Goal setting forms a vital part of frontline leadership and KPIs. Setting goals is a more delicate art than most managers believe. This is because of the impact goal setting has. While on the one hand it can prove to be motivational, on the other hand get it wrong and it will be demotivational.
Oversetting goals
It is remarkably easy to get caught up in the moment and get just a bit over excited and overset the goals. Put yourself in your employee’s shoes for a moment. In the meeting everything seems possible, but as soon as they walk out they quickly realise that they’ve overcommitted and that the goal is impossible to achieve in the time frame.
With the impossibility of achieving the goal hanging like a shadow it becomes a demotivator to even make a decent attempt at the goal.
Goals that work.
An effective frontline leader works with employees to set goals that are both a challenge and achievable. But how do you work this out. Consider this – do you have a sales rep running at around 70 percent capacity? What would 90 percent look like? Is it achievable?
The next step is to provide the appropriate assistance to meet those goals. What are the critical behaviours they need to use to meet these goals? Coach your employees to reach the goals. Catch them doing the right things and reinforce that behaviour with immediate, detailed and accurate feedback.
Monitoring or measurement systems.
Complicating this equation of oversetting goals is that there often isn’t sufficient monitoring or measurement systems in place that can minimise the fallout of oversetting.
Key results need to be identified and tracked, reported and reviewed frequently. Sales results, goals and KPI metrics need to be available daily for each employee and work group, and reporting ought to be available weekly. This means that any issues and difficulties can be dealt with as they arise. It is far easier to deal with a small problem as it develops than a large problem when it’s the end of the month and targets haven’t been achieved.
To implement this successfully, the key results measured for each employee and work group must be perceived as fair, which can be achieved if employees have control over the result.
Making it work for better business performance
Creating achievable goals with your employees takes some self control, but is much more effective in the long run. When smaller goals are achieved gradually you can increase the challenge – so often employees find themselves reaching far more than they ever though possible. With small steps your employee don’t need to crash and burn.
Immobilienmakler Heidelberg Makler HeidelbergSource by James Brava