Tip #407: 5 Ways To Help A New Employee

When a new employee gets hired at your organization, what does he or she experience? Have you gone through the employee orientation process at your company recently? If you want to help a new employee get up to speed faster (and prevent high turnover rates), you should consider revisiting the orientation process for new hires.

New Employees Feel Just As You Did.

Do you remember your first day of work at the company you are at right now? If so, you probably felt overwhelmed with paperwork, computer logins, remembering others' names and understanding who was who and what departments handled things. You were even probably wondering if you would be accepted as a quality employee.

  

Whether your company employs 5 or 5,000 employees, your organization can ease the transition for new hires. A facility tour and process overview is the best way to begin. Don't forget to point out the locations of emergency exits, bathrooms, water fountains and cafeterias.

Look At A New Employee As A Client.

You should treat a new employee as you would a customer, because, in essence, they are your internal customers. The sooner your new employees understand their general job duties, the sooner they will feel comfortable producing positive results for you.

Even something as simple as a welcome sign and introductory email can help new employees feel welcome. This will also encourage existing employees to welcome them.

Make A To-Do List Of Things To Get Done For A New Hire.

One of the best ways to ensure a positive transition for a new employee is to have a game plan or checklist outlining their progress. This is nothing more than a list of things that should be done to acclimate them to your organization. 

Your Action Items Should Include:

• Organize Standard Personnel File Contents Such As:
  • o    Job Application Or Resume
  • o    Reference Checks
  • o    A Copy Of Any Professional Licenses, Driver's License Or Certifications Required For This Person's Job
  • o    Emergency Contact Information
• Instruct New Employee To Complete Paperwork:
  • o    W-4 Form For Payroll Withholding; I-9 Form; Employment Eligibility Verification; Social Security Number
  • o    Additional Legal Paperwork Or Security Clearances
• Give New Employees A Copy Of Your Employee Handbook
• Review The Organization's Policy Regarding Sexual Harassment
• If Appropriate, Give New Employees A Security Card Or A Company ID Card
• Have New Employees Fill Out Their Health Insurance Benefit Coverage Election And Beneficiary Designation Forms

5 Ways To Help Transition A New Employee:

1. Awareness: Make sure your new employees know exactly how their job duties affect the team and organization.

2. Communication Skills: When communicating with new employees about their needs, be consistent with your verbal and written skills. Your ability to build solid relationships begins with your first interactions with them and continues to build from there.

3. HR Management: Strong human resource skills and policies go a long way for getting new employees on the right path.  Plus, it allows your new employees to feel permanently accepted and welcomed.

4. Professionalism: How you handle a new employee can mitigate your liability. Talk with an HR professional to get a better understanding of what you need to do to ensure your company's compliance. 

5. Team Welcome: Make introductions immediately. Ensure everyone goes out of their way to welcome a new employee. If you treat your new employees as part of the team from their first day, their value becomes immediately apparent. 

Executive Summary. Planning and delivering an effective new employee orientation is an effective way to limit turnover and increase new employee productivity. In addition to reducing start-up costs, it provides a warm welcome to integrate new employees into the organization's culture and improves employee loyalty and retention.  

For more information, visit our website!

Tip #406: 6 Tips For Better Workplace Efficiency

No matter what position you hold at your business, there are a number of things you can do throughout the day to ensure your business is running smoothly. 

To help you and your team maintain a productive workplace environment, we have listed below six quick tips to increase your efficiency in the workplace.

6 Tips For Better Workplace Efficiency:

Tip #1. Measure Twice, Cut Once - The old adage "measure twice and cut once" applies as well in an office as it does on a construction site. Whether you are a software engineer writing code or a CEO looking at an acquisition, it pays to look at things twice before making the final decision on what to do next. Don't forget to analyze metrics during any decision-making process and consider how your decision will affect your company.

Tip #2. Doing It Right Is Cost-Effective - Why does it seem that there is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do something over? If you want to be a proactive organization, it will pay huge dividends if everyone concentrates on doing their jobs right the first time - even if it takes a little longer to make sure it is right. And by doing it right the first time, you not only increase your company's efficiencies, but you can also have an immediate impact on customer loyalty, retention and overall profits.

Tip #3. Ready, Aim, Fire - Many people can get caught-up in "analysis paralysis." To help avoid this trap, figure out what you want to do, make a plan with the best information possible and then immediately engage the plan. If not, you will find yourself left behind and wondering what happened.

