Communication Skills Archives - Leadership and Management Training Courses UK

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Employees Don’t Understand The Tasks They’re Given

Young brunette woman with blue eyes working using computer lapto

In times of virtual working distributing tasks out to your people can be challenging. Miscommunication can happen easily.

The result? Your people start on the task and they don’t fully understand it.

But you’re relying on your team to be productive and efficient when it comes to their tasks.

A company relies on its employees to be productive and efficient when it comes to their tasks.

The quicker and better your workers are able to implement their duties, the more products or services you can offer, thereby raising profits.

However, things don’t always run smoothly in the office (whether that be “home office” or “work office”) and managers end up being frustrated when their employees make a mistake or don’t complete an assignment as they should have.

During these times it’s vital to remember that most employees want to do their jobs to their best abilities, but they may simply need more help in doing so.

It’s possible that they didn’t understand the task you assigned, and it can be because of these 3 reasons:

Don’t Know Why They Have to Do It

Modern leaders understand the importance of involving their employees in top level decisions and sharing the vision for the team with them.

This helps everyone be on the same page about both short and long term objectives, and the steps needed to reach them.

When managers simply tell their employees what to do rather than why they have to do it, employees may not grasp the full picture.

They may decide that the task is not important to do at the moment and put it on the back-burner, or do it incorrectly.

Take the time to explain to your colleagues how their contributions add up to the overall goals of the team to motivate them to do their best work.

You Didn’t Set Smart Goals

Communication always involves two people—the sender and the receiver.

Problems and ambiguity often occur when the speaker believes they said something one way, but the listener understood it differently.

This is why it’s imperative to give as many details as possible when giving tasks.

Setting SMART goals, which include specific objectives and timelines is a great idea!

S-Simple

M-Measurable

A-Agreed

R-Realistic

T-Timely

If you cover all of the five bases of SMART goals, it will help you and your subordinates work together to make sure they comprehend what needs to be done.

You Didn’t Follow Up

A manager’s job is never done, and managing a task doesn’t end once it’s assigned.

Even if you took all the right steps, it’s vital to follow up with your employees throughout the process of completion.

This way you can quickly identify problems and work with your team members to correct them and get the project back on track.

Want to improve your skills further in this area? Learn how to distribute work amongst your team in the right way with an MTD Management Skills Training course. Our training events are always fun and engaging. Another option is for you to develop your skills further with a digital course through our Online Management Training solutions. Both will provide you with the techniques and strategies to make a massive impact on your people.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat

Managing Director

MTD Training | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo

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Although you expect your employees to be grown adults and manage their issues on their own, there are times when it is advantageous for a leader to step in and handle the situation.

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However, the situation can be greatly exacerbated if employees feel like they are being kept in the dark about matters affecting them.

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One study found that 7 out of 10 employees blame their boss for increasing their stress levels.

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