How to Keep Track of Organizational Goals with Performance Management

Some people make lists, others put sticky notes on their computer screen, and many simply fly by the seat of their pants. It's not easy to keep track of work resolutions, especially when they are long term as resolutions tend to be. At work when deadlines begin to pile up and projects are coming out of your ears, finding time to work towards keeping your goals on track is near impossible. But don't worry, your team doesn't have to do it entirely alone.

What tools can help track goals?

Over the last few years, technology has exploded. Between the tablets, phablets, and smartphones… even your car talks to you now. With all of these pieces of technology, there's undoubtedly "an app for that" that also translates to your Tools like Microsoft Office 365, Dropbox, and Trello. These apps can help you and your team stay on task while making the most of available time. Trello, for example, separates responsibilities by importance to keep projects streamlined and the office organized.Microsoft Office 365 and Dropbox allow your team to use their mobile devices to access work documents without the constraints of a desktop computer.

While technology (i.e., big data, analytics, tracking) is necessary in today’s business world, disruptive technologies (i.e., social media, personal devices, email) can impede the success of goal setting and maintenance. Josh Bersin (@Josh_Bersin), Principal and Founder of Bersin by Deloitte said: 

“Agile software was the beginning of the era of greater transparency and continuous feedback. Now we have social media everywhere, which promotes even greater visibility into the everyday lives of everyone around us. The other trend driving this is a strong focus on analytics. Open discussion, regular check-ins, big data, and greater awareness are now part of every business and when you pair those activities with company-wide, quarterly goal setting processes - organizations can see 30-40 percent greater returns.” 

What can the workload handle?

Perhaps most importantly, employees have to understand their work capacity. The biggest issue with these newfound hopes of a brighter and more productive year is that all too often the goals are lofty. Take a look at the average workday breakdown:

●      44.5% of the day spent on primary job duties

●      13.8% of the day spent on reading and responding to emails

●      12% of the day spent on administrative tasks

●      9.3% of the day spent in useful meetings

●      7.7% of the day dealing with interruptions

●      6.9% of the day wasted in useless meetings.

That leaves a grand total of 5.7% of the day for special projects, working towards goals, and everything else. Adding lofty aspirations to the list of daily activities leaves your team inundated with a workload they might not be able to handle. 

This is yet another reason why accurate performance appraisals are so crucial to business development and employee growth. Two-thirds of highly rated employees are not the top performers, so inaccurate appraisals could give them disproportionate time at work for more goals than they can reasonably achieve. 

What is the manager’s role?

Productivity and engagement start with the right attitude. Employees have to do more than simply show up to work... they have to actually show up. While employees are their biggest critics, sometimes they need a little help getting motivated to accomplish their goals. Whether it's faith in their own personal brand or how that aligns with the organization, a little "Nice work! This turned out great with the limited time you had," or, "This is great, but it still needs some attention in these areas," are examples of simple continuous feedback. However, there are other more involved ways managers can motivate the team before failing to meet a goal.

●      Clearly define expectations - It’s a natural propensity for people to mentally wander. However, if you give employees direction, their goals will align with your expectations for development. Understand how your employees work and what their limits are so new goals don’t push them too far.

●      Believe in your team - Employees are more likely to perform well if they know their supervisor has faith in their performance.

●      Praise and correct appropriately - Nothing is quite as demotivating as public criticism. More often than not, employees are unaware of shortcomings, and they certainly don’t need to be altered to them in front of their team. On the same note, while private praise is appreciated, it’s not as effective as doing it publicly. 

No matter what your role in the company, it’s part of your job to help your employees and coworkers reach their work objectives. While it’s not your responsibility to micromanage their every task, you do have to help them understand how to manage their daily performance requirements and goal maintenance simultaneously. Performance appraisals, goal tracking software and apps, and clear motivation from supervisors all play a role in helping your team reach their goals this year in the office. 