Tip #4. Set Realistic Completion Dates - Managers need to set realistic project deadlines for their staff. This helps the team realize short-term goals and helps accomplish these goals faster.  Employ a sense of realism: although an aggressive manager may want his/her staff to achieve aggressive deadlines, they run the risk of burning their out their staff.

# 5. Make Sure Your Staff Enjoys Their Work - The best performing employees are ones that enjoy their workplace and line of work. That said, great managers and owners work hard to create ways of making the work/workplace challenging, interesting and fun. So what are you doing to make your workplace fun?

# 6. Break The Daily Grind - Most every employee is assigned a task according to his/her skill set; however, it is important to consider rotating people throughout an organization. This will give them two things: a better appreciation of what others do and a break from the daily complacency, monotony and boredom of a job. You can do this by giving people new tasks/job functions within the company or other divisions -- which adds to their skill sets and a better overall view of the organization.

Executive Summary: Proactive owners/leaders know the best way to get things done: hire people who are not only intelligent but who are proactive and decisive. So, start today by thinking about what needs to be done, make a decision to actually do it and then do it right. Additionally, take a hard look at everyone on your staff and ask yourself this one simple question: "How can I help my staff enjoy their jobs?"

For more information, visit our website!

Tip# 405: 5 Tips for Dealing with Workplace Change

In our global economy, change is the only constant. In fact, there is a good chance change will impact your workplace at some point over the next 6 to 9 months. Whether it is a new computer system, boss, co-worker or process, change is difficult for many people -- even if the change directly benefits an employee.

As employees feel competitive pressures throughout an organization, every business is faced with doing more with less; therefore, companies, and their employees must also focus on product and service innovation(s) and streamlining processes and procedures.

How Will You And Your Team React To Change?

How you and your team reacts to change quite often depends on the way it was communicated to them. And if it is not communicated properly, change is often resisted. If this happens, any initial or short term gains will be lost. 

5 Tips For Implementing A Smooth Change At Your Organization.

As a leader, your challenge is to find a way to implement change without creating a stressful situation. Although you cannot entirely predict the impact of change on your staff, there are a few things you can do to help prepare yourself and your employees for change. 

To help you manage change at your organization, we have listed below five tips for you to consider:

Tip #1: Plan Properly. When possible, it is always a good idea to plan ahead for change. People usually like to know how a particular change is going to affect their jobs, and it is helpful for them to have some time to adjust to the idea of the change before it actually occurs.

Tip #2: Improve Your Interpersonal Skills. It is important to communicate effectively (and in person whenever possible) with everyone, especially when introducing major changes. It is proven that the more information people have, the easier it will be for them to adapt to changes.

Tip #3: Make Yourself Available. If you are like me, you are running in a dozen or so directions each day. Despite your busy schedule, it is important that you make yourself available to everyone. Take note of all questions and address them as soon as possible.

Tip #4: Exemplify and Implement Proactive Behaviors. It is a good idea to check on everyone's progress when implementing a successful change. Take a look at the flow of the transition to see if things are moving smoothly. You are more likely to hear relevant information if you are practicing active listening skills and seeking feedback on change.

Tip #5: Listen Attentively. Do not forget to listen to your employees. Statistics have proven that many employees can offer great ideas to save both time and money. You can do everything right, but if you do not listen to your people, you will not get long-term buy-in from them.

Executive Summary: Change is inevitable in the workplace, and individuals react to change differently. To ease the transition, you can implement a few strategies that can help your employees better accept change.

Employees are more likely to accept and embrace the change when you provide proper planning, structure and communication. During the implementation process, make sure that you are accessible to your employees and evaluate the progress of the change. Also, it is important to listen to your employees' questions, concerns and suggestions, for they will likely have ideas that can improve the transition.

For more information, visit our website!

Tip # 404: 4 Steps for Creating Effective Teams

Teamwork is essential to the success of an important project(s). However, lack of efficient management strategies and poor communication can lead to resentment among team members, especially when some employees are tasked with more focused responsibilities than others.

To combat these issues, you can establish an effective internal team, helping your organization rise to the next level. 

When It Comes To Teamwork, You Have Countless Resources.

When you walk through any mid- or large-sized company, you will usually see multiple motivational posters encouraging teamwork. With constant reminders about teamwork, why are more businesses not leveraging the power of teams and creating synergy? They are discovering that it is not an automatic result of putting a talented group of people together. It requires certain skills, time and resources to build effective teams.  

