One of your people isn’t getting the job done. They keep missing deadlines. They constantly come to you with questions. Goals are falling by the wayside and work quality is slipping.

Sound familiar? While a weak employee may be the culprit, another possibility is that your staff member is operating on unclear expectations. As a leading Houston staffing agency, Murray Resources knows when your people don’t fully understand what they’re supposed to be doing and when, they’re never going to be able to perform well.

So how can you go about setting crystal clear expectations – so your employees can deliver? Here are some steps to take:

Step #1: Assess the job.

Are the right people in the right roles? Do their job descriptions actually align with their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities? While a job description won’t define every aspect of a job, it does set forth an outline as well as basic expectations. So if you hire someone to perform a certain job, but that position doesn’t match at all what they’re currently doing, then that lack of alignment could be the cause of weak performance.

Step #2: Define goals.

As a manager, an important part of your job is to define goals for yourself and for your employees. In addition, you need to ensure the goals you do set match up with larger, organizational strategies and objectives. But before you assign certain objectives to your staff, work with each one in the goal setting and strategizing process. When they have a voice in it, they’ll be more vested and motivated to succeed.

Step #3: Set the tone.

Your people look to you to set the tone. So if you expect your employees to arrive at work by a certain time, or dress in a certain way, then you should live by those same rules.

Step #4: Talk often.

Don’t wait until year-end performance reviews to talk with your employees. You should be checking in with them regularly, even if it’s on an informal basis. It’s also much easier to touch base throughout the year to learn about issues, concerns, or questions they may have and deal with them before they become emergency situations. During these talks, you can let your staff members know too where they stand – areas in which they’re performing well and those that could use some improvement.

Step #5: Get new hires on board.

When you hire a new employee, make sure you define clear expectations from the start. You’ll reduce the chance of performance issues down the line if you explain what you expect, when you expect it by and how success will be measured.

When you don’t set clear expectations, it can result in a dysfunctional team that gets little done. Instead, take the steps above to define goals and expectations so your employees produce the best results.

Do you need help hiring for your team? Call the experts at Murray Resources. As a leading Houston staffing agency, organizations all over the city rely on our expertise to source, hire and retain top talent for permanent, temporary, part-time and contract opportunities.

Ready to get started? Contact us today.