How to Set Employee Goals Effectively

last updated Friday, February 21, 2020
#Employee Goals #

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John Burson

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CONTENTS

All businesses share a primary goal: scale, success, etc. Aligning and tracking those goals is critical.

The organizations see an increase in employee/business performance when they effectively set and tie individual employee goals to the company's overall strategy.

Setting Employee Goals SMART

The process should be a collaborative process between an employee and the organization. The most used framework is S M A R T.

S M A R T.

S=Specific
Well-defined focus - when, how much.

M=Measurable
Provide milestones to motivate employees toward achievement.

A=Attainable
Achievable with an effort by an average employee, not too high or too low.

R=Relevant
Focus on the max impact to the overall company strategy.

T=Time-bound
Establish enough time to achieve the goal.

Aligning Employee Goals with Entire Company Strategy 

Each person within the organization sees the direction for the business and knows how their job fits in with the “Big Picture”. To achieve goal alignment, you must clearly communicate your strategic business objectives across the entire company. The managers may access the goals of other departments, and the organization can reduce redundancy while finding better ways to support each other. With everyone working together toward the same objectives, the company can execute strategy faster, with more flexibility.
Goal alignment strengthens leadership and creates organizational agility by allowing managers to:

• Understand more clearly all responsibilities associated with specific goals;
• Focus employees on your company's most important goals.

Tracking Employee Goals

It’s important for employees to track their progress because

• They need to have the information available during the all-important review process, etc.
• The managers need to be aware of progress on goals to step in with assistance or resources when it appears that goal targets will possibly be missed.
• This is also helpful when management is not aware of all of the steps involved in reaching a goal and strong documentation assists you in discussions of past projects and successes when review time rolls around. 

Tracking your goals in a centralized location helps you stay on track in several ways:

• Organize, manage and reassess your goals frequently
• Create action plans with milestones for larger goals
• Track your time to make sure your daily efforts are focused on meaningful tasks

Software to Manage Employee Goals

This software is/does:

• a valuable tool to communicate goals company-wide,
• hold people accountable for achieving those goals in support of the company’s strategic plan,
• include smaller tasks and milestones on the way to the completion of longer-term goals.

Goals visibility
Goals can be cascaded from the top down and made visible to al.

Goals sharing
The employee can create individual goals that support company goals then link to other employees if the success of their goal is dependent upon the actions of a co-worker or manager in another department or location.

Dashboard
Dashboard provides a snapshot of progress based upon the target dates you and your manager have provided.

Hint
How to set effective goals with high performance:

1. review your goals at least once a week  to clarify your focus,
2. use this information as a basis for goal performance discussions.

 
 
 

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