Positive employer/employee relationships are a two-way street. To keep them happy and harmonious, it is essential that employees understand what employers expect from them and vice versa. No one is born understanding the rules and norms of the working world. We all have to learn these things at the beginning of our careers. As an employer of young people, part of your role is to help them adjust to working life and set expectations that will help them to succeed not just in their time with you, but in their career as a whole.
Read on for six of our top tips on effectively setting expectations for young employees.
Set clear ground rules early on
Not understanding the rules or norms can make joining a new workplace stressful for new employees, especially young people without a lot of prior experience to draw on. As an employer, you are also unlikely to get the best out of your employees if they don’t understand what you want from them.
Lay out any ground rules and basic expectations early on when new employees join your team, including:
- Expectations of polite and cordial behaviour between colleagues
- Dress code requirements
- Acceptable use of work equipment and IT
- Common workplace issues such as timekeeping
An employee handbook with a code of conduct can be a great way to set out these basic ground rules.
Explain the “why” behind your rules
Performance metrics vary enormously between different types of jobs. They can include anything from sales figures to customer satisfaction, error rate, number of product units created, revenue generated, and more.
Before they can perform well, young employees must clearly understand the metrics you will be using to assess their work and the standards you expect them to meet. Therefore, specify these clearly and allow them to ask any clarifying questions to ensure that they understand.
Be firm when you need to be
It is possible to be firm with someone while still being polite and kind. As a manager, there may be times when you need to be firm with your young employees.
For example, there will almost inevitably be some aspects of a person’s job that they dislike or find boring. This does not mean that they don’t have to do it. In these instances, you can and should hold them to your expectations.
In these situations, it can help to sit down with the employee and say something like “I hear that you don’t enjoy X task, but it is an essential part of your job and I do need you to be completing it reliably going forward.” In many cases, this will fix the problem. If it doesn’t, you can revisit the conversation and say something like, “We spoke about this but the task still isn’t reliably being completed. What’s going on?”
Impose reasonable consequences
We often advise employers against taking a punitive approach with their employees. However, this does not mean that you can’t impose reasonable consequences when employees do not meet your expectations.
Before you go down this route, see if a conversation like the example we gave you above fixes the problem. If it does, great! If not, let the employee know what the consequences will be if you do not see improvement.
The consequence should be directly related to the problem and might include things like:
- A performance improvement plan
- Requiring a hybrid employee to be in the office more often so that you can oversee their work more closely
- Checking their work more thoroughly before it goes out
- Not considering the employee for a promotion
- Giving them fewer desirable or “stretch” assignments
At the most extreme level, letting someone go can be the result of their consistently failing to meet your expectations. However, you should exhaust other options first and follow your organisation’s formal disciplinary procedures if necessary.
Check in and communicate regularly
To keep the employer-employee relationship working well, regular and clear communication is essential. Check in with your young employees regularly, assess their performance and progress, and give them the opportunity to address any concerns.
If you have any problems with their performance or conduct, raise it as early as possible. It is always best to address small issues before they become bigger problems.
Your young employees want to do well. They want to meet (and exceed) your expectations. But they can only do so if they know what those expectations are and have clear benchmarks against which to assess their performance. Great communication removes the guesswork and allows everyone to know where they stand.
Get support and further resources with Youth Employment UK membership
We hope this piece has been helpful to you. When you join as a Youth Employment UK member, you can gain access to our extensive catalogue of additional resources, exclusive events, and our members-only newsletter. You will also be eligible for entry into the Good Youth Employment Awards and receive a badge to display on your site in recognition of your commitment to the Good Youth Employment Standards.
Read more:
Considering hiring an apprentice? Read more on How to Run an Apprenticeship programme
