Setting Clear Expectations: The Key to Employee Success
- Mary Beth Crawford
- Sep 26, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 7, 2024
Help Employees Understand What's Expected of Them
tEEmatters, LLC Tip #2 on Improving EX
This is the second post in a series about how leaders can impact employee experience by focusing on key drivers of engagement.
Performance management. The two most feared words in any office—worse than "pizza party in the conference room."
Why is it important for employees to understand expectations? Clear expectations create a culture of accountability. Leaders owe it to their teams to clarify what needs to be achieved and how it will be measured. As Gallup notes, employees need to understand what success looks like. They need to know the goals and have regular check-ins on progress.
Vague expectations lead to vague efforts, and ambiguity kills engagement. In fact, Gallup states that only half of employees strongly agree they know what's expected of them at work. Is it any wonder that disengagement is so high?
Reviewing expectations shouldn’t be a one-time event, either. As priorities and strategies evolve, so should conversations about performance. The best leaders regularly discuss goals, progress, development areas, and course corrections.
An employee who understands expectations is an employee empowered to succeed.
As Peter Drucker said, "What's measured improves." And what's clearly communicated gets measured.
Performance management needn't be terrible. When done right, it’s an ongoing dialogue that fosters clarity, accountability, and growth. By setting clear expectations and having regular check-ins, leaders empower their teams to succeed and drive engagement across the organization.
Start a conversation today. When your employees know what's expected, they can deliver results that matter.
Ready to create a culture of clarity and accountability? Contact me today to learn how tEEmatters can help you improve performance management and boost employee engagement.
410-963-3971
Stay tuned for the next post in the series, where we’ll dive into how to leverage employee strengths to boost engagement and performance.
