As we kick-off the New Year, let’s talk about GOALS.
Setting goals is one of the best strategies to improve the workplace, from team communication to better manager-employee relationships and higher worker efficiency. Goals also aid in the development of a sense of accountability and allow individuals to track their progress. Setting goals and devising performance evaluation systems work hand in hand in this way. Setting better goals is the first step toward effectively evaluating an employee’s performance, and you should set SMART GOALS.
What does S.M.A.R.T. stand for?
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-based
Can you see the benefits of such goals now that you have this information? Specific goals allow the goal setter to picture and plan exactly what they need to do to achieve them.
Creating a daily or weekly quota for an employee could be a specified goal. The quota would be measurable, allowing everyone to see how far they have progressed or are progressing. The quota should be one that the person can reasonably achieve based on their feelings and past performance. To make apparent why such a goal is vital and how everyone may benefit from seeing it fulfilled, it’s best to make the goal relevant to the individual and situation. Finally, a time-based goal offers the individual a deadline to work. This produces a sense of accountability as well as a progress timetable that can be examined later. Most importantly, it allows the person enough time to finish the task.
Let’s imagine someone who works in manufacturing, and his/her duty is to supervise the quality assurance staff and inspect their work. His/Her boss sits down with him/her and assists him/her in setting a goal. He/She chooses to inspect the work of one employee per day instead of all at once at the end of the week. They chose this target to increase overall quality assurance and have set a quarterly deadline for completing it. The objective is attainable and measurable.
Individual goals should be divided into professional development—personal development—and departmental or company-wide goals. This not only allows people to benefit themselves personally but also the firm as a whole, reinforcing the goal’s importance and relevance. When goals are meaningful to the individual, they are much easier to accept when they realize why achieving the goal is advantageous.
What role do goals have in the success of performance appraisals?
Helping someone set specific, attainable goals is the only method to track or measure their performance. There’s no way to tell how someone has progressed—or where they could be falling short—if there’s no objective or expectation in place. Goals should be a priority of any performance evaluation or strategy you design for them. Performance evaluations have a variety of advantages for both the employee and the business. Employers will have paperwork to back up any promotions or layoffs, and you will be contributing to an employee’s development through feedback and motivation. You’ll also have legal protection in the event that an employee files a complaint against you.
For employees, the benefit of having an assessment includes obtaining input, feedback, and direction on their performance and being inspired to keep doing what you’re doing or improve and overcome any challenges you may be facing.
Understanding how to propose and develop goals can significantly impact how workers perceive their work and their role within a firm. As an employer, it is part of your responsibility to document, track, and measure individual accomplishments against the company’s overarching goals on a regular basis, not just once a year. The review process should take place throughout the year to keep everyone involved up to date on any goals that are being worked on and offer employees plenty of opportunities to change their progress or take advantage of any fresh comments you may have for them.
If you are looking for a speaker to help your organization on the themes of setting goals and smashing them, workshops, workplace culture, and more, CLICK HERE to book your top keynote speaker today.
