As professionals, it is important to set and maintain high performance standards for yourself and for those around you. Achieving peak performance is a multi-faceted process that involves creating and adhering to expectations that are clear, achievable and measurable. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of setting performance expectations and how it relates to delivering effective results. We will discuss the importance of setting goals, staying organized and developing an effective strategy for managing performance expectations. Additionally, we will look at what to do when performance expectations are not met and how to ensure that employees are motivated and engaged. By the end of this post, you will have a better understanding of how to set, measure and manage performance expectations in order to foster a productive work environment.
What are performance expectations?
A performance expectation is a component of a written performance plan that lists objectives, values, expected results, and specifications for a position. It can assist in determining what outcomes and goals people can achieve and how to go about doing so. For instance, this could refer to daily obligations, conduct, professional development objectives, and how an organization defines success for all of its employees.
33 performance expectations
33 performance standards are listed below, along with explanations of what they might entail in the workplace:
1. Adaptability
Adaptability is how well you adjust to changes. This may entail adjustments to the workplace or the duties of the position. It might also entail learning how to interact with people of various personality types.
2. Alignment
Working toward a company’s objectives, mission, and values rather than your own personal objectives is what is meant by alignment. Making decisions that are effective for your team and not just for yourself can be one example of this. For instance, you might examine a strategic plan you created for the company to make sure its choices, actions, and strategy fit the needs of the company.
3. Budget management
How well you manage your department’s or projects’ finances is referred to as budget management. Budgets for providing materials to customers, professional development for your team, and the purchase of supplies are some examples. Your supervisor may assess how well you adhered to your budgetary constraints when evaluating your performance against this expectation, taking into account both whether you didn’t go over and whether you didn’t fall too far short of it.
4. Candor
Transparency, or candor, refers to how effectively you share important and valuable information with others. This can involve being forthcoming when you might miss a deadline or asking questions about something you’re not sure about. For instance, if you discussed missing a deadline with your boss beforehand and explained how it might happen, they might be more sympathetic.
5. Collaboration
Collaboration is how well you help others with achieving goals. These objectives may be personal or collective ones for the team. Creating targeted materials for particular audiences or services may be expected, for instance, if you are creating marketing materials for a sales team.
6. Compliance
Compliance is how well you follow protocols in the workspace. This can include policies, standards, regulations or any applicable laws. For instance, you might be required to complete compliance training each year, and it is expected that you do so.
7. Communication
Communication is how well you give and receive information. This may include how to update clients, coworkers, or superiors on project progress. Being proficient in this area of communication, whether it be written or oral, will benefit you in a variety of career-related situations.
8. Cooperation
Cooperation is how well you work with others. This can include your team or employees in other departments. For instance, your manager may assess how well you collaborate with others throughout the company.
9. Creativity
Using a task from managers or administrators to create a final product or solution requires creativity. This can include vague ideas or something new. For instance, you might be asked to find a way to make a workflow more effective so that a product can be produced more quickly, which could lead to an increase in sales.
10. Customer relationships
Customer relationships are determined by how well you cultivate bonds with both potential and current customers. This may involve assessments of your ability to uphold relationships with clients, the longevity of those relationships, or your ability to forge new connections with clients. For instance, your manager might assess you based on client comments.
11. Customer service
How well you deal with customers in your position is known as customer service. This can include verbal and written interactions. It might also involve how you interact with customers, whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with your goods or services.
12. Decision-making skills
Making decisions and not making them are both examples of decision-making. This may entail accepting accountability for results resulting from your decisions and having the capacity to support your decisions with evidence or logic. This may involve, for instance, choosing which duties or tasks to prioritize in order to meet deadlines.
13. Dependability
Dependability is the frequency with which you show up where you should be or carry out your duties according to your position. This may include how often you are punctual for work or how often you are working on tasks. For instance, you might receive feedback on your propensity to stay on task and finish projects within the allotted time frame.
14. Emotional intelligence
How well you can control your emotions when making decisions or working productively is referred to as emotional intelligence. This may involve resolving disputes, opposing viewpoints, or having strict deadlines. For instance, if you are managing a team with divergent viewpoints, you could facilitate discussions to help the group decide how to proceed.
15. Forecasting skills
How accurately you can forecast sales and revenue for a time period is called forecasting. For instance, you could schedule sales team forecasts for three months, six months, or a year. Comparing your predicted sales numbers to the outcomes will allow your manager to assess your performance on this task.
16. Criticism or feedback acceptance
At various points in your career, you might receive criticism or feedback from which you can learn. This can include feedback from supervisors, colleagues or customers. For instance, a customer may be given a feedback form to rate your service after speaking with you. This could give you feedback on what you do well and where you can improve.
17. Leadership
Leadership is how well you can motivate peoples productivity. This can involve expressing group needs to administrators, paying attention to others’ needs, and guiding or assisting coworkers who are unsure how to complete certain tasks. Leadership may not always involve a management role.
