A constant refrain that I hear from business owners is “they should know better!” “They” of course being any or all the employees that screwed up. Naturally, when I hear this statement, I just can’t leave it alone and therefore I need to challenge it. At which point the conversation goes something like this,
Client: They should know better
Me: Really, why is that?
Client: It’s their job
Me: Did you tell them?
Client: No, I shouldn’t have to
Me: Why shouldn’t you have to?
Client: Because they’re supposed to be adults
Me: That may be true, but you still need to tell them what you expect
Client: I hired them to do a job. If I have to tell them or show them I don’t need them.
Me: Seriously?
It’s not about micro-managing
I think you get the drift and I’m sure many of us have felt the same way at times. Unfortunately, too many owners wrongly assume that once they hire an individual, that person should automatically know everything there is to know. Granted, they should have all the technical skills required for the job, but that’s only half the battle.
Where many entrepreneurs fail, is in telling their employees what they expect from them on a regular basis. We’re not talking about micro-managing, it’s about providing clarity. It’s about setting expectations or objectives. It’s about letting them know specifics, like when you expect the task to be completed or how many hours you’ve allocated for that project or how you expect them to act in front of customers, or your dress code and on and on. Just because you failed to mention something and then expecting your employees to read your mind, is asking a little much, don’t you think?
The easiest way to fix this is to communicate. Yup, it can be that simple.