Keeping goals on track is a team effort; don’t let your team do it alone.

Take a demo of our performance management software to see how you can streamline this process.

Hit the Bull’s-eye on Performance Management — Total Goal Alignment From Any Distance

The 2012 Summer Olympics are in full swing, and among the mass of global athletes will be those taking aim in the archery competition. With pinpoint precision and nerves of steel, they train their eye on a 12-centimeter bull’s-eye 70 meters away. With clarity of vision, unrelenting focus and a will to succeed, these athletes demonstrate the ultimate in cool and make winning look like a walk in the park.

As a business leader, how close is your company’s performance to hitting the target? Is your team piercing every critical business goal dead center? Perhaps you can clearly see your strategic priorities in the bull’s-eye; but take 10 steps back — is the target just as clear, or do you start to lose focus?

Hitting the bull’s-eye on performance requires total goal visibility from any distance within the organization. That starts with a clear business strategy and operational plan at the top, alignment of goals down the hierarchy of the company, and ownership and accountability shared by all. Successful goal alignment follows a three-step process:

1.      The organization sets a strategic plan by establishing a reasonable number of business initiatives — ideally no more than half a dozen — designed to move the business forward.

2.      These top-level business initiatives are cascaded down the organization as goals, with specific performance measures identified for each function or business unit.

3.      Managers work closely with their employees to identify team and individual goals that closely align and directly support the company’s strategic initiatives.  

While creating total goal alignment may seem like a reasonably simple and straightforward process, it takes near Olympic-quality focus and commitment to see the process through to a winning result. Business is in a constant state of change, and undertaking a “one and done” approach to goal setting won’t win your company any medals. High-impact performance management organizations review and revise goals regularly and experience better business outcomes. Yet a surprising 54 percent of companies still consider goal setting as a once or twice a year activity.[1] To be effective, goal-setting activities must be exercised on a frequent and consistent basis.

Once the organization’s high-level initiatives have been reinforced with aligned individual performance goals, your people managers become the real champions for keeping performance on track by:

·        Staying informed of changes to the strategic business initiatives

·        Communicating specific expectations with direct reports

·        Providing continuous coaching and feedback

·        Recognizing accomplishments and recording activities for consideration during the annual performance appraisal process 

So while it may seem easy, creating total goal alignment from any distance in the company takes practice, persistence and an unwavering desire to win — attributes that are inherently familiar to every athlete competing in the 2012 Olympic Games. 

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[1] Garr, Stacia. The Performance Management Framework: Evolving Performance Management to Fit the Modern Workplace. May 2011. Bersin & Associates.

Building Your Mission, Values and Goals for the Future Into Your Performance Management System

Performance management is not only about reviewing your employees, it is also an important tool that should be used to communicate your mission, values and goals to your employees and make sure they are being accomplished.

Building these 3 objectives into your review process is a simple task that only requires you to know exactly what your company’s mission, values and goals are. By deciding what core competencies best relate to the company’s strategic plan, you can directly assess your employees on how they are acting out these objectives for the company.

Your employees need to know what they will be accountable for in upholding the company’s mission, values and goals. If they cannot make a connection between these and the performance review process, they are not going to feel the importance of them. By incorporating these objectives into your review appraisals, you are likely to get your employees motivated and thinking about how they can individually help uphold your company’s mission, values and goals.

Employees Creating Their Own Goals

Do your employees create their own goals in your current review process or do their managers create the goals for them? Now with ReviewSNAP you have the option of creating goals either way. You can have the managers create the employee's goals and the employee will be able to view the goals, but make no additions or changes to the goals. Or, you have the option of allowing employees to create their goals, discuss them with their manager and once they agree on the goals the manager will have the ability to lock down or approve those goals. From then on the goals that have been approved can no longer be changed, but the employee will be able to create additional goals if necessary.

