Before we even dive into the different types of goals, it's important to understand why we should be setting goals in the first place.
Goals have been shown to boost productivity and motivation, fostering positive employee wellbeing. According to an article by Gallup, “Employees who strongly agree that their managers helped them set performance goals are 69% more engaged compared to employees who did not have managers help them."
Additionally, goals encourage career advancement opportunities through the stronger decision making and more efficient work that comes from setting clear goals.
We are no longer doing a set it and forget it type system. We are putting in check points and adjusting when we need to. We live in a fluid and fast paced environment, so we need agile goal setting techniques. Establishing clear goals gives employees a sense of direction, but also gives them the ability to adjust at the checkpoints to make sure we are still on the right path.
Many of us have likely heard of SMART goals. It’s a real staple of performance goal setting. However, for goals to be truly effective, they should be SMARTER.
Specific
Broad goals aren’t helpful. Just saying I want to be a better employee isn’t going to make me a better employee. When setting a goal, we need to make sure that we are being specific.
Measurable
How will we know we have grown if we aren’t measuring it? When working towards a goal, we need to make sure that is measurable. Using Truvelop's Evaluation tool can help indicate measurable growth.
Attainable
Goals should be challenging but achievable. It should push us without being something that is completely unrealistic.
Relevant
The goal should matter to us. If we don’t believe in the goal, then we aren’t going to work towards it. Finding goals that are in alignment with our values and our organization’s values is really important in terms of keeping us motivated and engaged in a long term journey.
Time-Based
If we don’t put a deadline on something, it falls to the wayside. It isn’t a priority. Putting a deadline on it places some accountability for us to take the right steps to help us grow.
Evaluate and Review
We live in an agile world so we need agile goal setting. Evaluating where we are on our path towards meeting our goal is essential to actually meeting it. If we need to make adjustments, then let’s make adjustments! If we need to adjust the route to still meet the destination, then let’s do it. Sometimes we need to make a detour and that’s okay! Let’s determine what is helping us to meet our goals and what isn’t and adjust from there.
Stretch/Breakthrough Goals are goals that indicate an outcome that would take an employee to the next level, but it is typically just out of reach. Essentially, it challenges us and pushes us to go further than we think we are capable.
When we push for something just out of reach, we are working harder and with more purpose. Additionally, if we overshoot, we can land higher than what we actually needed. By stretching past what we actually need, we can give ourselves a buffer for any setbacks.
An important piece to keep in mind is that the employee must know that it is a stretch to avoid demotivation or even panic. If they know their goal is a stretch, they may instead feel motivated and excited about the possibility of stepping outside of their comfort zone.
Objective and Key-Result Goal-Setting uses all three types of goals: Outcome, performance, and process. Each component is aiming towards the same great goal.
The objective should be the final outcome that you are hoping to achieve.
The Key-Results are steps along the way that will let you know that you are on the right path. These should be quantifiable and measurable performance indicators.
Additionally, we need to figure out how we are going to meet our checkpoints. Implementing and adjusting our process is what is going to help us fulfill our goal.
Checking-in is easier than ever with our instant feedback tool, Spark. Using Truvelop's Spark function, managers can track and support their employees' goals. This is a great way to host a two-way conversation about the employee's journey towards their goals and to memorialize any feedback shared. Now that you have the techniques and the tool, let's get started and set some goals!
