How Clarifying Staff Roles and Goals Will Improve Employee Performance

Introduction

“It’s not my job!” “Jack’s supposed to do that!” “I can’t finish this because Mary hasn’t provided the
stats!” How often have you heard these sort of outbursts from employees? These are symptoms of
unclear role and goal clarity.

Impact on Your Business

When specific common goals don’t exist, you can’t have clear definition of who does what. And if who
does what isn’t clear you’ll jeopardize business results regardless of how specific and measurable your
goals are. You see, team development is essential in small-medium business.

Role and goal clarity is most likely due to lack of management focus. Staff should be absolutely certain
where your business is going and what their part is. If they aren’t, they’ll guess … and act on their
guesses.

The “Everyone Knows” Myth

“But Leon”, I’m frequently told, “everyone here knows their job and what the company’s
goals [3.1]are”. If this is so, accept my congratulations and read no further. If you’re not absolutely sure,
and I mean absolutely sure … please read on.

What’s Role and Goal Clarity?

Goal clarity means that every member of a group agrees and accepts what the group exists to achieve.
Role clarity means that each individual in the group agrees and accepts what his or her contribution will
be towards achieving the group goals. And it also means that each individual accepts and agrees to
the roles of others in the group.

Why Are Role and Goal Clarity Important?

They’re important because they lead to task interdependence and goal dependence. [3.1]This is not
impenetrable jargon. Task interdependence means “If I don’t do my job well, someone else can’t do his
or her job well”. Goal dependence means “I am dependent on my colleagues to achieve their goals to
enable me to achieve mine”. It also means that “the most important goals are the overall goals of the
task interdependent group”. It’s usually called a team.

Every successful team shows superior task interdependence and goal dependence.

What To Do

• Ask your employees. If you have a very small business ask everyone to specify the goal of your
business and their role in it and the role of each other employee.
If your business has specialist groups, ask each employee to specify the goals of the business, the goal of
their group and the roles of each person in the group.

• Avoid generalizations and clichés. “To make a profit” is not a goal. It’s an outcome. “To have

 a domestic plumbing maintenance business

 with the largest market share

 which is the acknowledged customer service leader

 in domestic plumbing maintenance in the northern suburbs”

is far more specific.

Similarly “to maintain all accounts accurately, legally and punctually” is OK. But if we add “so that at
least 95% of invoices are paid within 14 days, that bad debts never exceed 2% etc, etc” you have a vastly
superior goal.

• Examine what your employees say. Look for fuzziness, uncertainty or even conflicting statements.
Identify the most serious differences in both goals and roles.

• Seek Clarity: sit down with your staff and clarify both roles and goals. This should be done with both
groups and individuals. Make sure that everyone understands everyone else’s roles. Don’t just assume
this is so. You may need a few meetings to achieve this.

• Monitor: set a timetable to review how well the revised goals and roles are working in practice. Be
prepared to adjust and adapt where necessary.

Sometimes it’s most useful to start the team development with your management team.

Conclusion

Role and goal clarity are essentials in small-medium business. Most conflicts, differences and
disagreements result from unclear goals and poorly defined and inflexible roles. So called “personality
conflicts” often arise from lack of role and goal clarity. When you have absolute task interdependence
and goal dependence your management role will be much easier.

The Employee's Role in a Team

"We have more of a voice and can really have an impact."

"Employees feel free to speak up and more is done and accomplished."
"People are more open and issues get laid on the table."
These observations were made by team members during an informal OPM survey of Federal teams.
They exemplify ways that employee involvement changes employee roles when an organization moves
to a team structure. Federal employees find that working in teams gives them a voice in how work is
done, goals are set, and decisions are made.

Defining Roles

Most problems that develop in a team occur because team roles are not clearly defined. Supervisors and
team leaders are not the only ones with special roles and responsibilities. Employees also must know
what is expected of them and what they will be accountable for in their new environment.

There are two basic types of roles and responsibilities that employees should be expected to assume
and to be evaluated on. The first role is that of technical expert. The employee must be able to do the
work well. The second type is the social role that involves the management of the processes of the
team. Both roles are important to the team's success and performance improvement. In his
book, Building Productive Teams, Glenn H. Varney explains the importance of clarifying the roles of team
members. He observes,"During any discussion of roles and responsibilities, team members need to
clearly know their specific tasks and the areas for which they will be held accountable. Everyone in the
team should also know what everyone else is responsible for. This will build strength and mutual
support."

