Take the quiz

All guides · Leading a team

How to set expectations with employees

Set expectations by saying, in plain words and in writing, what good work looks like, by when, and how you'll both know it's happening: "reply to customer emails within one working day", not "be responsive". Talk it through one to one, ask the person to say it back, agree when you'll review it, and bring it up again in your 1:1s. Most later problems with performance start with an expectation that was never said clearly.

Free 2-minute quiz · 1 of 14

Where do you manage?

A hospital unit or clinicA store, restaurant or service teamAn engineering or tech teamAn office or other team

Your result names your leadership style and builds a 30-day path: a 10-minute lesson and one ready script a day. Plans $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year, after the quiz.

Below: why clear expectations matter, the four kinds to cover, ten vague expectations rewritten, a one-page template, what to say in the conversation, plans for new hires, inherited teams and the whole team, what to do when an expectation is missed, and the mistakes to avoid.

Why setting expectations matters

Gallup's best-known engagement survey opens with the statement "I know what is expected of me at work", because the rest of the job builds on it. In late 2024, Gallup reported that 46% of US employees strongly agreed with it, down from 56% in January 2020 (as reported by Fortune, March 2025). In other words, around half of the people on a typical team aren't sure what good looks like.

For a new manager, this matters for two reasons. People can't meet a standard they don't know about, and you can't fairly give difficult feedback about one you never set. Clear expectations make the hard conversations shorter and fairer.

The four kinds of expectations to cover

KindCoversExample
ResultsWhat the work must achieve"Close 90% of tickets within two working days."
Ways of workingHours, response times, tools, updates"Update the tracker before Friday 3pm."
BehaviourHow we treat each other and customers"Disagree in the meeting, not after it in chat."
GrowthWhat they're learning or building towards"Lead one client call alone by end of March."

The fourth is often skipped. Without it, expectations feel like rules only. With it, they read as a plan.

Your expectations go both ways. Say what they can expect from you: "I'll reply to messages the same day, hold our 1:1 every week, and tell you early if priorities change."

Vague vs clear: ten expectations rewritten

A clear expectation passes one test: could two people watch the same week and agree whether it was met?

VagueClear
Be responsive.Reply to customer emails within one working day, even if only to say when you'll have an answer.
Be a team player.When you finish your tickets early, check the shared queue before starting new work.
Show more ownership.When you find a problem, bring it to stand-up with one suggested fix.
Communicate better.If a deadline is at risk, tell me at least two days before it.
Be on time.Be logged in and ready at 9:00. If you'll be late, message me before 8:45.
Keep quality high.Zero errors in the monthly report; ask a teammate to check it before it goes out.
Be more professional.Keep client emails to full sentences, no slang, copy me on anything about pricing.
Take initiative.Choose one process to improve this quarter and present it at a team meeting.
Be positive.Raise concerns in our 1:1 or the team meeting rather than in side conversations.
Work hard.Hit 40 calls a day on average over the month.

Not every expectation has a number. Behaviour ones rarely do. For those, describe what you'd see or hear: "raises concerns in the meeting" is checkable; "has a good attitude" isn't. Our guide to an employee with a bad attitude shows how to turn a feeling into behaviour you can name.

A one-page expectations template

Write one per person. Keep it to a page. Share it before the conversation so they can think about it.

Name, role, date. Review date: [in 30 or 90 days]

The purpose of the role, in one sentence: "You keep our customers' orders arriving on time and tell us early when they won't."

Results (2–4): what success looks like by the review date, each with how we'll know.

Ways of working (3–5): hours, response times, updates, tools.

Behaviour (2–3): the ones that matter most on this team.

Growth (1–2): one skill or experience for the next quarter.

What you can expect from me (3): e.g. weekly 1:1, same-day replies, early warning on changes.

How we'll check: the 1:1 each week; this page reviewed on the date above.

Keep a copy in your 1:1 notes. If you use our one on one meeting templates, add a line at the end of each: "Expectations: on track / talk about".

What to say in the expectations conversation

Give it its own meeting, 30 to 45 minutes, not the last five minutes of a 1:1. A simple order:

  1. Say why you're doing it. "I want us to agree what a good quarter looks like for you, so you're never guessing what I think."
  2. Walk the page together. For each line, give the reason. "Two days' warning on a late deadline gives me time to move things around before the customer notices."
  3. Ask what's missing or unrealistic. "Is any of this not possible with what you've got now? What would you change?"
  4. Agree changes on the spot. If they're right, change the page now.
  5. Ask them to say it back. "In your words, what are the two things that matter most this month?"
  6. Set the review date. "We'll check these every week in our 1:1 and look at the whole page again on the 15th."

