A study by Gallup shows that nearly half of all U.S. employees don’t know what’s expected of them at work.

Gallup’s research found that only 33% of U.S. employees and 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work.

So what about the remaining 67% of the US employees and 87% of employees worldwide?

The researchers found that they do not know what is expected of them.

Most managers make this BIG mistake of not setting clear expectations with the team as a priority.

When your role shifts there are many things to do.

You have to manage a lot of things, take decisions on a lot of things, manage conflicts, handle work-related issues, be accountable to the upper management, and meet deadlines.

If you do not set clear expectations with your team members /direct reports, it will keep you as well as all the team members in a mess.

Imagine a situation when you set clear expectations with your upper management , boss and team members .

Everyone one will know what to do ,will be very organized and work smoothly.

There will be less friction and chaos .

Making it a priority to set clear expectations with everyone around you from your organization leaders, boss to employees when you get promoted in the same organization or join a new workplace will ensure smooth functioning and peace in the organization .

The aim of this post is to help you define clear expectations in 6 critical areas with ideas for each area -to ensure smooth running of the organization, good employees performance and create a win-win situation for yourself and your employees and make a firm foothold in your new role and act with more confidence and ease .

Would you like to Make A SMOOTH TRANSITION AND THRIVE CONFIDENTLY in your New Role ?

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7 Benefits of setting clear expectation and how it will help everyone in the long run .

Setting Clear expectations is a responsibility.

Here are 7 benefits of setting clear expectations with direct reports in the beginning:

It helps the business of the organization on the whole, employees can represent the organization well.

There are fewer misunderstandings, conflicts, better performance, and better utilization of employees’ skills and strengths.
The employees are more motivated, productive, efficient and engaged. The quality of work is good.
Employees stay on track and work is completed on time. There is less time loss.

There is more innovation and creativity.

It builds trust and fosters better relations between employees and management in the future.

The employees also develop this habit of getting clear on all issues. It becomes automatic for all in the organization.

If you start by setting clear expectations with everyone, you will be amazed at how seamlessly the employees are performing.

So make setting expectations a PRIORITY .

Now let us cover all these areas for you .

THE 6 CRITICAL AREAS FOR NEW MANAGERS TO SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS WITH EMPLOYEES

1 Individual contribution and Performance.

2 Communication .

3 Team level.

4 Time

5 Organizational level .

6 Employees level.

1.Individual contribution and Performance .

It is important for you as a manager to define the work profile of your direct reports and his/her role and responsibilities in the company.

Let him know that he must focus on the assigned tasks and how his contribution or non-contribution will impact the contribution of the team, the performance of team members, and the organization’s goals.

Be very clear about what performance expectations the management has from them and how their performance will be measured.

Ensure clarity and commitment from them.

Make sure that they clearly understand what is expected of them and that they are committed to fulfilling it.

You can take this one step further by helping them set up a personal routine that aligns with the goals and work ethics of the organization.

All this hard work will pay off in the future because the direct reports will work with more responsibility, be accountable and work systematically.

They will be more engaged and productive.

You will earn their trust and enjoy good relationships with them.

And you will earn a good reputation and build trust with your higher authorities.

2.Communication.

Clear communication REDUCES friction, fuss, and chaos.

Communicating clearly and setting proper boundaries with first reports right from start helps smooth working and efficiency at the workplace.

As a New Manager, you must make it a priority to communicate clearly, give clear directions and set healthy boundaries.

Because there is a lot of diversity in the workplace with regards to peoples working styles, preferences, ways of communicating, productive hours, habits, and mindsets, it is advisable to set clear lines of communication.

Here are some ideas on how to set clear expectations about communication: .

Know that you will have to communicate upwards, downwards, and sideways.

Set your hours of communication with upper management, boss, and team members.

Clarify on modes of communication that must be used when communicating formally and informally -whether or not office communications can be used for personal purposes.

Get clear on when you will hold meetings and one to one with them.

Let the team members know how you will communicate while working on projects. What will be the mode and frequency of communication -weekly or monthly.

