See attached “Annexure B”.
Communicating Expectations To ensure a comprehensive understanding of expectations, effective communication involves articulating behavioural benchmarks, providing employees with clear insights into what is deemed “professional,” “respectful” towards co-workers, and demonstrating “accountability” in their work. This communication strategy emphasizes the tangible aspects of behaviour by describing what it “looks like or sounds like” when employees embody these values. Moreover, organisational expectations are often formalized through performance standards, delineating the acceptable conditions for job performance across dimensions such as quality, quantity, time, cost, impact, and the process or method of execution. These standards are inherently organisation-centric, reflecting the collective expectations rather than being personalized to an individual. It’s crucial to distinguish these standards from specific goals, which are individualized, subject to change over time, and pertain to the person in the role rather than the role itself. This distinction empowers individuals to discern between satisfactory and unsatisfactory outcomes, fostering a clear framework for achieving organisational expectations. Examples of performance standards:
Follow through: Enter all Advert booking data within 48 hrs.- Accuracy: All client statistical reports shall be 100% error free.
- Punctuality: Be ready to receive clients at 8am every day.
- Responsive or Good Customer Service: Respond to all phone messages and emails within 24 hours.
- Excellence: Achieve an average score of 4 or higher on programme participant evaluations.
- Clean: Keep workspace clean to specifications.
- Friendly: behaviour in the workplace is a combination of attitude, appearance, and manners. It includes the way you speak, look, act, and make decisions. The main principles of professional work behaviour include:
- Treating your managers, colleagues, and clients with respect
- Projecting a positive attitude
- Being polite
- Showing good judgment
- Being ethical
- Dressing appropriately
- Engagement: Actively participate in meetings; offer comments; ask questions; refrain from doing other work in the meeting (e.g. using mobile, tweeting, writing, or using laptop).
- Good Communication: Check in with managers of each channel to update them on programme status and issues within the first week of every month.
| EXPECTATION: | BEHAVIOUR: |
| Professional | Arrive at work and all meetings on time; adhere to dress code guidelines; ensure all written communications are error free and use appropriate tone that considers the varied audiences and client groups that we serve. |
| Respectful | Greet people in the hallways; treat colleagues as internal customers; clean up your area and do your part to keep the common area (e.g. kitchen) clean. |
| Accountable | Meet all deadlines; come prepared to meetings with minutes from the last meeting, questions about the agenda and ideas to contribute to the topic; respond to requests in a timely manner. |
There are 3 key points to remember about communicating your expectations in terms of behaviours:
- Phrase the behaviour in terms of positive action when possible. Explain what you want the employee to do (versus what you don’t want).
- Make sure that your own actions model the behaviour you expect from your employees.
- Do not comment on a person’s character. Limit your comments to observable behaviour. For example, do not say “you are unprofessional.” Instead explain that punctuality is an aspect of the professional behaviour that is expected and when a person is late for meetings, she/he is not exhibiting that professional behaviour.
Organisational Values Organisational values might also be applicable in an expectation setting conversation. As they apply to every employee in the organisation. Examples:
- Confidentiality and Safety: It is vital that confidentiality and personal safety be respected at all times. We, therefore, honour the privacy of clients, staff, and volunteers. We support an atmosphere of emotional, verbal, and physical non-violence in our workplace and in our client programmes.
- Equality and Empowerment of all People: All individuals have inherent worth and are, therefore, valued equally regardless of gender, race, class, age, country of origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, religion, or ability. Empowerment begins with recognizing and knowing that individually and collectively we each have the strength to make necessary changes and to accomplish our goals.
- Personal Responsibility: We are trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. We recognize that we make decisions that affect others and ourselves and do so with as much information as possible. We hold ourselves and others accountable for decisions and behaviours within both the organisation and the community.
- Professional Integrity: We are honest and ethical in our professional work and relationships. When in public, we behave in such a way that reflects positively on the organisation, and on our community collaborators and partners.
- Respect: It is essential to honour different opinions, styles, genders, races, classes, ages, countries of origin, political affiliations, sexual orientations, religions, and abilities. Respect is reflected in the way we treat our clients, ourselves, and members of the community. We value the ideas, beliefs, and opinions of others, whether or not we agree with them.
EXERCISE: Communicating Expectations in Behavioural Terms See attached “Annexure C”.