Managers need to provide employees with up-to-date information to guide their work & provide a line-of-sight to the organization’s objectives, so they are not in the dark
An employee begins a new role as a hotel’s Guest Experience Manager. After the first week on the job, the manager says they need to work on their customer service skills. The employee is unsure how to interpret the vague instruction. When they attempt to ask a follow up question, the manager responds by saying, “You graduated with a hospitality degree. You got this – do your best.” The employee is confused/unclear about what they are supposed to be doing/what needs to change. They may also feel resentful or think they don’t have the knowledge to successfully perform the job.
Instead, the manager should have mentioned the hotel is striving to obtain a Forbes Five-Star rating which involves delivering a “wow” customer experience. The employee’s team should be delivering exceptional & personalized service, such as making note of guests chatting about a birthday at check-in & delivering a complementary piece of cheesecake with a personal card to their room or volunteering to assist a guest with obtaining Hamilton tickets after overhearing their interest in seeing the play while in town.
When managers are not clear with employees about their expectations & what the organization needs, they set the stage for mismatched expectations. This leads to wasted time & resources because work often needs to be redone.
Clarifying performance expectations involves having routine, interactive discussions with an employee to identify responsibilities, priorities, SMART goals (see last week’s post) & a performance-tracking plan. Clear expectations lead to higher employee confidence & increased motivation/accuracy.
Good times to discuss performance expectations include when:
1.) A new performance cycle begins
2.) An employee is new to an organization, team or assignment
3.) An employee exceeds expectations & requires new challenges
4.) The organization announces a change in direction
5.) An employee is struggling & needs guidance/training
R U Ready to learn more about how to clarify performance expectations & practice the discussions in a safe environment? R U Ready To Achieve can help.