Be clear about what information to share with employees.

Establishing standard norms and creating a structure ensures everyone will be able to work efficiently, without disturbing others.

3.Team level .

At the team level, there are 2 things to set clear expectations on

One is the goals that need to be accomplished together as a team.

The other is behavioral expectation while performing the tasks as a team member.

Here is a set of 12 critical things to set clear expectations on performance and behavior with each of your direct reports :

1. Set clear expectations on how each member must contribute to the goal as a whole and how missing deadlines, delays, and procrastination will impact the overall goal success and the team at a bigger level.

2. He must adopt a positive attitude towards others and the work. Eg -He must encourage, motivate and co-operate with all the team members.

3 He must be willing to help others in the team, when someone lags behind, instead of saying ‘’it’s not my job .’’

4.He must have mutual respect and be polite with them each other. Eg – He Must be sensitive to others’ needs and be concerned about others in the team.

5 He must be self-motivated, reliable, and accountable.

6.He must not ditch or back out of projects at the last moment or midway, keeping everyone in the lurch. He must not miss deadlines except in some emergency conditions.

If he has some other problems, which need immediate attention, he must inform his manager in advance.

7.He must be flexible about work and assignments. Sometimes he may have to work some extra hours or days to complete a project or task.

8.Psychological safety is important.

He must work together with everyone safely without harming or sabotaging others. He must not break the trust of his team members.

9.He must feel free to ask for help from others when needed.

10.He must be willing to learn from others and feel safe about it.

11 . He must pool ideas for better outcomes and improvement of the organization.

12.He must share and receive constructive feedback without feeling emotionally outraged or attacked. He must be cheerful and optimistic and kind towards everyone in the team.

4.Time.

Your time is a resource that you will never get back .

So Use your time judiciously .

If you do not set clear time pockets for everything ,then there is a likelihood of you losing your precious time handling less important and trivial things leaving less time for you to pay attention to the important things .

Here are a few helpful strategies for your to set clear expectations with time.

Be clear about responding time to requests, emails or messages from different people from different levels in the company – set aside time for direct reports, boss, other department heads, stakeholders, clients and communicate it to all.

Set a time limit to different types of tasks you can do in a day.

90 minutes is enough for working on projects.

60 minutes are enough for medium-effort tasks.

Meetings must not take more than an hour.

Clarity on the timeline is very important while working with a number of people on different projects.

The same goes for when you are working with remote teams or teams from different countries.

Setting limits on time pockets and tracking your own as well as others’ time is a helpful strategy.

Time limit must be set for everything.

5. Organizational Culture .

Employees carry along with them some behaviors and habits that they have picked up in the previous organization.

It is critical to define workplace culture to save interpersonal conflicts and poor performance from employees in future.

Here is a list of things you can make clear to your employees to ensure a healthy workplace culture and performance for the New or experienced employees.

1.Spell out the company’s mission, strategy ,values and overall expectations to your direct reports very clearly .

2 .He must demonstrate respect towards everyone in the organization ,so that everyone is relaxed and the morale of employees is high .

3.Have a positive attitude and outlook towards everyone in the organization . Eg -He must be cheerful and polite.

4.He must display strong work ethics and values like honesty and integrity.

5.He must be punctual to the office and report to work on time to ensure operations run smoothly.

6.He must come to the office in formals so that it casts company professionalism among its customers.

7.He must have Good attendance. Regularity is a must for good performance.

8.He must represent the organization positively, respectfully and responsibly outside.

9.He must abide by the company’s policies and processes when dealing with problems.

10.He must Uphold company standards in performing well.

11.He must Look after the company’s resources and use them judiciously.

12.He must complete project tasks on time and take initiative in starting new projects.

13.He must be willing to share new ideas on projects as and when needed.

14.He must Use a professional approach when communicating with clients and staff members and maintain healthy professional relations with all.

6. Employee Expectations .

Just as the organization expects clarity from its employees, in the same way, employees also have the right to have clarity on some issues.