4 Steps For Creating Effective Teams.

To establish an effective team, you must be willing to recognize and reward good teamwork.  There are a number of components that go into developing effective teams, including these four core developmental steps:

1. Create a culture that rewards team goals ahead of individual goals.
2. Respect your fellow employees.
3. Respond to team members immediately regarding team-related projects.
4. Reward employees who contribute to individual and team goals.

Establishing a new team or renewing an existing one is itself a collaborative effort. Effective teams are built by establishing a common vision, creating building blocks for communication and collaboration, identifying and planning for roadblocks and establishing accountability.

6 Skill Sets That High-Performing Team Leaders Have:

Skill Set #1. Express A Positive Attitude: Team leaders maintain a friendly, positive and enthusiastic outlook. Despite the stress or frustration they may be experiencing personally, they do not bring those negative emotions into team interactions.

Skill Set #2. Demonstrate Leadership Skills: Team leaders organize work tasks, people and resources in order to deliver most effectively on organization goals. They know their peoples' strengths and weaknesses, and know how to establish the team to capitalize on the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses.

Skill Set #3. Highlight Personal Values: Team leaders values are guided by a personal code of ethics and values. Team leaders trust others more when they understand and practice common team values.

Skill Set #4. Place Focus On Refining Interpersonal Skills. Skillful team leaders use team projects as opportunities to build and strengthen interpersonal communication. This streamlines the workflow, making teamwork more efficient.

Skill Set #5.  Remain Future-Oriented: Effective team leaders are optimistic about the future of the short-term projects and long-term goals tackled by their team. They see how their team's effort fits into the organization's goals, structure and corporate culture.

Skill Set #6. Understand Accountability: Team leaders demonstrate personal responsibility and hold everyone (including themselves) accountable for the outcome of the team and the organization.  Effective team leaders deal with problems and move on rather than play the blame game.

  

Executive Summary: Most great business accomplishments come from a team as the problem(s) an executive faces are usually too complex for just one person to solve. Whether you are on a project team, a vertical team or a cross-functional team, your team's ultimate goal is to solve problems and get things done with maximum efficiency.

For more information, visit our website!

Tip# 403: 20 Ways to Motivate Someone Without Spending Money (Part 2 of 2)

In our last e-tip, we offered 10 ways to motivate your employees without spending a lot of money. In this week's e-tip, we are outlining 10 more ways to motivate your employees without raising their pay.

Motivate Your Employees Without Raising Their Pay (part 2 of 2):

11. Recognition By An Executive - Even better than recognition by a manager, is recognition by an executive at the company. This works especially well in bigger companies. However, use this secret weapon sparingly because the value will be lessened if this becomes commonplace.

12. Dress-Down Days - For those required to "dress up" in business clothing every day, a casual day brings a welcomed change. You can use individual, or team dress-down days, as a reward for winning a contest, or for specific accomplishments.

13. Paid Time-Off - People enjoy time off and will compete for leaving a half-hour early just as hard as they will compete for a cash award. Reward time off for goals reached by individuals, teams or the entire staff.

14. Team Gatherings - Schedule a few off-site events to increase team spirit, which contributes to a positive work environment. You may want to get the team together for a softball game (against other companies or among employees, depending on staff size,) miniature golf, or just lunch at a favorite restaurant.

15. Delegate More Responsibility - Some employees thrive with additional responsibility.  As a manager, or business owner, it is your job to identify who deserves and can handle additional responsibility. Match responsibilities to employees' strengths and desires whenever possible and you will be empowering your employees.

16. Encourage Cost-Savings Comments - Give your staff a platform to contribute their ideas on how the company could save money. Post all business appropriate comments and the estimated cost savings.  Be sure to address each comment, and offer praise to the person or group who provided it. You may want to do this in the form of a       hand-written note or an e-mail.

17. Create A Front Row Parking Spot - Reserve the best parking spot for an "employee of the month" or to reward someone who did something impressive.

18. Pizza Days - Every now and then treat your team members to pizza or other favorite lunch. This will motivate people by breaking up the everyday routine and allows you to show your appreciation for your employees.

19. Provide Access To Outside Workshops - Outside workshops can be a stimulating break. Because outside workshops are not always cost-efficient for the entire staff, use outside workshops as a reward for a select group of people.