Do Your Core Business Well

When a business is initially successful, it is generally in one type of business. That success often leads owners and managers to begin thinking they can make any business successful. They start thinking about diversifying into other types of businesses. The reverse of this is when a business is struggling and the owner or manager believes that the only way to achieve success is to diversify.

In both cases, the core business probably represents an opportunity for additional success if properly managed. But there seems to be something about human nature that draws people away from what they do best and toward something that appears to be more glamorous or more intriguing.

We believe it is important to pay special attention to the core business...what it is you do best...and grow that business to higher levels of success. Business newspapers and journals are full of stories about companies that get outside their core business and fail miserably. And in many cases the core business suffers because resources are drawn away from it.

We think that too many decisions to diversify outside of the core business or strategic outgrowth of the core business are ego-driven. Making diversification decisions to feed someone's ego is simply irresponsible.

Before thinking about moving beyond the core business, ask yourself why you are even considering such a move. Can you grow your core business in a profitable, significant manner? Are you doing a good job with your core business in terms of operating efficiency, customer service, margins, promotion and quality of personnel? If there is room for improvement, concentrate and focus on making those improvements. Your objective should be to maximize the value of the business. Making the core business strong in terms of operations and customer satisfaction and loyalty will enhance value significantly. If you divert resources away from the core business by buying another business or diversifying through product or service development, the core business will not get the attention needed to enhance its value.

In short, focus on doing what you do best. And then try to do it better. However, none of this is to say that diversification is necessarily bad. It can be a very positive step for a business. But the point of this brief is to point out that the core business, assuming it has adequate potential, must have a lot of attention paid to it. A new venture can be undertaken as long as adequate resources and expertise are available for both the core business and the new one.

Value Your Reputation

The reputation of your business should be treated like gold. That is if it's worth anything to begin with. Building a reputation based on honesty, standing by the product or service you sell and placing significant emphasis on having satsfied customers will pay dividends over the long-term.
How you deal with vendors, employees and customers all factor in to the reputation you develop. And all three of these constituent groups are critical to the success of any business. Too many companies don't understand the importance of developing and maintaining a solid reputation as a company that can be trusted, relied upon and that treats people fairly. The basic philosophy and culture of the organization will fuel the perceptions of employees, customers and vendors as well as the public at large.

We believe strongly that organizations have to manage their reputations. They do so from the top. Owners and top management must buy into a philosophy that has at its center honesty, fairness, responsiveness and consistency in how the organization deals with internal and external constituent groups.

Top management should strive to communicate clearly to all employees that they expect them to treat each other, vendors, customers and the public they come in contact with while representing the company in a manner that is consistent with the philosophy described above. When employees deviate from that philosophy, it is important to clarify for them those expectations and reinforce the fact that behaving in a manner inconsistent with the organization's philosophies is not an option. For employees who just can't buy into those philosophies, they will be better off finding an organization that better fits their own values and perspectives.

Since each employee has the opportunity to impact the reputation of the organization, all should receive appropriate training in dealing with people in routine and in potential conflict situations. When the reputation of an organization becomes too tarnished, it is either impossible or it takes a long period of time to shift negative perceptions that have been created.

The way an organization conducts business is critical to its long-term success. People want to do business with companies they feel good about. If there is any doubt in their minds, they are less likely to take a chance. Take time to assess what kind of reputation your organization has. Ask employees, customers, vendors and the general public what they think of your company. Use that input to improve upon your approach to doing business.

Managers' Self-Assessment Questionnaire

In assessing a manager's ability to manage people, we believe it is important for a manager or supervisor to step back and look introspectively at their ability to direct the efforts of others as well as think about the environment they operate within. The following brief questionnaire is for your use in carrying out this type of self-assessment. Please respond to each question as honestly and objectively as possible in order to provide yourself with an accurate reflection of your situation.

