How can you clarify and standardize administrative performance expectations?

To clarify and standardize administrative performance expectations, we can establish clear job descriptions, create performance metrics, and conduct regular feedback sessions with employees. This ensures everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and the benchmarks for success. Standardization can further be achieved by documenting processes and procedures, allowing for consistent execution and evaluation across the organization.

I’m my experience communicating to your teams daily is a necessity in today working environment. As it’s easy to say, sometimes it’s complicated however a persistent leader should be open and honest to your teams whenever possible. Learn to be a human, show empathy it’s not a sign of weakness it says I care and when you’re team knows you care their tasks and projects become very seamless and fluent with morale high and production higher, your goals can be achieved.

In my experience it is always important to explain the “why”. The expectation is that the performance will always increase if the employees understand the full scope. Follow-up is key as well. Offer the scope, allow the employee to perform, and follow-up on all communication. Therefore, they will know that you are always circling back to make sure of completion and the behavior will become consistent to complete tasks fully.

The common thread of all of this is simple communication. Someone has to both express something, and someone else respond (ack or re-send/clarify). If it's one-sided (yelling at a rock), that's just noise at best. Wasted energy. 1W other way? Becomes an (increasingly inaccurate) assumption of "I-thought-you-meant-XYZ". Good intentions at best but usually misdirected energy. Both parties should know their relative "position", which isn't just up/down-line but interdepartmental (lateral) information flow and preferred medium of documentation too. Within a clear framework of SOPs, compliance, SMART goals (inc. moving goalposts) and well-channeled (2-way) communication, provide training and rewards to encourage this culture in your team.

When I supported an Executive Director of Marketing, who had 65 people in his org chart, including the Administrative Coordinators supporting several Directors, I used to meet with them as a team in peer to peer meetings. We shared best practice, and tips and tricks around the various systems and tools our company used. It made it easier for some people in the team who would not have previously reached out for help, to do so, because they felt supported. They didn't feel that they would be judged for what they didn't know, but rather celebrated for reaching out to expand they skills.

When I was the director of field operations training for a national service organization I asked my boss why our field managers were constantly NOT doing what we asked them to do. He said to put it in writing, set up standards, test and grade them against those standards, and see who possesses the passion and self-image to work at getting better. I created the operations standards and then enforced them through visits, inspections, and grading which impacted their earnings up or down. Within a year we had a great working team of over 50 members all pulling in the same direction.

Acknowledging and rewarding accomplishments is a great way to encourage good practices. To ensure that recognition is valued, leaders must understand the preferred recognition approach of their direct reports. It is also critical to describe the recognition in detail and explain how it has contributed to success, as this makes it more meaningful.

Reward in any form, be it accolades or a simple acknowledgement for the smallest of tasks is something which goes a long way.Often people take someone for granted and expect them to do their job tirelessly and thanklessly, thinking that "Oh, this is their part of the job, why would I need to thank him / her anyway!!" But we must not forget, that a person who is great at something has not achieved this in a day! They have worked their bottom off to achieve this level of perfection or expertise.They have invested a substantial amount of time and energy. So, even if it's our parents, partner, colleague or even our support staff, we should never forget to thank them occasionally at the very least, to motivate them for their achievements.