Master Goal: Set Goals That Make Sense

 

Managers must devote a lot of time to planning for the next week or the next quarter or the next year. It seems like there is always something new to plan and organize. Planning is great; however, unless employees clearly understand the goals associated with the plan and their role in it, the plan is likely to fail. Effective managers recognize that setting clear, reasonable goals that their whole team can understand and execute is critical to accomplishing the assignments made to them by the suites upstairs. When setting goals, managers need to be certain that the goals they set for their team and for each individual are conceived and delivered in the best way to achieve success.

Goals fall within broad categories and can be long-term or short-term. However, all goals must be refined to make sure they are clear, reasonable and achievable. Too often, managers create goals that conform to their company’s mission statement, which is usually very broad.

Such goals might include:

• Solving customer problems
• Communication of business strategy
• Financial management systems
• Improving processes
• New product/market ideas

These are all good general objectives, but without concrete specifics or a time frame attached to them, they are not very helpful or meaningful as goals for your team members. They look good on paper, and they may sound important in a speech to the Board of Directors, but they cannot stand alone to direct employees to any clear individual action. In order for goals to be viable, they have to meet certain criteria so that you can act on them in the world.

One of a manager’s most basic jobs then, is to transform general objectives into goals and activities that the team, through the efforts of individual employees, can do. Managers must find the best ways to translate and communicate goals into something employees can deal with. Clarifying makes goals definable so they can become actionable.

Goals should specifically describe measurable activities.

Examples

• To reduce customer complaints at your company by 30% by March 2008
• To decrease report errors by 10% by the end of December 2007
• To implement an information tracking system by November 2007
• To determine demand of new or specialty products and to identify three new products or services to meet that demand by the end of Q1 2008
• To implement at least one service improvement by Q3 2007

The transition from the broad goal in the earlier example, "Solving Customer Problems" to a clear goal of Reducing Customer Complaints by a specific amount by a specific date is achieved by the following formula:

"To" + Action Verb + Specific Result + Time Frame

For example:

TO + REDUCE + COMPLAINTS BY 30% + BY MARCH 2008

For a goal to be useful, it must be presented in terms that are measurable and actionable in order for your team members to both know what to do and how to recognize when it is done. Here are some goals that typically appear on manager planning sheets:

• Increase productivity within the work group.
• Decrease headcount by 10%.
• Complete the computer training as soon as possible.

Do you see enough information here to know what to do and how to know when you have done it?

Take a moment to review some of the key goals you are working on for your team right now. Can you reduce them so they fit the formula above? If you can’t, revise them immediately. Your team– and your boss– will thank you for it.

 

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October Management Quick Tip of the Month – Get Off on the Right Foot

The first few days on the job can be pretty disorienting for a new hire. Some companies have great new employee orientation programs, but even then there are several things a successful manager will always provide for new employees to help them be at their best in their new job setting. A little thought and attention given to these matters during the first couple of days the new employee is on the job will make a world of difference in the employee’s attitude and productivity going forward. As the manager, it is your job to make sure the employee is welcomed properly and introduced to the rest of the team. Also, do whatever you can to anticipate and answer typical questions new people ask; don’t make them come to you to ask how to operate the copier. You must also make sure the new employee gets all the training necessary to become productive as fast as possible in their primary area of responsibility. Finally, keep tabs on the new hire over the next few weeks to make sure they become a fully accepted, fully functional member of the team.