If you are a business owner, then you need to know how to set clear expectations for your employees. Here’s a quick guide to do just that!
by Troop Atomic Mommy
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Setting clear expectations for your employees is an important part of making sure they’re happy at work. It’s also essential for maintaining productivity, preventing misunderstandings, and avoiding making employees unhappy. If your employees don’t really know what they’re meant to be doing or who is responsible for which tasks, a lot of things won’t get done.
It’s important that employees have clear expectations of their roles when they start their jobs. They need regular guidance to ensure they know what they should be doing. Everyone needs to know what’s expected of them so they can be productive.
Here are some ways to set clear expectations for your employees.
Decide What Your Expectations Are
Before you can set expectations for your employees, you have to decide what exactly it is you expect of them. To start with, you can ensure that everyone has clearly defined roles and responsibilities. You will also have to define employee expectations for individual projects so that you can correctly assign the right tasks to the right people.
Set Expectations Early
One of the most useful things you can do when setting expectations for your employees is to do it as soon as possible. Your employees shouldn’t be left wondering what they’re supposed to be doing at any point. When a new employee is starting their job, they should receive the correct training and guidance to ensure they understand their role and responsibilities. If you are starting a new project, everyone should be clear about their responsibilities from the beginning. In addition to knowing their own responsibilities, they should also know who is responsible for other tasks.
Outline Objectives
Outlining objectives for your employees is a key part of setting expectations. They need to know what their goals are so that they know what tasks to complete. All of your employees should have key objectives that they are working toward all the time, but also objectives that are specific to a project or task that they’re working on. Setting goals should also include setting deadlines. Creating quarterly goals is one way to make sure there are always objectives to aim for.
Provide Daily Tasks
Giving your employees daily tasks ensures they know what they should be doing on a day-to-day basis. As well as giving them their own tasks, you might also allow them to see other people’s tasks so they know who is responsible for different things. You can use tools to track employee tasks, which will allow you to see their progress. Employees can check off their tasks as they complete them or perhaps make notes on their progress to keep everyone else up to date. A list of daily tasks helps to clearly define what an employee should be doing so that there’s no confusion.
Deliver Feedback
Providing feedback can help to clarify the expectations you have for your staff. Even when you set expectations, it doesn’t mean that everything will occur as you want it to. Feedback can confirm when something was done as expected and help adjustments to be made when expectations aren’t met.
Giving employee reviews twice a year isn’t really enough to provide quality feedback to employees. They shouldn’t suddenly be surprised by being told they’re doing something wrong or even by receiving praise for their work. Regular feedback helps to reaffirm expectations and make sure that everyone is improving. It’s also good for keeping up morale by ensuring everyone receives praise and rewards.
Keep Giving Expectations at Every Stage
Setting expectations at the beginning of a project is necessary, but you should also make sure that you don’t stop there. It’s essential to keep giving expectations at different stages so that everyone continues to understand their responsibilities and what they should be doing. It’s also important to follow up on the goals and tasks that have been set previously. It’s easier to keep everyone motivated if they always know what they should be doing next and what standards they have to meet.
Make Expectations Measurable
Making your expectations measurable is a crucial part of being clear about what you expect. If your expectations can’t be measured, it’s more difficult for employees to tell whether they’re achieving the objectives that have been set for them. Measurable goals will ensure you get clear results and help to prevent confusion. There are many ways you might measure progress and results. As well as having overall goals, you can break down any projects or tasks into smaller objectives. Hitting targets regularly can motivate people to continue working productively.
Keep Your Door Open
If you want to help employees understand their expectations, an open-door policy is helpful. When employees feel free to come and discuss what’s expected of them, it’s easier for them to clarify anything they might not understand. If they have any questions or concerns, they can come to you and talk about them. You don’t have to allow everyone to come to you at all times. If you set certain times when you’re available, perhaps first thing in the morning or after meetings, it can minimize distractions while still allowing people to come to you when they need to.
Involve Your Employees
Getting your employees more involved and being aware of their interests and skills can help to make expectations clear. If you involve them when you are delegating work, you can allow them to have input on which tasks they take on and make sure they receive a clear explanation of what they should be doing.
The Takeaway
By setting clear expectations for your employees, you can help them be more productive and more satisfied at work. In turn, you will have a healthier and more successful business!