It is good from managers point ,to know what the employees expect from the organization and clear all their doubts in the beginning.

Here are 10 things employees expect from the organization and their boss.

Clear explanation of job and responsibility and company policies and procedures.
Receive regular and constructive feedback from managers and supervisors on performance
Access to the resources they need to perform their work tasks efficiently and properly.
Fair and consistent communication and application of policies (e.g., performance, discipline, conduct) across the team.
Get credit and acknowledgment for work achievements. Appreciation of their contributions from time to time .
Loyalty from their boss and seniors . Reciprocating loyalty, shows your professionalism and fairness .
Assess their needs objectively, reasonably and fairly and provide them support , training and leadership when needed .
Provide regular feedback and suggest improvements on their performance when necessary .
Ensuring that they get their salary on time .You need to discuss this with upper management and convey their frustrations when such a situation arises .
A psychologically safe environment where they feel safe and free to ask questions and share their problems .Safe and holistically healthy working environments -ensuring mental , emotional and physical health .

Each company may set additional expectations of their employees and provide more for them in return, but it is a give-and-take.

When the upper management knows the expectations of the employees it can negotiate with them clearly and provide the necessary help and support to ensure that they can work efficiently.

This helps to build trust create a good balance, set healthy boundaries right from day one, and keep employees aligned with organization norms.

So know the employees expectations while you set up one on ones with them .

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CONCLUSION:

As I said at the beginning of the post that setting clear expectations with your employees is critical to the success of the organization and all its employees.

I believe you agree with me in this.

Clarity prevents a lot misunderstanding ,conflicts , delays , indecisions, and poor performance.

It builds more cohesiveness , understanding , trust and respect for all.

The 6 main areas on which to set clear expectations like individual contribution ,team level ,communication, time , organizational level and employee expectations from the organization are very helpful in paving way for an amazing work environment and culture .

It is the culture and environment which you create , you will live in .

If it is not healthy then everything else is meaning less.

Setting clear expectations will help you build a great culture, and great relationships and win the trust of your upper management as well as your team members.

I hope you have found the post helpful .

What inspired action will you take today to set clear expectations with your employees?

Please share your thoughts in the comments box below .

Babita Sharma

Leadership Coach

www.leadwithpassion

P.S- Please share the post with someone who needs help with setting clear expectations with employees today.

A study by Gallup shows that nearly half of all U.S. employees don’t know what’s expected of them at work.

Gallup’s research found that only 33% of U.S. employees and 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work.

So what about the remaining 67% of the US employees and 87% of employees worldwide?

The researchers found that they do not know what is expected of them.

Most managers make this BIG mistake of not setting clear expectations with the team as a priority.

When your role shifts there are many things to do.

You have to manage a lot of things, take decisions on a lot of things, manage conflicts, handle work-related issues, be accountable to the upper management, and meet deadlines.

If you do not set clear expectations with your team members /direct reports, it will keep you as well as all the team members in a mess.

Imagine a situation when you set clear expectations with your upper management , boss and team members .

Everyone one will know what to do ,will be very organized and work smoothly.

There will be less friction and chaos .

Making it a priority to set clear expectations with everyone around you from your organization leaders, boss to employees when you get promoted in the same organization or join a new workplace will ensure smooth functioning and peace in the organization .

Would you like to Make A SMOOTH TRANSITION AND THRIVE CONFIDENTLY in your New Role ?

Get the FREE NEW MANAGERS GUIDE TO THRIVE CONFIDENTLY HERE

7 Benefits of setting clear expectation and how it will help everyone in the long run .

Setting Clear expectations is a responsibility.

Here are 7 benefits of setting clear expectations with direct reports in the beginning:

It helps the business of the organization on the whole, employees can represent the organization well.

There are fewer misunderstandings, conflicts, better performance, and better utilization of employees’ skills and strengths.

The employees are more motivated, productive, efficient and engaged. The quality of work is good.

Employees stay on track and work is completed on time. There is less time loss.

