The importance of goal setting
We all know goal setting is important and something that we should be doing with employees, but do we actually know why? By understanding exactly why goal setting is so important and being aware of the benefits that goal setting can unlock for your business, you can use it to not only provide an advantage to employees, but to the business as a whole.
Moreso now than ever, employees are very much now wanting more than just a job. Its important that businesses able to provide their teams with a clear link between how their day to day role contributes to the overall business’s success. Goal setting is a really clever way to be able to achieve this – you put the responsibility of shaping their day to day work into the hands of the individuals and they can take control over how their individual goals contribute to the overall businesses objectives.
Did you know?
- When goals are written down they are 33% more likely to be achieved.
- Setting goals is directly linked to higher levels of confidence, motivation, and autonomy
- Companies that set individual performance goals quarterly can generate 31% more returns than those reassessing annually.
These statistics provide an interesting snapshot that shows just how valuable it can be to implement a formal, structured goal-setting process. Even starting off simply and rolling out a process to have goals written down provides advantages! The correlation of goal setting to behaviours such as confidence and motivation is also paramount. if goal setting can increase employee motivation levels, what it’s also going to be able to do as a natural flow-on effect, is increase employee performance. Having clear and measurable goals encourage employees to be more productive, creative, and proactive. When employees can see an end goal or a milestone in their midst, they can focus on where they are going, celebrate what they’ve achieved, and move on to the next goal.
However, it’s not enough to just give employees goals, or tell employees to set their own goals and get on with it – in order to implement effective goal setting, its important that the goals themselves are strategically curated and – probably most importantly – are developed in collaboration between the employee and their manager. This is because this is where a lot of the benefits of goal setting are born – employees feel connected to their goals and have a vested interest in them! Most people don’t like to simply be told what to do, they want to be involved in determining goals that make the most sense for them. Giving employees some sense of participation in the goal-setting process is an important element of ensuring that it’s successful.
Using a framework when setting goals is also going to help you develop clearly defined goals that are specific and measurable – this is going to be what helps your goal-setting process be implemented effectively so you can reap the benefits from it. There are quite a few different types of frameworks you can use, one of the most common ones is the SMART framework. Cascading goals is another framework that is great to use when implementing goal setting because it helps to make sure that individual goals support team goals and company strategic objectives. This is a great way to leverage goal setting to help the company achieve its strategic plans. When employees understand how their individual roles and responsibilities contribute to the bigger picture, they’re often more focused and motivated to achieve goals that result in success for both the business and themselves.
Watch our webinar recording
Interested to learn more about goal setting and strategic HR planning? Our HR experts Alana Bloom and Louise Alagich explored one of our Lean HR principles; we set goals across the business (including HR) aligned with company objectives.
Alana and Louise discussed:
- The importance of setting goals;
- Goal setting at all levels of the business;
- OKRs & goal setting methodologies;
- The importance of strategic planning and the involvement of HR.
About Employment Innovations
Employment Innovations is one of Australia’s leading providers of employment services designed to increase productivity and ensure compliance. Its services and solutions include all the tools that every Australian small to medium sized employer needs – including workplace advice, legal services, payroll solutions, migration, human resource management and HR software.
Disclaimer
The information provided in these blog articles is general in nature and is not intended to substitute for professional advice. If you are unsure about how this information applies to your specific situation we recommend you contact Employment Innovations for advice.