New Weekly Poll: Why Don't Employees Do What They Are Supposed to Do?
Tuesday April 4, 2006
Why don't employees do what they are supposed to do remains a perpetual question in the minds of managers, supervisors, coworkers and peers. I have some thoughts about why employees don't do what they are supposed to do. I'll bet you do, too. Please share your thoughts in the Forum and take this week's poll. Compare notes about why employees don't do what they are supposed to do in this week's new poll.
Please note that, new today, you may also make comments on this blog. See below. I am quite excited about this new feature.
Poll: In Your Experience, Why Don't Employees Do What You Think They Are Supposed to Do?
Please note that, new today, you may also make comments on this blog. See below. I am quite excited about this new feature.
Poll: In Your Experience, Why Don't Employees Do What You Think They Are Supposed to Do?
- They are unclear about the overall goals.
- They are unclear about what it is you want them to do.
- They disagree with your approach.
- They think their way is better.
- They think they are doing what you want them to do.
- They are unmotivated and indifferent about their work.
- They just don't care.
- View Results
Comments
Welcome world. You can now interact with this blog. I am so happy to make this announcement.
Susan
Employees don’t do what they are supposed to do because
a)the belief re what they are “supposed to do” is only created from a single viewpoint, that of the observer.
b)despite all the controls put in place to regulate what we are supposed to do, humans always (thankfully) find a way!
I work at one of the big box stores. Majority of the people hired are young and not quite sure of their career goals. They work cheap and require very little. Unlike older people that know what benefits are and demand quality in them. As a result, some of them could careless about the overall goals of the company or the customer service that goes along with the goals. We need more educated, goal oriented people back in the workforce. What we as business managers are settling for is truly unacceptable. We should be hiring quality people not just warm bodies.
Perhaps employees don’t do what they are supposed to do because we didn’t present the information in a way that they can “hear” it. How many times have you asked for confirmation after explaining a task and what you got back was totally different that what you just said?
There is much to consider when delegating work or assignments: what is the mind set of the person receiving the assignment? What is their expectation? What is your expectation and how did you assign the work? Were you clear in your direction?
I don’t buy that today’s worker is completely different. I do believe that today’s manager is. Most managers who struggle do a poor job of setting expectations and following up. The word accountability has grown to mean an occasional hostile interaction with an employee who does not meet expectations. Did I mention the expectations that weren’t met were poorly set?
Lack of good management is the issue. Too many people are overly concerned with small details and learning, learning, learning but not applying, applying, applying. Just set simple, crystal clear expectations that make absolute sense to that individual. If your ideas or expectations aren’t sticky you have a problem. You might want to pick up the book, “Made to Stick” by Chip & Dan Heath. If your expectations don’t jive with their goals the employee will not achieve their potential in the job. Follow-up to ensure that the employee is meeting the expectations…looking for good items as well as areas of improvement. Don’t sugar coat the areas of improvement. Just tell them where they can improve. Above all, support your employees in every way. You don’t have to have a party or daily prizes to show them you appreciate them. Just acknowledge them and their efforts…often.
I believe as a manager I set an example. If I call in sick all the time everyone else will. If I slack off I am giving everyone else the opportunity to slack off. I answer phones when I see things are out of hand. I do whatever I need to do to keep things running smoothly. They will follow your example. I have learned that the hard way.