Rotating Roles

In their book Teaming Up, Darrel Ray and Howard Bronstein advocate rotating both types of roles
among team members. When the technical work lends itself to cross-training, rotating the tasks among
members increases work efficiency, emphasizes measurable goals, and increases flexibility and job
enrichment.

Rotating the social roles becomes more important if teams become self-directed. Rotating team
responsibilities such as leader, training coordinator, recorder, statistician, recognition leader,
communications coordinator, and scheduler gives members an understanding of team management and
increases commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

A List of Roles

In his book, Leading Self-Directed Teams, Kimball Fisher observes that a team member must be:

 a customer advocate who strives to meet customer needs;

 a trainer who is willing to share knowledge with team members;

 a resource who works to expand his or her knowledge base;

 a skilled worker who strives to assure a high level of quality in the work;

 a team player who demonstrates good interpersonal skills;

  a decision maker who provides input to the decision making process;

 a problem solver who is skilled in problem solving techniques.

Being Proactive

Most importantly, team members should be proactive, not reactive. They should take part actively in
meetings, contribute ideas, provide suggestions, and get involved in the work. Employees who are used
to sitting on the sidelines while others get involved will not be able to do so in a team setting. They'll
need training and coaching from mentors, team leaders, and peers if they are going to become effective
team members.

Expectations Of Supervision

Successful supervision is an intentional process that requires thoughtfulness, skills, and willingness to
learn from our mistakes. All supervisors have their own work duties in addition to their supervisory
responsibilities. Successful supervisors balance their supervisory and other work responsibilities.
Managers have a huge impact on their employees' quality of work life. Often, employees' work
relationships with their supervisors make the difference between employees staying in or leaving a
position.

The on-campus Supervisory Leadership Development Program promotes four key areas of responsibility
and skill development for supervisors:

1. Managing Self

2. Managing Others

3. Managing the Work

4. Managing the System

Let’s explore them one at a time.

Managing Self

It is crucial to understand your own work style: Linda Marchesani, Director, Workplace Learning &
Development
To successfully manage others, we must understand ourselves. We can not successfully manage others if
we are unable or unwilling to manage our selves. We will not do it all perfectly, all the time. We all have
strengths and areas that challenge us. Managing Self includes acting as a role model for others and
developing our skills in several areas:

Self-Awareness And Integration of Self and Role

 Understand your own work style preferences.

 Recognize and work comfortably with their own and others’ work style preferences.

 Be aware of your own values.

 Recognize other people's different values and work well with them.

 Understand your role in the larger environment.

Does all work need to be done one way? We all have work style preferences. If supervisors and
employees can agree on the desired end result, then letting employees take the lead in completing the
task, while keeping to University policies and procedures, can often make for more productive
employees and workplaces.

Effective Communication

 Consistently and clearly communicate expectations.

 Listen effectively.

 Provide clear feedback.

 Notice and attend to non-verbal communication.

 Adapt your personal communication style to fit a variety of situations.

 Match the most appropriate method of communication to your message.

Understands the Importance of Diversity

  Understand your own social identities and how they impact your work as a supervisor.

 Understands the different types of social diversity that exist in the workplace.

 Interact effectively with people who have different social identities.

What is your experience with working in a diverse workplace?

Managing Others

Supervisors are responsible for overseeing the human, financial and material resources of the
University. As a supervisor you are obligated to maintain the highest standards of performance for
yourself and your staff. Every supervisor is responsible for establishing and supporting a work
environment that recognizes every employee's dignity and worth and that encourages collaboration,
innovation, and quality work.

Managers do this by:

Creating and Maintaining a Respectful Workplace

 Knowing the components of an open, accepting and respectful work environment.

 Assessing the current climate of trust, respect and inclusiveness in your work environment.

 Identifying steps to create a more respectful workplace.

 Effectively supervising people with different social identities.

We are all responsible for supporting a respectful workplace. Supervisors have an even greater
responsibility for maintaining a respectful workplace, as supervisors are responsible for overseeing and
enforcing workplace rules. Supervisors need to address inappropriate behavior as soon as it occurs. You
can make it easier by working with staff to establish guidelines for respectful behavior, educating new
employees about the guidelines, and consistently enforcing both your workplace guidelines and the
University's policies.

Supervisors hold a particular responsibility for creating and maintaining a respectful workplace

Video: Debora Ferreira, Director, Equal Opportunity and Diversity

Conducting Performance Management

 Understands your role and function in performance management.

 Know the cycle of performance management.

 Write effective goals.

 Coach employees and provide feedback for performance improvement.

 Recognize employees contributions.

