Performance Goals – Get It Done

Performance goals are the desired target for the work of an individual or team. It is perceived as a proposed desired result or achievement to be realized in line with a scope of performance within a finite span of time.

There are usually short-term objectives that an employee is expected to achieve within a set period of time. These goals are usually attached to specific job positions and are determined after considering the tasks and duties an employee is required to perform in that position.

They are uniquely geared to address various aspects of an employee’s performance in the workplace environment while edging out ways to improve. It may be tough for employees to know if their performance really does measure up to the expectations of their employers.

In the same view, employers may have difficulty in explicitly expressing or directing them in the right direction. Thus, the act of setting up performance goals is one way to bridge the divide of improving performance in the workspace.

Performance is not always limited to that, however. It does provide incentive for the employee, motivation to make them work their best. While pointing them towards the direction and achievement that the employer wants.

The employees find it more fulfilling to perform the little tasks that are closely aligned with the overall goal of the organization. Most especially when there is a reward and recognition

However, when setting these performance goals, you should take in mind that only realistic goals would bring out better results. A difficult goal to achieve might push the employee way hard. When the employee fails to deliver, they start to feel demotivated and lose their spirit. To ensure that the employee does not lose their ambitious feel as a result of that, it is important to set realistic goals that are achievable.

Why do we Set Realistic and Relevant Goals with the Employees?

An employee’s performance will be efficient and effective when their duties are closely associated with the achievement of the ultimate goal of the organization and of course, their overall performance in contribution towards organizational growth.

Realistic and relevant performance goals have a set of benefits it offers to employees in an organization. And some of those benefits include:

— The provision of a clear sense of direction to the supervisors and the employees involved.

– The offering of a clear and vivid focus centered on the organization’s goals, both short-term and long-term.

– Creation of deeper engagement of the employees with the organization.

– Provision of a form of guideline for the set up of performance review

–Creation of a sense of achievement and an indicator for those working hard on the closeness to the completion of their goals.

-Bringing about better understanding of the requirements of the employers to the employees.

–Setting of goals based on the SMART framework.

The definition of SMART is given below to be:

Specific: The goals have to be clearly defined and specific in nature.
Measurable: The goals set must have certain measurability so that the performance of the employees can be tracked and noted.
Achievable: The goals set must be rather attainable by the employee and not something that seems as a wild goose chase.
Relevant: It must be significant and associated to the specific capability of the employees involved.
Time-based: It must have a time frame or a termination date before which the target must have been attained.

The performance of the employees is largely dependent on how the goals are set. It also determines the driving force which will motivate employees in the accomplishment of their targets.

Below is a curated list of the employee performance goals examples which will help you comprehend the importance of the performance of each and every employee.

Aspects of Performance goals include:

Creativity

Creativity continues to be an important deciding factor concerning employers and therefore, for you to be successful as an employee in your chosen career field. Everyone does have some tact in one way or the other to be creative. There exist certified ways in which you can improve your creative skills and of course, creative cognitive ability as well. And some of them are basically just like taking a stroll and learning a new skill.

Creativity performance goals examples

Taking a 20/30-minute stroll (A rather quiet one without even listening to music, audiobooks, or even podcasts, but basically focusing on your immediate environments) 2/3 times in a week in the duration of break time or after work is closed. Also, you could consider walking to work for a while in about three months straight.
Master a new task which could become a new hobby or reserve some hours to a hobby you already have to yourself.
Take more time away from technology, plugins, and the likes during the weekend.

Time Management

Time management is the act of conscious control and planning of the time spent on specific activities, aimed at the improvement of productivity and efficiency. Time management is an important necessity in any project management as it proffers the time taken to complete the project and the style of how to go about that.

Time Management performance goals examples

Start Early: If you are conscious of the fact that you might not finish within the required time then it is time to start up early and save the extra time.
Plan Ahead: If you face time delays often, then it could be a result of improper planning. The morning hour often determines the overall work schedule for the day. So learn to plan ahead so that office timings can be utilized optimally to finish your work.
Shut the door on distractions: Happenings in your life or even social media could be a ready source of distraction you may get involuntarily addicted to. Look through your list of activities and sidetrack what consumes the most of your time.

People Management

Team spirit is regarded to be vital when considering the drive for innovation across brands and companies. Whether you are an employee or a manager, having team spirit as a team player alongside the solid ability to inspire others is pivotal. Hence, possessing sturdy organization skills and productive personal traits is important in the modern workspace.

People Management performance goals

Cultivate Fellow Feeling: Once a while, preferably two or once in a week, take out some minutes to evaluate yourself in the shoes of others in the team or direct subordinates. Meditate on their feelings and analyze your own behavior based on that.
Constant Communication: Make a habit to update your teammates with instantaneous feedback on project advancements, at least once within a week or month.
Promote and reward the achievements of others on the team: Once a month, give out some time to call out one of your colleagues and put them in the spotlight for their achievement and advancement, or send them an encouraging text highlighting their recent achievement.

Negotiation and Cost Reduction Skills

Negotiation is an important skill that is of vital place to not only those in the sales department but to every other person in the team. Powerful negotiation skills assist you to foster improved relationships. It is important for the advancement of your career and the achievement of the goals you have in mind. And as such, there is not really a reason why you do not seek to gain proficient negotiation skills.

Negotiation and Cost Reduction Skills Performance Goals Examples

Get proficient and valuable training in the art of cost reduction and negotiation
Establish contact with a personal negotiation skill life coach who could put through in your organization or personally. Lay down meetings with them monthly or weekly to be put through. .
Be on top of the recent and latest practices through listening to news, audiobooks, and reading books for an interval of 6 months.

Customer Satisfaction

This is a commonly recognized criterion where the opinion of the customer is required in knowing the level of satisfaction of the customer usually after an interaction such as a sale or purchase. The customer is asked to rate their experience. If you can grade your performance in relation to customer satisfaction, then this proves to be decisive.

Customer Satisfaction Performance Goal Example

Be Proactive: Get all the necessary functions working so that the team gets to be notified and is able to respond in real-time to feedback. Most especially bad feedback.
Get Personal: Get personal, increase quality responses to the customers. When there is a feeling of personal connection over a matter, your customers are likely to keep returning happy. Therefore, get personal, do not just start with an all-time official tone all day. Realize they are humans and develop empathy.
Respond to Criticism with Kid Gloves: Negative feedback should not always be responded with the firefighter approach. Dig deeper. Use the HEARD framework inspired by Disney. In full, it stands for; Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Resolve and Diagnose.

Conclusion

Performance goals are important in any organization. By setting these measurable, realistic, and attainable goals, you do not only benefit from improved teamwork but also from the advancement of the business and its reputation overall.

Need a faster way to track performance goals? use the Team8s’ FREE task management app to track your team’s performance goals effortlessly.