Supervisor Foundations · Lesson 5.5

SET A SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENT EXPECTATION

Telling someone:

“Improve.”

is not an improvement plan.

The employee should know:

what needs to change
when the change should begin
how improvement will be measured
when progress will be reviewed
what support is available

Poor

“Fix your attendance.”

Better

“Your scheduled start time is 8:00 a.m. Beginning tomorrow, you are expected to be ready to work by 8:00. If an unavoidable delay occurs, notify the supervisor as soon as you know you may be late. We will review attendance again in two weeks.”

WORKPLACE EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

Problem: Incomplete handovers.

BETTER RESPONSE

Improvement expectation: Use the handover checklist every shift for the next two weeks.

EXAMPLE 2

Problem: Repeated customer complaints about tone.

BETTER RESPONSE

Improvement expectation: Use acknowledgment before responding and call a supervisor before conversations escalate.

EXAMPLE 3

Problem: Late reports.

BETTER RESPONSE

Improvement expectation: Submit by agreed deadline and give early warning if completion is at risk.

EXAMPLE 4

Problem: Frequent inventory errors.

BETTER RESPONSE

Improvement expectation: Complete the required double-check procedure before finalizing counts.

Remember

Improvement should be observable.

Workplace action

Ask: How will both of us know whether improvement happened?

Quick Check

Which is the strongest improvement expectation?