Home » Blog » Do you set goals for your employees? It could make a difference to your profit….

Goal setting can sometimes be overlooked and taken for granted in the workplace. Even the most basic of goals such as getting employees to turn up to work is something that is preferably achieved everyday! The research of motivation and goal-setting theory put forward by Dr. Locke is widely regarded and can provide small businesses with the knowledge they need to set effective company goals.
Locke identified that there is an inseparable link between setting goals and workplace performance, finding that, 90% of the time, specific and challenging (but not too challenging) goals led to higher performance compared to easy, or “do your best” goals. His later work with Latham acknowledged five principles for successful goal setting, they are:

Making goals clear
If a goal lacks clarity then it also lacks adequate direction for the employee to follow, making it nearly impossible to achieve. Clear goals are able to be measured accurately which allows you to identify behaviours that need to be rewarded as well as when the goal has been completed. It is imperative that goals are clearly communicated and understood by both parties when they are set in order to ensure their success.

Create challenging goals
In order to drive motivation, goals must be challenging, but as Locke found, not too challenging. If an employee deems a goal to be unachievable it is likely they won’t be motivated to even attempt to achieve it. However, make a goal too easy and an employee won’t be motivated to strive past that point. Just as goals have an effect on motivation, motivation levels can also impact goal attainment. If employee motivation is low, then even the most well-defined and achievable goals will be difficult to fulfil, so it would be recommended to monitor employee performance.

Ensure your staff are committed
For your goals to be effective its beneficial for your team to believe in them. This can generally happen if you involve your staff in the process of setting the goals. Hearing their views can help you set achievable goals, but don’t feel like every goal has to be negotiated with the entire team. By sharing with your employees your future vision for the business, it can not only reassure them that they are a part of the business’ future, it also empowers them to help you get there.

Regularly provide feedback
Once you’ve armed an employee with a goal its important to let them know how they are doing. Its sad, but its more common for employees to know when they aren’t on target to reach their goal than when they’re doing a good job or exceeding expectations. Make sure you give regular feedback and look to discuss the goals in question. Company goals aren’t static and can change according to the course that the business wishes to take. So, if needs be, maybe look to adjust a goal that isn’t being achieved before assuming the employee isn’t motivated to achieve it.

Monitor task complexity
Take care to ensure that your employees’ workloads don’t become too overwhelming when you set them complex goals to obtain. People who work in demanding roles and are task-oriented can be prone to pushing themselves too hard and overworking. Likewise, if goals are too complicated it may result in employees losing their confidence in their ability to complete the goal. If this is the case, managers need to ensure that they are providing employees with the time and resources they need to fulfil the tasks successfully.

Other Articles

Our 11 step guide to changing a toxic culture A Quick HR Guide to Neurodiversity How to make your employees more efficient