an orwellian farce. The only saving grace is I bet most companies that use them don't actually know they don't work. Or maybe it's like interviewing; they know it doesn't work, but they don't have anything better?

[0]: I won't go into details, but it required getting two or three approvals per day from managers who were already backed up with work.