Be specific about what you expect from your team

Here's a quote from an email recently sent to a client:

"The performance and behaviour of all team members, including clinicians, has to be monitored constantly and any deviation from agreed levels of customer service, clinical care and production targets has to be addressed immediately."

It’s a bit of a mouthful but underpins a crucial aspect of business leadership and management.

However, there are some interesting assumptions to be made if my statement is true:

• is the customer service level written down and agreed?

• are the clinical care standards written down and agreed?

• have the number of days, the hours and the average daily production targets written down an agreed?

Each of these questions is crucial.

You cannot expect team members to respond to simply qualitative performance and behavioural requests:

• we would like you to work harder;

• we would like you to do your best;

• we would like you to be nice to people;

• we would like you to gross more.

Leadership and management are about discussing, agreeing and monitoring quantitative targets:

• we agreed these hours;

• we agreed these days;

• we agreed this average daily production target;

• we agreed this standard patient experience.

And so it goes….

With my clients I ask them to measure everything including the above.

Are you specific?