Balancing Performance Expectations and Time Management

Establishing performance expectations can be tricky. You want to have specific performance metrics but still allow room for growth and creativity. Plus, expectations won’t do much good if there’s too many for the employee to address. So how might you go about setting metrics that are challenging yet allow time for them to immerse themselves in all aspects of their role?

These are going to be vastly different depending on your industry, but when establishing performance metrics, there are some universal factors you can consider:

• Establish a sense of purpose – begin with the big picture in mind. What sense of accomplishment or satisfaction will the employee get out of these metrics? Does it allow them to feel a grander purpose? How will their individual performance help the team or the company as a whole?
• Describe intended results – this is where you move away from abstract and big-picture ideas to specific measures. You can have an objective, such as, “improve product quality,” but what needs to happen to achieve that result? You might have disagreement here in terms of how to achieve the intended results.
• Pick the right measures – you want to show how performance is improving, worsening, or staying the same. Appropriate measures should show where you currently are and where you would like to be. Make sure the employee knows they can ask questions and be prepared to collaborate with them.
• Understand alternative measures – how are the results that are set going to be measured? What does success look like? Is there more than one way to measure whether a result is successful? If the intended result is, “increase customer satisfaction,” there are multiple ways to measure that. You could go by customer retention rate, number of new customers, department revenue, or sales conversion rate. Any number of measures could be chosen, so pick the ones that you think will work for the employee.
• Set targets and thresholds – the ultimate goal represents the ceiling. That’s the target you want to hit if everything goes according to plan. Thresholds establish barriers for good, satisfactory, or poor performance.
• Document performance – use concrete data to show efforts to achieve the desired results. Collect data to measure their performance so that all bias can be removed.

Find positive ways of motivating your employees to achieve these metrics. Reinforce and remind them of good habits if something’s not going well.

Interested in learning more? Sign up for the SkillPath webinar, Setting Clear Goals & Performance Expectations

Help Employees Manage Time and Expectations

If they’re having trouble managing their time, help your employees figure out a routine that works. This will be different for everyone; each person has their own unique work habits. However, these tips might be a good place to start:

1. Communicate clearly: People are motivated to perform at a high level in part by expectations that are easily understood. No one wants to feel like they’re just guessing what you want, because that creates anxiety about potentially guessing wrong. And if that happens, there isn't much hope for productive time management.
2. Stay consistent: Rapidly changing expectations – or randomly added responsibilities that don't fit their job description – are overwhelming. If your employees can't focus on their main tasks, they won't get them done.
3. Allow individuality: Some people work in quick bursts, while some might be more slow and steady. Others like spending a little time on a lot of projects, while others might need to focus on just one before moving to the next. As long as they're hitting their deadlines, let them work at their preferred speed.

Use your skills and experience as a manager to tailor a solution that works for them. Create an environment where autonomy is encouraged and where employees have a clear understanding of what their expectations are. Removing that guesswork will hopefully help them reach their goals and hit their key deadlines.