 Use University forms for performance evaluation and development.

Performance management is more than filling out a performance review once a year. Effective and
meaningful performance management promotes ongoing communication between a supervisor and
employee, which establishes plans and criteria for success, as well as identifying successes and areas for
improvement. More Resources: Performance Management and Performance Management and
Evaluation.

Encouraging Teamwork and Work towards Conflict Resolution

 Encourage effective teamwork.

 Understands basic methods of resolving conflicts within the workplace.

 De-escalate situations before they become crises.

 Help resolve conflicts.

 Gather appropriate input and/or participation from people involved in a conflict.

 Makes decisions as needed to resolve the conflict.

Managing Inappropriate Behavior

 Know the standards and expectations of appropriate workplace behavior.

  Identify inappropriate behavior in the workplace.

 Consistently and fairly address inappropriate behavior and seek help when needed.

Managing the Work

We are all here to get a job done, serving the University's larger mission. The University can not operate
without it’s employees and as a supervisor, you have a special role in managing and supporting your
area's work. This is accomplished by:

Resource and Budget Management

 Make the most of your available resources.

 Organize and prioritize resources to meet changing work demands.

 Understand the University budgeting and accounting system and how it relates to your area
budget.

 Organize your own work and time to be able to meet needs of the staff and the organization.

Learn about University budgeting and accounting.

Goal Setting

 Educate employees about how their roles serve the mission of the department, division and the
University.

 Develop relevant goals for your team and individual employees.

 Develop work plans that meet desired goals.

 Establish measures of performance as appropriate.

Delegation and Coordination

 Know your employees' job descriptions.

 Understand the basics processes of employees' work.

 Effectively delegate work to employees.

 Monitor and evaluate the employees' successful completion of the work.

 Work collaboratively with others to analyze and improve work processes.

How have you delegated work in the past? What has helped you delegate work successfully? Delegating
of work can help employees develop their skills by allowing them to take on new projects. Done well,
delegating can be a win-win situation for everyone.
Managing The System

Managers are responsible for learning and knowing the University's systems. Although you do not need
to know every part of the University, you should become familiar with the systems that are relevant to
your area and its work. You can do this by:

Understanding Legal Issues and Campus Policies

 Know the campus policies relevant to your position.

 Implement campus policies appropriate to your position.

 Seek assistance regarding campus policies when needed.

How to get the best from your employees

Video: Catherine Porter, Ombudsperson

Practicing Risk Management

 Understanding basic risk management procedures.

 Recognize when something is beyond your responsibility or expertise and seeks appropriate
help.

Definitions: General Risk Assessment Considerations

Risk type: Risk of danger to the employee or other members of the University community.

Examples:

 Operating equipment while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

 Credibly threatening or attacking other employees or other community members.

 Condoning or allowing a hostile work environment (harassment).

 Consistent failure to follow safety guidelines

Risk type: Risk of danger to the University due to legal liability or damage to its reputation.

Examples:

 Condoning or allowing a hostile work environment.

 Not upholding federal or state legal mandates.

 Not acting in compliance with applicable labor agreements.

 Failure to take appropriate action to take action to enforce safety standards

Risk type: Risk of damage to the workplace or University property.

Examples:

 Knowledge of and application of safety practices.

 Following accounting and money handling guidelines.

 Securing workplaces to avoid theft of property.

 Not taking appropriate steps to assure accurate reporting of time.

Steps to take to address the above situations:

 Discuss with own supervisor and personnel staff.

 Take immediate steps to avoid immediate danger.

 Investigate as much as possible.

 Consider employee’s work history.

 Create complete documentation of events as soon as possible.

 Follow contracts and policies.

 Apply progressive discipline if needed.

 Check with Campus Resources

Campus Resources

 Human Resources, Labor Relations – 545-2736

 Treasure’s Office, Risk Management & Insurance -587-2055

 Office of the General Counsel,Legal Counsel – 545-2204

Understanding the dynamics of supervising in a unionized environment

 Access the union contracts and follow the expectations for your position.

 Know how to practice progressive discipline.

 Understand the basics of the grievance process.

As a supervisor in a unionized environment, you should remember that supervisors and employees must
adhere to the provisions of their respective collective bargaining agreements - their union contracts.
Even though you may also be a unionized employee, when you are acting as a supervisor, you are an
agent of the University.

Exercise:

Go back to strengths you listed at the beginning.

1. How well do your strengths match the information above?

2. What additional strengths do you bring to supervising?

3. And in which areas might you want to grow and improve?