Importance of Employee Expectations
Managers must express the degree of performance they expect from each employee, both verbally and in writing, in order to get the required results. This is the only way to ensure that both the employee and the manager have the same expectations and that the employee can work towards enhancing their performance to suit the expectations of the management. Moreover, setting employee expectations eliminates or reduces misunderstanding and raises the probability of employees accomplishing the targets set for them, and employees who fulfill their objectives contribute to the overall success of the business (Schooley, 2020). Thus, the success of a business depends on the ability of the employee to fulfill the expectations of the management.
Process of Setting Employee
The first step in the process of setting employee expectations is to ensure that these expectations are set early on in the cooperation between an employee and the organization. In that way, the individual will know what they should focus on and what is the priority for their organization. Hence, the best way to set expectations is when the individual is hired because the management will have a chance of discussing whether this employee can meet the set expectations. The next step in this process is emphasizing the objectives and ensuring that an employee clearly understands what is most important for the business. Moreover, the expectations must be measurable, and the manager has to communicate how performance will be assessed and the consequences of not performing well. Over the course of work, the manager should provide an employee with feedback that is linked to performance objectives.
Areas of Improvement
Based on the Performance Appraisal and Job Description, John has to improve both the skills required for his position and the work on achieving the goals that his manager sets for him on a monthly basis. The most important factor with this performance appraisal is that John has to improve the majority of the skills required for his position. For example, only one out of seven skills his manager distinguished meets expectations, which is the application of the general accounting principles. The others require an improvement, for instance, written and verbal communication require an improvement, and this skill was mentioned in the Job Description in the following manner: “Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills.” Moreover, there are some improvements to the job-specific skills that John has to work on, for instance, meeting the deadlines, being organized and motivated, and performing supervisory activities. All of these were a part of the Job Description, which means that the management has communicated the expectations for John at the initial stages of his employment.
John should enhance two areas crucial for his work one of which is communication with others, and the second is management. Communication is crucial for John’s ability to cooperate with other team members, clients, and management. The second area of improvement is linked to John’s managerial abilities and his skills relating to the motivation of employees and his ability to perform supervisory activities.
Steps for Areas of Improvement
The main issue with John’s performance is his skills associated with his job responsibilities. Hence, the first step is communicating the improvements that he needs to make. For example, some of the essential enhancements required for him to perform his job better are being more organized, meeting the deadlines set by the company and regulatory organizations, and performing supervisory activities for other employees.
To improve communication skills, John can enroll in workshops targeting business communication skills, as mentioned in B1. For managerial skills, there is a need to enhance the supervisory skills and ability to motivate others, which can be achieved by John’s self-study of books and articles relating to these skills.
Evaluation of Progress
For each of the steps determined above, the manager can evaluate John’s progress using a table with skills and the manager’s opinion on whether John’s performance demonstrates proficiency in these skills or not. His communication skills, both verbal and written, can be evaluated through the feedback of other employees by asking them to write a performance review. Additionally, John’s supervisor should provide him with the ninety days performance review form that would include the areas that require improvement based on the Job Description that was used to hire John. John’s ability to supervise and motivate employees can be assessed through their feedback or by examining the performance charts of his employees and comparing these to the results of the previous year.
Behaviors that Demonstrate Success
Behaviors that Demonstrate Success are the benchmark points that John can use to determine whether he was able to address his performance gaps or not. For example, for written and verbal communication, John should demonstrate excellence in both domains. For compliance with the company and regulatory deadlines, John should submit all reports at a 95% rate of meeting the deadlines. For the supervisory activities, John should participate in the supervision of his colleagues at the request of his manager. Additionally, personal attendance should be 95%, while department attendance should be at 85% for at least three months.
Consequences for Noncompliance
Since there are many areas of improvement and John has to address both personal skills and behaviors and those within the department, the measures for noncompliance will be either suspension or demotion. The suspension will be used if John fails to address one of the improvement areas outlined in this plan. In that case, John will be suspended for a week. However, if he does have three or more failures within the Behaviors that demonstrate success, he will be demolished.
Final Meeting
The management of the company has set clear goals for performance and skills with the accurate Job Description. However, the one-year assessment of John’s performance shows that he failed to address several areas of performance, such as communication skills, meeting the deadlines, attendance, and supervision of his department. Hence, the goal for the future is to improve all of these areas and to ensure that both John’s and the department’s performances are adequate and align with the standards.
Reference
Schooley, S. (2020). Setting clear expectations for employees. Business News Daily. Web.