20. Fun Things To Do - Go to your local dollar store and buy some inexpensive items you can give out to motivate your people. Here are some ideas:

•    Plastic whale for someone who has done a "whale" of a job
• Miniature soldier for someone in the field who did an excellent job
•  Clip-on stars for star-studded presentation or performance
•  An old record that has been customized for someone who set a new record
•  A case of water for someone who was able to handle a "hot" customer
•  A figure of Gumby for someone who is flexible and willing to do anything for the team
•  A pack of "Eveready" batteries for the person who keeps going, and going, and going
•  A large container of candy for someone who just landed a sweet deal

Executive Summary: As you can see, there are many free and low-cost ways to motivate your employees.  Decide what works best for your company culture. Once this is done, be consistent with your reward and recognition program. Consistent recognition will contribute to a positive work environment and increased productivity much more than random praise.

For more information, visit our website!

Tip # 402: 20 Ways to Motivate Someone Without Spending Money (Part 1 of 2)

As many businesses face economic challenges, more and more employers are looking for unique ways to keep their staff motivated without spending a ton of money. If you are in the same position, then you might find this e-tip of particular interest. 

More Money Does NOT Equal Happier Employees. 

Unfortunately, many novice managers feel the more money you

pay someone, the happier they will be. Although a solid and reasonable compensation plan is critical to attracting and keeping

key personnel, paying more money is not always the only answer, and in many cases, not even the best answer. To help you keep your employees happy, we have listed below 10 of 20 tips that will help you keep your team satisfied.  

Motivate Your Employees Without Raising Their Pay (part 1 of 2):

1.     Leadership Position - Give deserving people a leadership role to reward their performance and develop their leadership skills...even if it is for a temporary project. A great place to start is to give a person a leadership role by allowing them to lead a meeting.

2.     Provide A Career/Learning Path - Most people need to know that there is a potential opportunity for growth. Be sure to tell people that the policy is to promote from within.  Doing so will send a positive message to everyone that advanced career opportunities can come from within the organization.

3.     A Nice Working Environment - It is no surprise that a recent industry study revealed  employees rank good working conditions high on their list of "must haves;" therefore, you must take the overall working environment seriously.

4.     One-On-One Mentoring - Internal mentoring is a free employee development program that costs only time. When mentoring someone, it is important to provide positive feedback during both one-on-one sessions as well as in public. Whenever you recognize and encourage employees in public, it acts as a positive shot-in-the-arm for others who are close enough to hear what is taking place.

5.     Create A Team Mentality - The fastest way to make this happen is to take a picture of your entire staff - do not forget to include yourself. After the picture is taken, you need to hang it in a visible spot. Psychology professionals have confirmed most people like to see themselves as part of a team and value an image of reference.

6.     Provide Training - Internal training sessions enhance the performance and productivity of your staff. We often suggest "tune-up" training sessions after regular training sessions to reinforce the content taught. We also recommend that you involve employees who have an aptitude in what is being taught in the training process.

7.     Recognize Your Employees - When someone has accomplished something, your recognition is critical to reinforcing the positive side of things. If you do not give enough recognition, you are missing out on the most inexpensive form of reinforcement.

8.     Special Ovation - An easy, but effective method of motivating someone is to give a round of applause for certain achievements. You can do this at meetings, company-sponsored social gatherings, at luncheons, or just in the office.

9.     Job Titles - When you consider a job title for an employee, be creative. Ask your staff to give you their input for the correct title of a position. The right title is important and allows a person to feel proud of their position at the company - but be careful not to have just one department handing out huge titles, as it will be counterproductive for others at your company.

10.  Immediate Praise For Doing Something Good - When there is a reason for praising someone, do not put it off. In fact, we recommend that you look for someone doing something good now, and praise them; after all, immediacy equals effectiveness. 

Executive Summary: As you can see, there are many ways to motivate your employees that will not tax your payroll's budget. You can implement one, or all of these tips, at little to no cost to your business or department. Moreover, by keeping your employees motivated, you will see an increase in productivity and employee retention. 

P.S. Next week's e-tip will have 10 more tips to motivate employees.

For more information, visit our website!

Tip # 401: 5 Tips for Avoiding Job Burnout

Many people suffer from job burnout in today's challenging economic conditions. But burnout oftentimes can be alleviated. Nevertheless, before you can help yourself, you need to determine the source of burnout. 

Many tools exist that may help you pinpoint your sources of stress. Our suggestions include talking to people close to you to find out what you have been complaining about the most, keeping a journal, or utilizing an online tool such as a schedule of recent experiences. 

Once you have identified the major sources of stress in your life, you will be able to see what is caused by your job and what is not. You can then take actions towards avoiding job burnout.