1. I believe that I am an effective manager. True or False

2. My employees would say that I am an effective manager. True or False

3. I feel comfortable in my role of managing people. True or False

4. My ego does not get in the way of making sound, logical decisions. True or False

5. I am a good leader of people. True or False

6. My people are high performers. True or False

7. I have confidence in my people to meet my expectations of them. True or False

8. I have confidence in my own abilities. True or False

9. I understand what is expected of me. True or False

10. My people understand clearly what is expected of them. True or False

11. There is a cohesive, team-oriented atmosphere in my company, department or work unit.
True or False

12. I deal with problem situations and employees in an expedient manner and don't ignore them. True or False

13. My attitude is positive. True or False

14. I am a good communicator. True or False
15. I set an appropriate example for my employees. True or False

16. I establish clear expectations for all of my people. True or False

17. My people feel good about working for me. True or False

18. My people regularly come forward with ideas, problems or suggestions. True or False

19. I would rather deal with people than numbers or things. True or False

20. I look forward to coming to work in the morning. True or False

21. I am effective in coaching my people to higher levels of performance. True or False

22. I would describe my management style in the following way:

23. My biggest day-to-day challenge is:

24. These are my concerns about my people in terms of their ability to meet my expectations:

25. My strengths and weaknesses as a manager are:

26. I feel that I need to improve in the following areas in order to become a better manager:

27. I would describe the culture in my work unit in the following way:

28. My three biggest frustrations as a manager are:

29. My people would describe me as:

30. I currently hold my people accountable for meeting expectations in the following manner:

31. If I could define my ideal job, it would be:

32. The one thing I enjoy most about my job is:

33. The one thing I enjoy least about my job is:

34. My personal goals for the next year are:

35. My personal goals for the next five years are:

Are Your Goals Really Goals?

Appropriate goals are the driving force behind successful organizations. Successful organizations have taken the time to diligently develop realistic, attainable goals that provide legitimate focus for the organization. The goals are not just words on paper.

Goals should be a part of a formalized, written strategic plan. The strategic plan is your road map...the strategic planning process determines what you market, where you market it, how you market it, and, more simply, how you are going to allocate precious money and people
resources.

Goals should have the following characteristics:
-They are attainable.
-They require hard work to achieve.
-They are easily understood.
-They reflect critical aspects of the organization.
-They support the overall mission or purpose of the organization.
-They are consistent with the organization's capabilities and resources.

Goals are the jumping off point, so to speak, for developing specific objectives, strategies and tactics. The combination of goals, objectives, strategies and tactics form the strategic plan.

Your people should be well aware of and focused on the organization's goals. Without this focus, your people are never sure where the company is headed and, therefore, cannot fully embrace the importance of the various decisions being made.

Ask yourself and your employees these questions when you sense that impending decisions might be drifting away from the direction provided by your goals; What are our goals? Does this decision help us achieve one or more of those goals?
Make sure that your goals are not really strategies in disguise. This example illustrates the difference between goals, objectives and strategies for a company looking to grow through diversification:
-Goal: Achieve profitable diversification of the company.
-Objective: Have in place one new division by 12/31/99.
-Strategy: Diversify through acquisition as opposed to product development.

This example clearly shows one of the key areas of focus for the company; diversification. And it shows how they intend to achieve this goal; by acquiring another company. This goal and its supporting objective(s) and strategy(s) clearly communicates to interested parties that at least part of the company's growth will come through diversification by acquisition.

Look at your comany's goals. Are they clear, concise and meaningful? Do they provide real focus? If you achieve each of your goals, will your company be successful or more successful than it is today? Do your people know what the goals are and are the goals ingrained into the culture? Have you limited the number of goals to somewhere between 3 and 7 since too many goals will confuse and muddy the focus and too few might not provide enough focus.

If your company doesn't have a sound strategic plan in place, you are living dangerously. Without one your organization is like a rudderless ship. Today's business climate is much too competitive to not have a well constructed strategic plan.

Successful, high performing companies, large and small, have a long-range plan and they live it and breath it. Their focus is on that plan and on their goals.