Clearly Define Expectations

As a business owner with employees, manager, or anyone else who supervises others I am sure that you have experienced the problem of someone not correctly doing their job. It could have been caused by carelessness, poor attitude, inexperience, or a number of other causes that effect someone's performance. One area we sometimes fail to consider are expectations. Did you properly explain what you expected from someone, or did you just take it for granted they knew what to do? Did you have a system in place that can measure actual results against predetermined objectives? Did you help them through proper training and support to be prepared to meet these expectations? These are questions you have to ask yourself when trying to examine someone's work.

I have managed enough people to know that with some, no matter how much time you spend working with them, they just aren't going to get it. You want to focus your attention on the people who can truly perform the job, but need some additional guidance to get it done right.

I spent most of my career in the wholesaling industry. One of our biggest tasks was to gain additional distribution for our products. We were having tremendous difficulty gaining distribution for a particular brand. Being extremely frustrated at our lack of progress, I immediately blamed our sales people for the problem. When I examined things a little closer, I realized they did not fully understand the company's expectations and there was no system in place to convey them. By developing a set goal, an action plan to achieve that goal, and a tracking system to measure results, each person knew exactly what was expected from them. This was also designed to hold them accountable for their results. The end result was a consistent gain in distribution, leading to a consistent gain in sales.

Take the time up front to make sure someone knows what their job is, how you want it performed, and what results you expect. Creating a system that communicates expectations will have a positive impact on performance. It will also help eliminate some common excuses such as "I did not know that was my job", or the more blatant one, "that's not my job." Once expectations are clearly communicated you pass the responsibility of properly executing work tasks onto their shoulders and off of yours.