There is more innovation and creativity.

It builds trust and fosters better relations between employees and management in the future.

The employees also develop this habit of getting clear on all issues. It becomes automatic for all in the organization.

If you start by setting clear expectations with everyone, you will be amazed at how seamlessly the employees are performing.

So make setting expectations a PRIORITY .

Now let us cover all these areas for you .

THE 6 CRITICAL AREAS FOR NEW MANAGERS TO SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS WITH EMPLOYEES

1 Individual contribution and Performance.

2 Communication .

3 Team level.

4 Time

5 Organizational level .

6 Employees level.

1.Individual contribution and Performance .

It is important for you as a manager to define the work profile of your direct reports and his/her role and responsibilities in the company.

Let him know that he must focus on the assigned tasks and how his contribution or non-contribution will impact the contribution of the team, the performance of team members, and the organization’s goals.

Be very clear about what performance expectations the management has from them and how their performance will be measured.

Ensure clarity and commitment from them.

Make sure that they clearly understand what is expected of them and that they are committed to fulfilling it.

You can take this one step further by helping them set up a personal routine that aligns with the goals and work ethics of the organization.

All this hard work will pay off in the future because the direct reports will work with more responsibility, be accountable and work systematically.

They will be more engaged and productive.

You will earn their trust and enjoy good relationships with them.

And you will earn a good reputation and build trust with your higher authorities.

2.Communication.

Clear communication REDUCES friction, fuss, and chaos.

Communicating clearly and setting proper boundaries with first reports right from start helps smooth working and efficiency at the workplace.

As a New Manager, you must make it a priority to communicate clearly, give clear directions and set healthy boundaries.

Because there is a lot of diversity in the workplace with regards to peoples working styles, preferences, ways of communicating, productive hours, habits, and mindsets, it is advisable to set clear lines of communication.

Here are some ideas on how to set clear expectations about communication: .

Know that you will have to communicate upwards, downwards, and sideways.

Set your hours of communication with upper management, boss, and team members.

Clarify on modes of communication that must be used when communicating formally and informally -whether or not office communications can be used for personal purposes.

Get clear on when you will hold meetings and one to one with them.

Let the team members know how you will communicate while working on projects. What will be the mode and frequency of communication -weekly or monthly.

Be clear about what information to share with employees.

Establishing standard norms and creating a structure ensures everyone will be able to work efficiently, without disturbing others.

3.Team level .

At the team level, there are 2 things to set clear expectations on

One is the goals that need to be accomplished together as a team.

The other is behavioral expectation while performing the tasks as a team member.

Here is a set of 12 critical things to set clear expectations on performance and behavior with each of your direct reports :

1. Set clear expectations on how each member must contribute to the goal as a whole and how missing deadlines, delays, and procrastination will impact the overall goal success and the team at a bigger level.

2. He must adopt a positive attitude towards others and the work. Eg -He must encourage, motivate and co-operate with all the team members.

3 He must be willing to help others in the team, when someone lags behind, instead of saying ‘’it’s not my job .’’

4.He must have mutual respect and be polite with them each other. Eg – He Must be sensitive to others’ needs and be concerned about others in the team.

5 He must be self-motivated, reliable, and accountable.

6.He must not ditch or back out of projects at the last moment or midway, keeping everyone in the lurch. He must not miss deadlines except in some emergency conditions.

If he has some other problems, which need immediate attention, he must inform his manager in advance.

7.He must be flexible about work and assignments. Sometimes he may have to work some extra hours or days to complete a project or task.

8.Psychological safety is important.

He must work together with everyone safely without harming or sabotaging others. He must not break the trust of his team members.

9.He must feel free to ask for help from others when needed.

10.He must be willing to learn from others and feel safe about it.

11 . He must pool ideas for better outcomes and improvement of the organization.

12.He must share and receive constructive feedback without feeling emotionally outraged or attacked. He must be cheerful and optimistic and kind towards everyone in the team.

4.Time.

Your time is a resource that you will never get back .

So Use your time judiciously .