5 Tips For Avoiding Job Burnout:

1.     Avoid Excessive Workload - With recent cutbacks, many people are expected to do more work in the same amount of time, or even less time. You can help alleviate this stress by delegating when possible, prioritizing workload, cutting back on low-yield work if possible, and using other time management methods.

2.     Don't Be Overly Accommodating - If you are the type of person who accepts responsibility for everything bestowed upon them, you are not doing yourself (or the person asking you) any favors. Stretching yourself beyond your limits leads to low-quality work output and high stress. Learn to just say no when your plate is full and focus on what you need to get done before you take on any additional projects.

3.     Avoid People Who Drain Your Energy - People and politics can quickly drain your energy. Try to avoid being caught up in gossiping with co-workers and avoid those who are nothing but negative. This will help you preserve your energy for when you do have to confront someone.

Use this burnout self-test to determine how much you may be at risk for burnout: Burnout Self Test 

4.     Do Not Overwork Yourself - Trying to get too much done and not leaving time for yourself can leave you feeling exhausted, a major contributing factor leading to burnout. At home, take time for yourself to recharge your battery. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of sleep and eating well. A well-fueled body runs more efficiently and can handle daily stress better.

5.     Job Disillusionment - Many people become disillusioned in their jobs at some point.  Focusing on the meaning and satisfaction that you derive from your job will help you overcome this. Also, you can write a gratitude list for the things you are grateful for that pertain to your job and refer to it when you are having negative feelings.

Executive Summary:  Dealing with feelings of burnout is not an easy process. Avoiding total burnout increases your chances of being able to get on with your life without making any drastic changes. More often than not, an attitude adjustment or a small lifestyle change, can make a huge difference in job satisfaction as well as satisfaction with life.

For more information, visit our website!

Tip #400 Top 7 Leadership and Management Strategies (Part 2 of 2)

As a reminder, our Leadership & Management two-part e-tip series are designed to help you become a better leader and manager. Tips 4 - 7 are created to give you some general insight, so you can stand-out as a solid leader and good manager. Remember, hone your skills, and you will become a more valuable resource for any organization.

The Final 4 Leadership & Management Tips On Managing Change:

Tip #4: Choose The Right Candidate - Different types of positions require different kinds of assessments and interview questions. And using the right technique(s) will help you to recruit the optimal person for the job. The selection process and techniques used depend on the particular knowledge, skills and attributes required for the position. If your selection process and/or methods are not based on the hiring criteria, you will find more times than not that you did not hire the best person for the position.

Tip #5: Hire Temporary Staff - Hiring talented employees is getting tougher and tougher. With that said, organizations today look at the temporary employment sector to find people to handle basic business functions. Why? They find that it is much more cost-effective than hiring someone to do the job. And should that person work out, they can move them from temporary to permanent - and be more flexible and resilient over their competition.

Tip #6: Create a Motivational Climate - Running a profitable department, division or business unit takes time, a talented workforce and a motivated team. Typically, we see 4 common elements that must be present for your team to be in high spirits and motivated at work. They include:

1. Respect for the management and executive team.

2. A feeling that they belong on the team.

3. An opportunity to grow professionally.

4. The ability to walk-in and talk with members of their leadership team.

Tip #7: Meeting Follow-Up - Having an effective meeting is one thing; however, what comes after a meeting is another thing. To maximize decisions that were made during a meeting, do not assume everyone is pulling their weight and executing what they committed to. Good leaders and managers will get faster results when they have their staff report back on their progress with the action items that came out of the meeting.

Executive Summary: As a leader and manager, you will find that your employees can be your best allies - whether they are temporary or permanent - when everyone wants to be part of the team. People want to be respected, trusted and given the opportunity for their voices to be heard. Make this the case in your organization, and you will see magic start to happen. If not, you will see people only putting in an average performance at best.

For More information, visit our website!

Tip #399: Top Leadership and Management Strategies (Part 1 of 2)

Our Leadership & Managementtwo-part e-tip series are specifically created to help you become a better leader and manager. And as the business world becomes smaller and more competitive, top-notch talent always rises to the top. If you want to stand out in your organization as a strong leader and manager, hone your skills and you will become a more valuable resource for any organization.

Your Inspiration Will Motivate Your Employees.

Leaders inspire and motivate others, creating a natural following. Managers have the authority to enforce policies and processes to ensure that they are followed. But as we both know, managers are not always leaders, because a manager is often given their position of authority through time, loyalty and because they are proficient at executing, not because of their leadership qualities.

