I love the movie, Office Space.

It's a comedy set in a soul-sucking office. There's a famous scene where an employee named Peter is scolded for not putting the new cover sheet on his TPS report.

It’s hilariously awkward.

It also highlights a problem with expectation setting. Bill, Peter’s boss, relied on a memo to set the new cover sheet expectation. "Did you see the memo about this?" he asked while looming over Peter’s desk.

Watch the short scene here:

Expectation setting is essential for customer-focused teams.

Employees perform more consistently. They make fewer mistakes. And you spend less time having conversations like the one between Bill and Peter.

This post covers three steps to setting better expectations:

1. Communicate clearly

2. Verify understanding

3. Gain agreement

Employees aren't mind readers. They won't know what you want them to do unless you tell them. Expectations must be clear and unambiguous.

Yet, many of us have been guilty of being a boss like Bill.

I asked a group of customer service leaders how they typically set expectations. The scenario was something small that didn't require training. Like using a new cover sheet.

The results were very similar to Office Space:

• 95% primarily use messaging (email, Slack, etc.)

• 50% admitted this is their only communication method

Most agreed this approach doesn't work. They fired off a message because it was fast, not necessarily because it was effective.

That might save a few moments up front, but there’s a cost. More mistakes get made. Service quality suffers. You have more cringe conversations with employees like Peter.

Avoid that by asking yourself three questions:

1. What do you want employees to do?

2. Why is it important for employees to do it?

3. What is the best way to share this message?

Using visuals or multiple methods is often most effective. For example, you can combine messaging with video or an in-person explanation.

Setting expectations requires two-way communication. Ensure employees fully understand what they're expected to do, and why it's important.

There are many ways to do this:

• Have employees describe the expectation

• Ask employees to explain the importance

• Monitor employee performance

I once worked with a manager named Brian. He was a master at making sure his team knew exactly what was expected. Brian asked a lot of questions to verify employees knew what to do. He also worked side-by-side with them so he could observe their performance and model the right procedure.

Brian’s employees appreciated it. They saw that he was there to support them and help them perform.

Make sure employees agree to do what you've asked them to do. Setting clear expectations won't matter if employees choose not to follow them.

Gaining agreement requires two-way dialogue.

Ideally, your employee agrees to follow the expectation. That makes your job easy. You might just need to follow-up and make sure they don’t forget.

Sometimes, employees will point out a challenge or concern. It's the employee telling you they don’t feel empowered to do what you’ve asked them to do. That should lead to a conversation about how to empower them.

For instance, an employee might tell you, "I'd like to use the new cover sheet, but I don't have a copy of the template." That’s probably an easy fix.

In rare cases, employees flat out refuse to do what you ask them. Employees who ignore expectations without good reason create a lot of problems. Many of them are toxic.

This is probably someone you don’t want on your team. Consult your HR manual on that one.

Conclusion

Set better expectations with customer service reps by doing three things:

1. Communicate clearly

2. Verify understanding

3. Gain agreement

Learn more about being a customer-focused leader by visiting this resource page.

Want to build more customer service management skills? My LinkedIn Learning course, Managing a Customer Service Team, gives you step-by-step instruction for running your operation.

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