18. Management
How well you manage teams of people, projects, or resources within an organization is called management. This may include your capacity for clear communication, attentive listening to your staff, and task management efficiency. If you regularly collaborate with team members or supervisors, they may evaluate your leadership abilities. The staff retention rate on your team could also be a part of this expectation.
19. Negotiation skills
How well you negotiate will determine how successfully you close deals or resolve conflicts. This may include your capacity for internal and external communication. For instance, you might be a team manager who is also responsible for leading successful budget negotiations to increase funding from outside sources.
20. Organization
How well you can manage multiple priorities, tasks, and participants in a project depends on your level of organization. Projects, events, meetings, as well as your tasks and records, can all be organized. It’s possible that you’re responsible for a variety of organizational tasks, and your superiors may assess how well you handle everything.
21. People management
How well you manage groups, personnel, or numerous customers is known as people management. This can include how you encourage others, assist them in achieving their goals, or ensure the success of your team’s overall goals. For instance, tracking the status of tasks that belong to your team can demonstrate your ability to manage interpersonal relationships.
22. Planning skills
Planning is the ability to develop project plans, workflows, or task priorities. This can include planning for your projects or team projects. If you’re interested in a career in project management, think about honing your project planning abilities.
23. Process
How well you adhere to workflows, instructions, and protocols determines your process. This may occur if you interact with coworkers from different departments who are involved at different stages of your workflow. It may also entail adhering to protocols and detailed instructions for procedures that call for uniformity across departments, such as techniques for communicating with new clients.
24. Productivity
Productivity is the amount of work-related tasks you complete in a given period of time. This can include how frequently you complete your daily tasks, the progress of the projects you’re working on, or the number of projects you’ve finished. Demonstrations of how you carry out some of these tasks may also be part of this for additional evaluations.
25. Professional development
Professional development is how you continue developing your skills regularly. This could be how frequently you participate in training sessions or workshops to advance your position-relevant skills. Think about the abilities that will help you achieve other objectives and expectations for your professional development.
26. Professionalism
Professionalism covers your appearance, hygiene and behaviors while at work. This may involve the way you conduct yourself at work and how you behave around other people. Your manager might assess your motivation or your attitude at work, for instance.
27. Reporting skills
Reporting refers to how well you create reports for your tasks or projects. Communicating with managers, stakeholders, clients, or coworkers is one example of this. You might include forecasting, revenue, lessons learned, risk factors, or project status in your reports.
28. Risk management
How well you can recognize, control, and deal with risk situations is known as risk management. You can do this by preparing for both known and unknown risks, communicating about risk situations as they arise, and conducting risk analysis. Your supervisor may ask you to explain how you handled a situation and how you would improve future risk management efforts after evaluating specific risks that you planned for and those that materialized during the course of a project.
29. Sales revenue
Sales targets and actual revenue are referred to as revenue. This may include how far you have surpassed your targeted revenue goals or how close you are to them. Your boss might offer suggestions for improvement or ask you to examine your procedures in order to boost your sales revenue.
30. Self-management
Self-management is the ability to effectively manage your priorities and time so that you can complete tasks and achieve your goals. Your level of productivity and commitment to your work are two examples of this. For instance, it might evaluate your project management skills or how you allocate your time when you have several competing priorities.
31. Soft skills
Your proficiency with non-industry-specific, general professional traits is measured by your soft skills. For instance, your manager might request that you develop your writing, digital literacy, and public speaking skills. You can benefit from improving these abilities at any stage of your career.
32. Tools
Tools refer to your proficiency in utilizing the equipment or software of an organization to carry out your job duties. Use of the organization’s provided hardware, tools, software, and applications can be considered here. Your boss may assess the effectiveness of any external tools you use and determine whether an internal tool with a similar function already exists.
33. Work product
Work product is the total amount and standard of your output over a given period of time. This may involve going over any records of the steps you took to create the final product. For instance, if you finish a project, you might receive feedback on how long it took you to finish it and the caliber of the result.
#16 Defining Objectives and Performance Expectations
FAQ
What are performance expectations examples?
- Customer Service Orientation.
- Teamwork.
- Effective Communication.
- Valuing Diversity.
- Analysis and Problem-Solving.
- Decision-Making and Results Orientation.
- Adaptability.
- Fostering a Safe and Secure Environment.
What are some performance goals and expectations?
- Be Punctual at Work, Meetings, and Events. …
- Maintain a Healthy Diet and Exercise Regularly. …
- Take Initiative. …
- Improve Your Work Quality. …
- Request (and Utilize) Feedback. …
- Develop Job Knowledge and Skills. …
- Support and Advance Your Organization’s Vision, Mission, and Values.
What is the expectation of performance management?
Performance standards outline how the given tasks and obligations should be carried out. Performance goals emphasize the desired outcomes and inform staff members of the expected level of performance.
How do you set performance expectation?
- Emphasize objectives. Setting clear employee expectations can be done with the help of clearly defined objectives and key results.
- Set expectations early. …
- Make employees accountable. …
- Give meaningful feedback. …
- Leverage motivation. …
- Make it measurable.
