Manage Employee's Career Expectations

03/06/07

A salesperson for a publishing company came to her manager. “I’d like that writer/editor job that’s open,” she said.

His jaw dropped. You must be kidding, he thought. You can’t write your way out of a paper bag. Aloud, he said, “Uh…really?”

“Yes,” she said. “Don’t you think I’m qualified?”

“I, uh… well…”

The conversation went downhill from there.

Managers and HR people often run into employees with overly optimistic—or misguided—career plans. While it’s good to be optimistic, unrealistic expectations combined with negative comments from a manager can lead to disappointment, lowered productivity, and turnover.

However, when you help employees refine their career aspirations, everyone comes out a winner.

Avoid Negative Comments
The first step in adjusting employee career expectations is to avoid making any comments that might demoralize or embarrass. Example: “You don’t have the right skills for the job.”

Instead, give the employee realistic information about the position, like required skills and abilities, and the positives and negatives as you see them. Describe the kind of people that perform well in it. If an employee does not meet a position’s basic requirements, point out the discrepancies. But be diplomatic: “I think you need to build your skills in x, y, and z to qualify for this position.”

Develop the Employee
If the employee is still interested in the job, here’s your chance to help develop an employee and, in the process, boost morale and organizational effectiveness. Offer to help come up with a development plan that could help him or her qualify for the position.

Do that by going over the job point by point, asking specific questions: “This position requires dealing with conflict on a regular basis. How would you characterize your conflict management skills?” Together, figure out how the employee may acquire needed skills.

Don’t Waste Good Will and Energy
If the employee concludes she is not right for the position after all, don’t miss the opportunity to find out where her interests lie and help identify a position that might be a more logical objective. Then formulate, with the employee, an action plan to prepare her for the position. Follow up regularly to gauge progress and provide encouragement.

Good people like the opportunity to grow into a new job. Satisfy them, and you build loyalty, morale, and productivity.

As for the saleswoman in the opening story, once she saw that her manager would be of no help, she took matters into her own hand. She went back to school, got a master’s degree in English, and is now a fine editor for another company.