Employee Experience: Managing Expectation Gaps

Your organization is your people. It always has been and always will be.

If you want performance, belonging, low turnover and passion for your workforce, you cannot approach employee relations as if you are dealing with an organization, because you are not dealing with an organization. You are dealing with individuals with different desires, backgrounds, dreams, expectations and levels of understanding brought together for a common purpose. Once you understand this fundamental and important fact, you will begin to see the nature of your Expectation Differences, so that you can begin to work towards promoting harmony and tolerance within the organization. When you see your organization as a network of people and relationships, not a legal structure, it is easier to see why it is so important to manage expectations and build strong relationships at work.

"Your company doesn't exist."

Your company is an intellectual work with a brand name. Your company is your people.
This has always been the case and will always be the case.

THIS IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MANAGER
Both through research and our own (often harrowing) experience, we have found that Expectation Gaps are often the reason why employees are disengaged and dissatisfied with their work. When coaching individuals, we often find that it is not a lack of desire that keeps them from brilliant performances. Nor is it a lack of skills that keeps them from being engaged. It is the Expectation Gap. They don't know what is expected or their expectations may be different from their manager's. So it's hard to achieve a goal that you don't even know exists.

Right now, you might be thinking, "I guess that puts all the responsibility on managers." What about the times when employees misinterpret management's expectations? What is the responsibility of the employees in all this?"

These are reasonable questions. Often, of course, it is employees who are the problem when they hold unrealistic expectations or misinterpret a company's actions out of skepticism or self-interest. We will talk separately about the role of employees in all these situations. However, since management spends (and the customer pays), the burden is on you to keep a pulse on the expectations, feelings and beliefs of employees and customers.

If you and your people are in sync, if what both parties expect is aligned, and if everyone feels that promises are kept and respected, then as a result of this great employee experience (EX), your people will deliver a great customer experience (CX).

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