4 Goal Setting Tips to Help Your Employees Succeed

It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day tasks when running a small business. One thing that’s often overlooked is the importance of taking the time to set formal goals for your team. Effective goal setting gives your employees clear benchmarks, leads to improved performance, and helps your company increase productivity.

Clearly Defined Goals are Essential to the Success of Your Business and Your Employees

Having common company goals that are clearly defined helps employees know exactly what they’re working towards. Setting individual performance goals for each team member is a great way to:

• Keep people on target
• Boost employee productivity
• Encourage growth
• Increase job satisfaction
• Provide opportunities for advancement

4 Goal Setting Tips

Help your employees and your business succeed with these 4 goal setting tips:

• Set Short- and Long-Term Goals for your Employees
  
  When employees have short-term and long-term goals it gives them a better idea of what to prioritize. Goals should be specific, attainable, and have a deadline. Having measurable goals helps people know exactly what needs to be done by a certain time. Measurable goals are specific for example “complete XYZ software training by the end of Q1” or “increase a certain product’s sales by 10% by the end of Q3”.
  
  Let your team know what the long-term goals are for the business so they can see how their work is important to the company’s overall success. Knowing that their projects, tasks, and goals are aligned with the company’s goals, helps employees see how they fit into the bigger picture. It gives them a sense of purpose and keeps people motivated and engaged.

• Schedule Ongoing Check-ins with your Team
  
  In addition to yearly performance reviews, consider shorter, ongoing check-ins with employees once or twice per quarter. Leaders should dedicate uninterrupted time to meet with each team member to go over their performance, track progress, answer questions, and give feedback. You want to create an open environment for your employees to voice their opinions or concerns. This is mutually beneficial to both your team and your business. If employees are struggling to meet goals or encountering roadblocks during the year, ongoing check-ins will help you address any potential obstacles and make necessary adjustments.

• Involve Employees in Setting their Own Performance Goals
  
  Instead of simply telling them what to do, involve your team members when setting each of their goals. When employees are involved in setting their own goals, it encourages self-reflection, accountability, and serves as motivation to succeed. Employees can contribute their input and make sure the goals that are set are challenging, yet fair and attainable. They may even identify new opportunities for both company and individual growth. As an example, if an employee expresses an interest in mentoring, work with them to discover opportunities for setting goals that involve training newer or less-experienced team members.

• Reward Employees for their Achievements
  
  When an employee achieves their goals, considering rewarding them with a bonus, a celebratory lunch, extra time off, or a thoughtful gift. Recognizing your team members for their performance and achievements goes a long way in keeping them driven. It shows them that you support them and appreciate the hard work it took to achieve their goal. Rewarding your team members encourages them to keep at it and stick with their goals for the future.

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