Goal setting is the fundamental process in a company’s planning for a quarter. Goal setting and employee goal management need a strategy and not everyone can do it. Goals must be meaningful and also goal setting cannot be done once a year. It should take place every quarter depending upon the progress of the workforce.
I will tell you an example with my friend’s team, who works in the content delivery team. My friend’s team did not have a permanent manager, and that led to all sorts of confusion. Their goal is to ensure project inflow by meeting the expectations of the client in the other projects. But that did not happen as there was no one to monitor and track the progress and delivery of projects.
Leave alone goal setting, no one knew who worked on important projects. Finally, the team booked a loss. The whole company was disappointed with the team. Then, the company appointed a new permanent manager. He installed software to track the progress of a project. He set goals for the team and let the entire team know about their goals. The manager monitored the work updates for a project. Soon, the team became an asset from liability to the company.
Hence, to run an organization successfully, you should decide achievable goals that the employees can work on to contribute to the organization’s objectives. You should set SMART goals. SMART goals ensure that your organization meets its targets in time, and you should explain to your team how a SMART goal contributes to the bigger picture.
Being Specific in Goal Setting is the Key to Success
Do not set goals that sound like we must achieve greater success than the last quarter. This type of goal setting does not give a clear picture of the target to your employee. You should be specific. Specific goals involve considering the following questions.
WHAT should be done?
WHO will do?
HOW will he/she do?
WHAT is the result?
These questions should be answered by you to make it comprehensible to your employees. Specific goals motivate your employees to work harder and complete the work without any delay.
Measure Your Goals to Know Where You’re Going
Your work does not end once you have set specific goals for your team. You should quantify your goals to measure your progress. For instance, you tell your team to get 1000 leads in this quarter. After a month, you can track the progress of your team checking how many leads have been generated. If it is not as the desired result, you can change the strategy. You can either set a different goal or upgrade your employees’ skills to fill the gap in their performance.
Attainable Goals Makes Sense to Actual Progress
Setting unrealistic goals is not going to help your organization. It may seem okay to set unattainable goals, but you cannot see any progress with it. My friend, who works in the e-publishing industry, was asked to complete proofreading 600 children’s books in a month. She did her best but could not do more than 300. It was an unrealistic goal, which discouraged her and further reduced her productivity. The goal was far from achieving, and so the team was not able to deliver the project on time.
The project managers accepted the target dates to satisfy their clients, but it just ruined their reputation as they could not meet their target time. They should have added one more employee to support the project.
It is better to set goals that are attainable. Attainable goals lead to the actual growth of a company.
Relevant Goals is a Basic Factor in Goals Management
Does it make sense to set the goals of a digital marketing team to a developing team? It is completely irrelevant. Goals should be set according to the team’s purpose. These goals should align with organizational goals. The team should understand why they work toward the goal, how they contribute to the achievement of the organization, and what are the results. When the team comprehends the purpose, it may lead to miraculous results.
Always keep your employees engaged and motivated by setting relevant goals.
No Goals are for Eternity. Set Time-Bound goals.
Fix deadlines for your goals. If there is no time limit for a goal, an employee can go astray. Target date and time are important to keep your employees on track. It also helps you to serve your clients better and on time.
These are the factors that are to be kept in mind before setting goals. This approach of goal setting works, and it shows a remarkable result. Try it and make it as simple as possible when it comes to goal setting.