To be really successful in today's challenging environment, you need to develop the qualities and skills of both a leader and a manager.

3 (of 7) Leadership & Management Tips For All Professionals To Consider:

Tip #1: Communicate Frequently With Employees During Changing Times - When going through organizational, divisional or territory changes, we see many executives leaving their employees in the dark only to have rumors, based on both fact and fiction, running through their rank-and-file. During any type of change(s), it is best to initially communicate directly with your employees via a face-to-face meeting(s) vs. a general e-mail. And as changes occur, keep them up-to-date with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly meetings/emails. It is actually better to communicate too frequently during an organizational change rather than not frequently enough.

Tip #2: Involve Your Employees - When embarking on new challenges, opportunities or corporate directions, your employees are more apt to support a particular change if they are ready to make it. Accomplishing this means involving them in creating the solution, setting direction or overcoming challenges related to the change. Research has shown overwhelmingly that if your staff believes in your change(s) and has time and energy invested in the change(s), your organization will have a greater probability of success when it comes time for making that change a reality.

Tip #3: Evaluate The Results Together - If you want to cultivate employee commitment, get them involved with the analysis and design of the change(s). When it comes time for the actual implementation part of the change(s), get everyone to measure and evaluate its overall effectiveness; however, this should not be done until you have given everyone enough time to settle into their own groove. This way, they can make a more objective judgment rather than just reacting to being uncomfortable dealing with something new.

Executive Summary: As a leader and manager, you will find that most everyone will want to become part of the solution. All your employees really want is to be informed on what is happening and, of course, to have an opportunity to give their input. If you do run across staff members who find a problem with a particular change, ask them what they would suggest. This often reduces resistance, since they will need to step-up and deliver a viable solution. Ultimately, change is good for any organization. And with your employees' involvement, the changes become less formidable and employees want to become part of a successful transformation.


For more information, visit our website!

E-Tip #398: The # 1 Management Secret: Managing Expectations

Did you know the single most effective management tool is this: Articulating your expectations of your staff? Believe me; the power of "managing expectations and positive thoughts" cannot be underestimated by any manager.

The Reality Of "Managing Expectations" Revolves Around 3 Simple Principles:

1. Managers communicate their expectations consciously and unconsciously.

2. Employees consciously and unconsciously understand these expectations.

3. Employees perform in ways that are consistent with their manager's expectations.

More times than not, people excel in response to their manager's performance message. Conversely, it can undermine someone's performance when a manager does not articulate their expectations in a clear and concise manner. Although many managers' expectations are often subtle, they are picked-up consciously and unconsciously by their staff. It could be as simple as a manager failing to praise someone's performance as frequently as they praise others. Other times, it could be a manager talking less to a particular person or not sharing ideas or personal items with that person. Yes, people do pick-up on these little things, because to them, it is obvious.

Less Skilled Managers Will Reduce an Employee's Self-Esteem and Performance Level.

That's right. However, if a manager is skilled and has high expectations for all of his/her employees, the employee's self-confidence grows, skills are developed faster and performance moves in a more positive direction.

Imagine For A Moment That You Were Able To Communicate Your Exact Expectations and Positive Thoughts To Everyone You Managed.

If you have positive thoughts and high-expectations of the people you manage, you will find that they will begin to make contributions that are more positive.  And setting your employees' expectations is a critical element in managing people; however, don't stop there! Follow-up with your employees on a regular basis to ensure that they are meeting your expectations. If not, you will find that some employees may take the path of least resistance in getting things done -- producing "average" results more times than not.

Case in point: Let us say you are managing a sales team and you have set a "sales quota" for everyone. You also know each sales person needs to make a certain number of "prospect cold-calls" to make their quota. If you are not managing their level of "cold-calls" each week, there is a very good chance some people will not perform to your expectations. On the other hand, if you do manage their "phone-time" by setting specific dates, times and number of "cold- calls" they need to do each week, you will soon see their sales increase.

This means that, as managers, we need to spend time getting to know our employees and understand how they are driven internally and/or externally. Then, we can adjust our communication and follow up accordingly. Yes, it's that simple.

Executive Summary:Managers do not have to verbally communicate their expectations in order for them to be set. Non-verbal cues and lack of verbal cues alone can set the tone for how managers expect their employees to perform. This is why it is important for managers to be clear and direct about what they expect from their employees. Also, following up in order to ensure that expectations are clear is another way to make sure that employees understand their responsibilities.