The Why And How Of Workplace Goals

Posted in Motivation. Written by Daniel Rodriquez on October 28th, 2009

How to set goals is the topic for this part of our management guide.

Goal setting is one of the most significant, but often forgotten about, tasks in the workplace. However, by applying a few basic guidelines, managers and employees can set and achieve goals that push themselves and their organization forward.

Managers often times assume that employees automatically know the goals of the company. This is often not the case, yet employees need to be aware of them so as to achieve them. Scheduling regular meetings with members of staff to discuss the state of the company and future goals can do great things for employee morale. Employees that are briefed on the direction that the company is headed are more likely to be headed in the same direction.

Managers and their employees should communicate to develop goals that are mutually agreed upon. Employees enjoy being listened to during the setting of goals and more often than not accomplish the goals if they played an integral part in setting them.

Merely setting a goal to increase sales outright does not do much to motivate the sales team. However, if the goal were to be to improve sales by 5% in the month of March, the goal is more focused and measurable. A goal needs to include dates, times and amounts. Being specific means a much better chance of the goal being accomplished.

If goals are established and then employees are never told whether or not they have been reached, the whole purpose of setting goals loses its credibility. Managers need to update employees regularly throughout the time period set for accomplishing a goal to let them know how near they are to achieving it.

Ensuring employees are focused on a common goal is as simple as noting the goals down and posting them in a common area. Taking this a step further, managers can even plot the progress toward the goals. Try this because simply finding out at the end of the time period allotted that a goal was not accomplished does little to boost morale.

Continue : Employee Productivity