Expectations Forum – INITIATE's New Online Assessment Tool
How can employees perform to their manager’s expectations unless they clearly understand what their manager expects of them? Managers are often not aware of the specific performance expectations they have of their employees. If they are aware of their expectations, they may not be able to communicate them in a clear and understandable manner.
Importance of Measuring Expectations
Expectations play a significant role in our lives. The extent to which our expectations are met in life determine our level of satisfaction and happiness. The more our life meets our inner expectations the happier and more content we are. If for example, we expect it to be sunny most of the summer and it ends up being cold and rainy we would not be very happy. We are not as happy because our expectation of a sunny summer is far from being met. Similarly, when an employee does not meet a manager’s (conscious and unconscious) performance expectations, the manager will most likely not be satisfied with the employee. This could put an unnecessary strain on their working relationship.
What is the Expectations Forum?
The Expectations Forum is an online assessment tool which is designed to help a manager improve his/her employee’s performance. The assessment is completed by both the manager and employee. As a first step, the manager and employee assess the employee’s behavior at work based on the organization’s competencies or a specified list of competencies.
The assessment helps to identify and prioritize: 1) Performance areas where the employee is meeting and not meeting the manager’s expectations, and 2) Differences in performance expectations between the employee and manager.
Post the assessment, a report is issued which becomes a forum for dialogue between the manager and employee. At the end of the dialogue, the employee has a greater awareness of where he/she is performing well and where he/she needs to improve his/her performance in order to meet the manager’s expectations. As a result of the Expectations Forum and dialogue, the employee has a much clearer picture of how to significantly increase his/her performance.
Potential Applications and Uses
The Expectations Forum is flexible enough to be used across a range of applications. Some potential applications include:
- Strategic Needs Analysis – Specific personal development needs can be identified for individuals, departments, business units or full organizations. This allows an organization to identify and prioritize performance development gaps that need to be improved. The results of the analysis also help to define precise training program modules.
- Mid-year Performance Review – A manager and employee can have a more objective dialogue by identifying and discussing differences in expectations, performance gaps, and areas where the employee is exceeding his or her manager expectations. This informal mid-year review helps the employee clearly understand what he or she needs to do in an effort to have a good performance appraisal at the end of the year.
- Measuring Behavior Change – The Expectations Forum has the ability to measure an employee’s progress after the employee has participated in a personal development intervention (i.e. training or coaching). The employee is assessed both pre and post the development intervention and a report is issued to highlight specific progress.
If you would like to learn more about Expectations Forum (including trying a free demonstration of the tool) and how we can tailor the tool to meet your specific assessment needs please contact us.
