In Part IV of this series, we looked at the selection process for placing employees in the proper jobs, and looked at the difference between talents and skills. In this installment, we will look at the importance of setting clear expectations as a motivating factor.

Setting expectations

Once you have people properly placed in consideration of their talents, the next most motivating step is to set clear expectations by defining outcomes.  If you expect that piece-worker to put out at least 1,000 nut/bolt combinations in an 8-hour shift, he or she needs to know that.

If you want your sales force to achieve 5% customer growth each quarter, then that needs to be clearly defined.  In a future post, we'll talk about writing smart goals that leave no doubt as to each of the parameters of an expectation, but for now, suffice it to say that  if an employee doesn't know what the expectations are, it's pretty tough for him or her to meet them. 

Make sure that the outcomes you expect are achievable.  It is not motivating to anyone to be asked to achieve a goal that is set so high as to be impossible.  Stretch goals are important because they allow people to look for new ways to achieve more than they thought they were capable of.  However, if the goal appears to be impossible, most people will not even make an attempt to reach for it.

Setting clear expectations also give you something against which to measure performance.  If an employee has absolutely no idea what your desired outcome is, it's very tough for him or her to help you achieve the vision you have.  It's not enough to say only that you want to see profits rise by 10% next quarter, you need to break that down into what it means to the employee.

As a line-level employee, it may be difficult for me to see how my job impacts the company's success.  Why does it matter if the bathroom is clean?  How can my one little extra break today change the company's profit margin?  If I don't report this gift a vendor gave me today, what's it going to hurt?  If I exceed my goals today, will anyone notice if I don't meet them tomorrow?

Try to put yourself in your employees' shoes when you meet with them to set expectations.  If the employee's job is to assemble widgets, how much does production have to increase in order for you to make your 10% profit increase?  If you can't put the goal in terms of what the employee is responsible for, chances are the employee is going to take no stake in helping the company achieve peak performance.