Let Employees Know What is Expected

We all know that job descriptions and employee evaluations can be incredibly valuable-not just for management, but as inspiration and guidelines for employees in doing their jobs. It is equally important for employees to be made aware of what is expected in terms of productivity, behavior, and other job specifics so that they will be able to strive to meet those expectations (or find other work if the expectations do not match the individual's values and aspirations.)

It is unfair to get angry or disappointed when an employee does not perform in a manner that was desired IF you have not shared the expectations with the employee. How was he or she to know what was desired if the expectations were not made clear? You may think that the productivity levels or expectations can be assumed or deduced but that is not particularly fair, nor is it a reasonable way to supervise or motivate people. By letting each person know what is expected, it makes it more likely that those expectations will be met.

Very clear job descriptions, task lists and project descriptions are helpful, as are posted quotas or other productivity measurements that will make expectations clear. When it comes to behaviors (and not just efficiency and productivity measurements), making expectations clear is good business too. If you expect employees to problem-solve across departments or keep to their own projects and departments, make this clear from the beginning. It is especially important to make sure that the expectations you verbalize and publicize are, in fact, the ones you value. It can be incredibly dysfunctional for a work environment or business to have one set of written expectations and another set of implied ones. For example, if you tell employees that you do not want them to work any overtime, but you expect that they will take on extra tasks and complete work orders no matter what-you may be sending conflicting information on expectation. Make sure that expectations are fair and reasonable, and make sure that all the employees know what they are expected to manage. This will make it easier to evaluate who is and who is not performing up to company standard.