Performance Management System: When Expectations Are Unclear!

Introduction

There were two incidents that inspired me to write this article, “When Expectations Aren’t Clear.” Some time ago, I had this interaction with a CEO of one of the most famous companies in Bangalore, in his words, “it is impossible to give an employee clear job responsibilities and job specifications”. The second incident was an email from one of my friends in Noida saying, “Sanjeev, I expected a lot from you, but you failed.” Well, having expectations is important and equally important is communicating them properly.

Why expectations?

Before starting to expect something from others, I must be clear about what I expect from myself. Those who have no expectations of themselves have no right to expect anything of others. So just ask yourself:

– What are your expectations of yourself?

– Where do you see yourself in the next 5-7 years?

– How do you want to be remembered by your family, your friends, your subordinates and your colleagues?

Expectations in relationships

Imagine, if you don’t know, what are the expectations of:

– Your parents

– Your children

– Your gurus/teachers/faculties

– Your students

– Your spouse

Your Friends, family and people around you Don’t you presume things? Don’t you think that everyone knows everything? If there are no expectations, there will be no challenge, no passion, no motivation, nothing. That’s where, I mentioned, that “Silence is a crime”

Expectations in the profession/workplace

– How often do you evaluate your employees/team members?

– What are your expectations of your employees/team members?

– What are the parameters to measure its performance?

– Have you contacted them?

– What will be the consequences, if they fail?

– What will be the rewards, if they exceed the expected level?

If you have no expectations, how will you evaluate your employees? Yes, you’re going to be biased, because you don’t have set standards. The role of a CEO, Human Resources Manager is like the director of a movie; choreographer of a stage show, where there is a defined role for each character, each participant.

Setting expectations starts the process. Managers need to sit down with each employee and clearly define what is expected of them. Management consultant Kenneth Philips says that when expectations aren’t clear, employees may be out of sync with the current demands and priorities of their job. Setting expectations is not a one-time activity. Job change.

Change of priorities. Resources change. Managers should review and set new expectations throughout the year. Setting expectations revolves around the following three areas:

1. Key Job Responsibilities

2. Performance factors and standards

3. Goals

Why is it important to set an expectation? Quite simply, this process can be the cornerstone for improving the motivational climate within your sphere of responsibility. If your employees know what is expected of them, it allows them to focus on results and hold themselves against established standards. Environments where expectations are unclear or change from week to week rarely create high-performing work groups.

Three principles that drive expectations

The three principles that should drive expectations are clarity, relevance, and simplicity.

1. Clarity

Expectations should focus on results, not activities. In other words, you achieve clarity when you identify the expected results rather than the method to achieve them. Managers often make the mistake of trying to direct the process an employee will use instead of being clear about the results. The advantage of identifying the result is that you, the manager, focus only on the goal; after all, the employee will develop the method to achieve the desired results.

Defining the goal often requires some thought on the part of the manager because it is easy to fall into the “activity trap.” While developing a strategic plan for a department or division is a valuable activity, it is not a result. In the activity trap, the goal is to develop a plan, rather than increase your market share.

2. Succession

The relevance principle helps define the “why” of the assignment. If your employees have a full understanding of the importance of the project, they can make adjustments as unforeseen factors arise within the process. They will also likely be more committed to the outcome because they can more easily see how it fits into the bigger picture and how their efforts impact the business.

This understanding is usually achieved through dialogue between the manager and the subordinate, allowing for a more complete review of the situation and for feedback and discussion. This process builds goodwill with the employee and sets the stage for additional responsibilities.

3. Simplicity.

Simplicity creates a sense of grounding for employees as they strive to accomplish their tasks. If managers identify the job in simple, direct terms, employees will find it much easier to comply with managers’ wishes. To achieve this, a manager must identify the key message in a way that the employee can adopt.

Now what?

After setting expectations, the manager must maintain a level of discipline and consistency that can be applied in all situations. The next steps involve monitoring, providing feedback, and finally rewards or consequences depending on the level of achievement. This four-step model can be applied in most managerial situations involving goal achievement.

1.Monitoring

Monitoring is the follow-up provided by the manager after expectations have been set. It can take many forms, from a formal status review meeting to a casual conversation in the hallway.

Regardless of the form, follow-through is the component that indicates that the project or assignment is important to you as a manager and that you are highly interested in its outcome. It allows you to assess progress and help if unexpected obstacles arise.

2.Comments

Feedback is the process of coaching subordinates as they complete their objectives.

During this time it is important to focus on progress, any additional resources that may be needed to meet the schedule, and the subordinate’s project vision. Allowing employees to report on their experience during this phase is key. As a manager, you’ll be in a better position to assess not only their progress on this project, but also any future assignments they may undertake.

3. Rewards and Consequences

The reward or consequences phase involves positive or negative reinforcement, depending on the outcome and the process.

Certainly, you want to reward a positive result. Rewards can take many forms, but regardless of the type, they must be timely, specific, and relevant to the employee. Consequences should also be timely and specific while focusing on how the employee can improve performance. While giving negative feedback is often uncomfortable for many managers, behavior at work is determined by both circumstances and consequences. If poor performance has no drawbacks, it is difficult for managers to raise the performance level of any of their subordinates.

This approach has the advantage of simplicity and, if followed consistently, will pay off for managers as they try to do more with less. While it may seem time-consuming at first glance, the alternatives create more rework and missed deadlines, and are often much more costly in time and resources.

conclusion

Having expectations, setting expectations is important and equally important is communicating them. If you have expectations, you have parameters to measure those expectations, you are the judge, you evaluated the person, but you did not communicate with that person, what good are those expectations?

Have expectations of yourself. Have expectations of the people around you. In case of your own expectations, write it correctly, and in case of having expectations of others, communicate it properly. Just because we don’t have clear expectations, we have a high attrition rate on a corporate level and broken families on a personal level. Right, I can fail. I may not be able to live up to your expectations, but then I will know the margin of failure.

We look forward to your comments and opinions. Have a great time and yes please please take good care of yourselves.

Cheers,