Setting Work Standards
Setting work standards is crucial to both the employee and the manager.
Almost any problem can be traced to Deviation from standards. If a standard is not set, how do we know we have a problem?
I’ve explained previously that standard is the lowest acceptable performance. If the manger set 18 widgets per day as the standard, doing 17 per day is below standard.
While standards can be explicit or implicit, they have to be known. They should be communicated to the individual so he knows the expectations by management. The manager should know that the employee understands and committed to the standards.
If there is a gap between the standards and the performance, it is important to know why. If you set 18 widgets, yet your employees make 20-21 daily, it is obvious that your standards are too low. Raise them.
Likewise if your employees turn out 16-17 widgets a day, you set your standards too high and unachievable.
Setting work standards helps in staffing analysis, employee evaluation, and problem analysis.
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For more information about the importance of Work Standards, visit the following:
Go to the Substandard Performance Page
Go to the Communication Process Page