Setting Team Goals? Then This Is The Checklist You Need Now!

by Srikant Chellappa Jun 23,2017
Engagedly
PODCAST

The People Strategy Leaders Podcast

with Srikant Chellappa, CEO

Writing employee goals for the first time? Here is a checklist you need to follow in order to ensure that you are creating good and SMART goals for your employees.

Personal improvement

One of the main motives behind you creating goals for your employees as a manager should be personal improvement. A goal which helps an employee improve and gain new skills is going to be a good goal by default because personal improvement is a part and parcel of an employee’s development. Employees cannot remain static.

Goals should be attainable, not cause workplace burnout

One of the keys to setting good goals is that they should be slightly unreachable. However, managers should not go to the extreme and set completely unreachable goals. If your goals are causing your employees to pull countless all-nighters or are stressing them out, they are completely missing the point. You don’t want your goals to burn out employees. You should be aiming for motivation.

Also Read: EmployeeRecognition and Rewards During COVID 19

Challenging and engaging, should be a team effort

Employee goals should ensure that employees do not work as individual contributors but rather work with others to ensure the completion of goals. Goals that can be easily be met by employees are not challenging them enough or even engaging them. On the other hand, a goal that forces an employee to step out of their comfort zone is a goal that is challenging. And even better if the goal in question forces employees to engage with other employees.

Goals should be measurable, but not just in a statistical sense

If we only counted goals in terms of numerical progress, then by that logic, it would be very easy to declare a goal as a failure or success. When it comes to setting goals for employees, one of the things you should keep in mind is measurability. It’s good if you can measure a goal in terms of numbers and even better if you can measure the impact that a goal has had. The impact a goal has had is always a better indicator of success than the numerical status of a goal itself.

For example, an employee is given a goal where he needs to convince 50 other employees in the office to use a new software. In terms of numbers, if 50 employees have downloaded that software and used it even once, then the goal is a successful one. However, if those 50 employees stopped using the software after a period of time, then has the employee really succeeded at the goal?

 Also Read: Employee Disengagement And How To Fix It

How is the goal helping the team and the organization?

All goals cannot be tied to team goals and the organization, that is true. However, when setting a goal for an employee, it is important to remember that as much as possible, a goal should contribute to the overall team and organization goals. If a goal is not directly contributing to a team or the organization’s success, it should at least account for an employee’s personal development. If the goal is not even helping the employee improve professionally, then the goal shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Is the goal static or can it be modified in the long run?

Ideally, you should be able to modify goals in the long run. Because, in the process of achieving a goal, the employee and manager might suddenly find that the objective of the goal needs to change. Or that they might need to add other objectives to the goal.

How does the goal affect, you, the manager, personally?

This is one other thing you need to take into consideration. How does the goal you set for your employee affect you? Does it tie into any personal goals you have? And if it does, how do you measure the goal? How much is the employee contributions towards the goal? These are a few of the questions you should ask when creating goals for employees.

Do your goals agree with what the employee has in mind?

Last but not the least, this is one of the most important factors to consider when creating a goal. Does your goal match with what the employee has in mind? If it does, great, you can go ahead and set that goal. If it does not, you’ve got to find a way to meet in the middle with the employee. A goal that is set for an employee without an employee’s input is one that is doomed. If employees are not invested in a goal or even motivated by it, then they will not be able to pursue it.


Engagedly’s Goals module allows you set goals not only for yourself but also for your direct reports! Request a demo today to see how our Goals module works and how it can help you!

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Author
Srikant Chellappa
CEO & Co-Founder of Engagedly

Srikant Chellappa is the Co-Founder and CEO at Engagedly and is a passionate entrepreneur and people leader. He is an author, producer/director of 6 feature films, a music album with his band Manchester Underground, and is the host of The People Strategy Leaders Podcast. He is currently working on his next book, Ikigai at the Workplace, which is slated for release in the fall of 2024.

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