How do you know its the workers fault and not the nature of this role in the company?

I can't speak for EM roles, but ICs have many peers in similar roles to compare them to.

Also, there is an unofficial "pre-pip" phase, where the EM tries to correct these issues. Pips are the nuclear option that cost the EM a lot of time with almost no career benefits.

In reality it doesn't matter. Most of the time I'd wager it is not the worker's fault. But that doesn't materially change the situation.

From the perspective of the company, the company is almost never at fault.

As a manager it's your job to discern that, right?