You may be skilled at reacting to orders from above, questions from below and all the other day-to-day demands of your workplace. You may work long hours, be well-liked and respected, and be the model of organizational efficiency. But, unless you’re proactive in setting the right goals for your employees, you aren’t an effective manager.
Defining the right employee goals is critical to boosting engagement, building productivity and enhancing your company’s reputation as an employer of choice.
Align employee goals with company objectives.
Make sure the goals you set for your team align with those of the broader organization. Moreover, make sure your employees accept and commit to those goals.
- When people understand “what it means to me,” they’re more focused and motivated to reach performance targets on a regular basis.
Be the facilitator as people set their own goals.
The more you involve your employees in setting goals for themselves and their team, the more committed and engaged they will be.
- Goals have the greatest impact if a manager and employee co-create them. Employees have a stronger sense of ownership and involvement in that which they have helped to develop. You have certain objectives in mind for each person on your team – and you need to stick to them – but you can’t simply impose them on people.
- Ask employees to help identify goals specifically related to their roles. When those goals align with organizational objectives, then you can guide them in developing related action plans.
Make sure all goals are SMART goals.
The time-tested process of setting SMART goals still holds true.
- Create goals that are specific to what needs to be accomplished.
- Ensure that all goals are measurable, so progress can be accurately tracked.
- Every goal must be attainable by an employee and, at the same time, stretch them and help them grow in their role.
- Goals must be relevant – aligning with other goals, but also important and worthwhile to the employee.
- Set target completion dates. Every goal is time-based.
Reward progress and encourage those who fall short.
Recognize employees who set goals, and then achieve or exceed them. This not only acknowledges a person’s effort, but also demonstrates to others how much your company values commitment and hard work. On the other hand, if accomplishments go unnoticed, employees can justifiably feel there’s no point in working so hard and begin to look for higher levels of fulfillment elsewhere.
- Not every employee will succeed, despite their best efforts. In a situation where deadlines aren’t met, there should be an in-depth discussion about what went wrong, combined with encouragement to try again and address or rework the stated objectives.
As you develop goals for your employees and help your managers develop in their roles, consider working with the staffing experts at PrideStaff Fresno. We can help you create and groom the workforce you need for success in 2019 and beyond. Contact us today to learn more.