"I'm not doing this because something's wrong. I'm doing it with everyone, so there's no guessing on either side. If anything here surprises you, I'd rather hear it now."

Then send the final page within a day, with a short note: "Here's what we agreed. Tell me if I got anything wrong."

Want the words for this conversation ready the morning you need them? Take the 2-minute quiz and get a 10-minute lesson and one script a day, for the talks you lead.

How to set expectations for new employees

New hires have the least context and the most to learn, so give expectations in stages rather than all at once:

WhenSet
Before day oneHours, where to be, who they'll meet, what the first week holds.
Week 1Ways of working and the two or three behaviours that matter most here.
End of month 1The first results, small and checkable.
Month 3The full page, results at the level you expect from someone fully up to speed.

Say plainly that early expectations are lower on purpose: "In the first month, I don't expect you to hit the full numbers. I expect you to ask a lot of questions." Our guide to your first one on one meeting with an employee has the agenda for that first talk.

Setting expectations for the whole team

Some expectations belong to everyone: meeting rules, response times, how decisions get made, how to raise problems. Set those together.

Team expectations the team helped write get kept more than ones handed down, because people can hold each other to them without you.

Setting expectations with a team you've just taken over

You've inherited the old manager's expectations, written or not. Don't change everything in week one.

  1. Ask each person in your first 1:1: "What did your last manager expect from you? What did you think good looked like?"
  2. Keep what works. Write down what you'll change and why.
  3. Change a few things at a time, and say so: "The old rule was weekly reports. I'd like a short update on Fridays instead, because I want to hear about problems before Monday."

If you were promoted from within the team, people will watch whether you hold yourself to the same rules. See managing former peers.

When an expectation isn't met

Because you wrote it down, this conversation is simpler. Follow it in steps:

  1. Check your side first. Was it clear? Did they have what they needed? Did priorities change without anyone saying so?
  2. Talk privately and soon. "We agreed you'd flag late deadlines two days ahead. The Harper order was late Thursday and I heard on Thursday. What happened?"
  3. Listen for the cause. Skill, time, unclear priority, or something outside work.
  4. Agree the next step. "Next time you see it slipping, message me that day. Can you do that?"
  5. Write a short recap and look again in two weeks.

If it keeps happening after that, it becomes a performance issue. How to manage an underperforming employee covers the next steps, including when to involve HR.

When expectations change

They will: a reorganisation, a new priority, a bigger role. Say so out loud rather than letting people work it out:

"Our priorities changed this week. Speed matters less than accuracy for the next two months. Here's what that means for your page: the two-day target is now three, and every order gets a second check."

Update the page, send it again, and change the review date if you need to.

Mistakes with setting expectations

Clear expectations also make the rest of the job easier: the handoff brief in how to delegate as a manager is a small expectations page, and keeping the promises on your own side is how you build trust with your team.

Want to know which part of this conversation you're most likely to avoid? The free leadership style quiz takes about two minutes and names your style.

Questions about setting expectations

How do you set clear expectations for employees?

Say what good looks like in words two people could check, give the reason, write it down, ask them to say it back, and agree a date to review it.

When should you set expectations with a new employee?

Start before day one with the basics, add ways of working in week one, and give the full set of results by about month three.

Should expectations be in writing?

Yes. A short page you both have avoids "I didn't know" later, and makes it easier to check progress in 1:1s.

How do you set expectations with a difficult employee?

The same way as with everyone, but more specific: name the behaviours you expect, the reason, and how you'll check. Keep a written recap after each talk.

What if an employee disagrees with an expectation?

Listen to why. If they're right, change it. If you can't, explain why it stays, and be clear it's still expected.

How often should you review expectations?

Briefly in every 1:1, and the whole page every three months or whenever the role or priorities change.

Next: read how to delegate as a manager, take the free leadership style quiz, or browse all our guides for new managers.

Tomorrow's talk, scripted.

  • A 10-minute lesson a day for 30 days, in the order your quiz answers set
  • One ready script a day: the words to open, the pause, the next step
  • $39.99 a year or $9.99 a month · cancel in one tap · a receipt your employer can expense
Take the free 2-minute quiz

Or read a sample lesson first

Sources