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(2) the compromise, or give-and-take among participants about all aspects of the goal; and

(3) the agreement, when everyone commits to the goals to be achieved.

Outside the Box

THE GROUND RULES

The manager should create an environment conducive to communication in the goal-setting process. Your insistence on the following ground rules is key. Everyone involved must:

Participate in all group discussions

Communicate openly and honestly

Challenge each other’s ideas

Respect each other’s expressed views

Provide constructive feedback

Give the discussion their undivided attention (cell phones off, no interruptions, etc.)

First, hold one-on-one meetings with each of your employees to communicate corporate goals and their component parts. During this discussion, steer employees to set goals in areas where their individual accomplishments will make the greatest contribution to the overall plan. Discuss how each employee’s performance contributes to the results you want to achieve. Talk about goals that might be difficult—though still possible—to accomplish and set three or four of them together. Setting high but achievable goals results in higher levels of performance than if you set vague goals or do not set any at all.

Second, define and negotiate tasks to be accomplished that will produce these results. Settle on a time frame for achieving these results. Then, prioritize these goals. Ranking goals helps employees keep each goal’s relative importance in mind as they make daily choices and decisions. Wrap up the conversation by discussing how performance will be assessed based on progress toward the goals. If some goals require a group effort, show each team member how individual achievements will contribute to the group’s work and how these contributions will be measured. If success achieving a goal will be evaluated by multiple criteria—such as client satisfaction, quality, value added, cost, and quantity, for example—define that clearly.

Third, get your employees to commit to the agreed-upon goals. Without this commitment, setting a goal is pointless.

Once you’ve completed the three-part process, let your employees know that you will track and update goals along the way. Follow up by monitoring progress and communicating your appreciation or encouragement throughout the year. Be your employee’s advocate from beginning to end during the goal-setting and performance evaluation cycle.

Dos & Don’ts

GOAL-SETTING THAT WORKS

How skillfully you set goals determines how readily they will be achieved.

Do put goals in writing.

Do write three to five performance goals per appraisal period.

Do make sure each goal is something that you and the employee are excited about achieving, not just what you think others expect you to accomplish.

Do set goals that are challenging and will make the employee stretch but that are not too intimidating or out of reach.

Do state goals in positive terms. Focus on what you want to happen and hope to achieve.

Do attach achievement target dates to goals.

Don’t develop goals for your department or your employee that come into conflict with goals set by other departments or goals for other employees.

Make an effort to maintain support from upper management in the process, to clarify corporate goals as they evolve, to free up resources for your team, and to help them overcome any barriers to their success.

In addition, plan to celebrate employees’ achievements. It’s a mistake to involve your people in setting goals and then fail to acknowledge reaching them. If possible, tie at least some part of your workers’ salaries, bonuses, or perks (such as training) to their successful achievement of goals you have set together. When employees who meet their goals are treated the same as employees who don’t, workers become disgruntled and demoralized, and employee turnover can result.

POWER POINTS

THREE PHASES OF GOAL-SETTING

Goal-setting is a vital part of the cycle of managing your employees. The cycle has three phases:

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