Tips for setting expectations with employees

Your employees are not mind readers. It is not a job requirement, in spite of what
some managers think. So, don’t keep them guessing when it comes to your
expectations of them. The more clearly you can articulate and document your
expectations, the more satisfied you will be when it comes to their performance and
your working relationships.

Most managers don't set expectations very well. They are superstars at noticing when things aren't done right,
but when it comes to telling their employees upfront what they want, they communicate by mental telepathy.
These managers assume their employees understand what needs to be done, or they are "too busy" to spend a
few minutes with an employee on the front end. "Just handle it" can be an invitation to wasted time and trial and
error.

A clearly articulated set of employee expectations may seem like stating the obvious to some people and in
some cases may go without saying at all. However, you owe it to yourself and others to fill this gap with a clear
understanding leaving no room for assumption, doubt, or speculation. Should your expectations not be met in a
future circumstance and you already covered your expectations in an earlier communication; you now have the
basis for a poignant discussion regarding the circumstance and your expectations.

It's so much easier being the editor on the back end, rather than taking a few moments to shape some
parameters beforehand. How many times have you heard, "Oh, that isn't what I was looking for..." or, "That's not
quite what I had in mind..." or, "Why did you do it that way?"

"What's the big deal?" you might ask. When I work with companies to improve their employee retention, I ask to
read their exit interview data. Inevitably, one of the top three reasons why people leave their jobs is, "My boss
didn't tell me what he wanted, and gave me no coaching but jumped on every mistake I made."

Here are some tips for setting expectations with employees:

• Hold a planning retreat once a year with your staff. If you can't go off-site, find a conference room and spend
at least a half-day talking about what your department's goals are for the year. Discuss priorities, roles and
responsibilities and action plans. Identify some problems that need to be fixed and brainstorm together to find
solutions. A yearly retreat can pay big dividends throughout the year by helping people see where they are
going and why. When a new project is delegated, mention how it fits into the retreat framework. It will provide
a common understanding that will help to set expectations.
• Quarterly update meetings are a great way to keep people on track. During these meetings you can share the
business financials, talk about progress on goals and let people know if anything has changed with regard to
priorities. The business climate is very dynamic, so without a way to keep people on a changing course,
employees may still be acting on a set of expectations that are now heading in the wrong direction.

• Regularly scheduled, one-on-one meetings are a vital part of

coaching your direct reports. Inevitably, those managers who don't
meet with their staff individually end up with problems. The staff has
to interrupt the leader with endless questions, or worse, must work on
projects without direction, only to be corrected later. Too much time
and money wasted. A brief one-on-one meeting gives the employee
access to his or her manager to review work in progress, to anticipate
issues and to brainstorm problems before they grow into large ones.

Setting a template

• Use a standard template for setting expectations when you delegate larger projects. For instance, you might
want to: Describe the outcome you want, including the criteria that must be met; list the reasons why; and
discuss the roles, responsibilities and authority of everyone involved.

• Tool box meetings. Sometimes called "Huddles" or "Operations Meetings,"

these short group sessions are designed to keep everyone on the same
page about up-to-the-minute changes in daily operations. Usually not more
than 30 minutes, a foreman or plant operator can meet with the crew to
discuss the day's work.

• Six-month informal performance review. Goals change and priorities shift throughout the year, so why wait
until a whole year passes to evaluate someone on goals they set a year in advance? A six-month review is an
informal check-in, to validate or tweak goals, so there are no surprises at the end of the year.

You've heard the expression, "You can't over communicate." When it comes to setting
expectations and providing feedback and coaching, it makes the difference between a
great leader with a highly effective team and a mediocre leader with above average
turnover.