Updated June 8, 2023
Employers Expect Employees
Employers generally expect employees to meet certain expectations and fulfill certain responsibilities to contribute to the organization’s success.
If you already have a few years of experience in the corporate world, you would know that there are certain things that employers always expect from employees. These employee expectations are seldom not written in the company policy.
If you’re new to the organization, you may not guess the expectations of the employers from you right away. Spend time in the organization and understand the company culture, values, structure, and how things work.
This article will articulate what employers expect from employees, even if you don’t know them.
Pay heed to them, pause, reflect, and then decide on the action step.
Before going into what employers want from employees, you need to know what employers expect from employees.
Why?
Yes, we are here to dig the holes. We will find out why employers want employees to behave a certain way.
1. Investment
When employers hire employees, they invest a lot of money, time, and effort in them. So, as businessmen, they want their employees to give back a good return on investment. Think about you. When you invest your money in a good mutual fund, don’t you desire a good ROI? “Of course!” – you would say. Thus, employers want employees to behave in ways to ensure a great return on their investments.
2. Organizational Sustainability
Employers want their organization to succeed and keep going as long as possible. To maintain the organization’s sustainability, people must work diligently and constantly provide value in the marketplace. Thus, employers want employees to understand their POV and act accordingly. If they don’t bring value to the marketplace, soon, they will be out of business.
3. Reducing Cost
Employers don’t only want to make more money; they also want to save more money. Employers want employees to make optimum utilization of resources and not waste money. If employees don’t understand this and use more resources than necessary, they cannot justify their job description. Employees need to reduce costs to generate better profits.
4. Expansion
“If you’re not growing, you’re decaying.” It’s true for both individuals and organizations. If the organizations are not growing, they get devalued in impact, value, and customer service. So, employers want employees to help them achieve their goals, or it will be difficult to maintain a cordial liaison.
No one tells a top performer that – be a top performer, do this, and do that.
Things that employers expect employees to know
These are the fundamentals of becoming a good employee, irrespective of whether your employer wants employees to do it.
1. Owning the place
The employer wants employees to take charge of the responsibilities. Your employer doesn’t go to you and tells you to take charge and be proactive; you should know your responsibilities. You need to understand the difference between what should and shouldn’t be done. Take charge of your duties; you will see the difference in your results and how your employers communicate with you.
2. Positive Thinking
Positive thinking is an important aspect of a successful company. To be a great employee, you need to be a positive thinker. No one writes that in the company manual. For example, when you see that your team is doing a recruitment drive and nothing has been happening for months, you need to hang on and motivate your team to keep it ongoing. Maybe you could give some ideas to help your team tweak a few things, and perhaps they would get the results. If the employees are not thinking positively, it’s difficult for a company to sustain itself long.
3. Confidentiality
You’re not supposed to share any information about the company or use any of it for commercial purposes. As an employee, it’s natural that employers will trust you and share sensitive and confidential information with you. Employers want employees to keep their trust. Protect the laptop or any information with a password so no one can access it.
4. Cooperation
An organization is like a family. The employers are like the authorities of the families, and the employees are the family members. Employers want employees to understand the issues, try to help them solve them, and not tolerate any injustice. Cooperation means an expectation to understand the value of your work and the work of your co-workers and help each other grow together. The world is all about interdependency. No one can exist alone. Every one of us needs all of us.
5. Integrity
Employers want employees to be able to do what they say they would, whether the circumstances favor them or not. Most employees do justice with their words when situations are in their favor. But when the circumstances don’t sync with their expectations, they get panicky, and the easy thing to do during panic is to avoid the task they promised to deliver. The best way to maintain integrity is to promise less and deliver better.
6. Excellent Customer Service
Employers expect employees to deliver excellent customer service. The client may not know the employer. But he knows the employee, and how he talks, walks, delivers, gives feedback, offers product details, and behaves with him will tell everything about the company.
He will know the company through you. Deal with all the customers as if you’re running the company. If he has heard anything wrong about the company, provide a counter-feedback with politeness. Don’t lose control, and don’t let the customers get over you and the company simultaneously. Deliver excellent customer service, and provide what customers want.
7. Backbiting
Backbiting is also known as “being ungrateful.” if you have developed this habit, stop it or leave the company. But don’t pretend to be loyal when you’re backbiting. No employers expect employees to say bad things about the company.
Employers want employees to talk directly and not say anything behind the back, which would compromise professional relationships. Do this instead. Make a quick list of why you’re grateful to the company and co-workers.
8. Proper Utilization of Time
Employers want employees to utilize time appropriately. No employer expects employees to come late to the office and leave early. The best way to utilize time is to maintain a structure from day one. Don’t follow anyone’s structure. You’re unique and quite different from others. Use the productive time to do the difficult tasks and easy stuff when in dizzy mode.
Final Analysis
In the end, it’s time to see the picture upside down. What do employees expect employers to do for them? Here’s a small list-
- Employees want appreciation for their work and contribution. Employers should also deal with person-hours depreciation if they treat them as resources.
- Employees want to get paid handsomely. Don’t pay chicken feeds and expect to receive fortunes.
- Employees want to be the first preference even more than customers. If you want to check the facts, you can read about “Employees First, Customers Second,” – an initiative started by HCL.
- Employees desire to grow. They will stay in the organization if they see their intellectual and economic well-being grow and expand.
Before expecting employees to adhere to what employers expect, employers must understand the needs and desires of employees as well.
