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Rewards and bonuses motivate employees to do their jobs better.

Rewards support group goals and foster collaboration.

The prevailing attitude among organizational behaviorists is that rewards should match performance. Most experts agree that a meaningful reward is an incentive to further achievement and improvement. Consequently, the top performers on your team should get more salary increases, bonuses, and other nonmonetary rewards. But even workers who have not been performing up to their potential, or who have fallen behind, need attention from management. For these employees, a system of rewards that recognizes “most improved” performance, for example, will sometimes increase their motivation and get them back on track.

One of the best ways to reward employees for achieving their goals is to give them special opportunities for training. Training helps motivate employees in general and specifically develops the technical and people skills that are essential for business. Core competency training, for example, enhances specific professional skills; service line training boosts functional skills. Training in a particular industry increases a worker’s technical capabilities. Job-readiness training focuses knowledge and skill-building on specific projects; and internal forums, or “town halls,” reinforce company values. High performers should be rewarded with additional training to add to their skills and knowledge and to prepare them for advancement.

MANAGING YOUR OWN GOALS

You’ve reviewed how to set goals with your staff, monitor their performance, spur productivity, evaluate their achievements, and reward effort. But what about your own goals?

While concentrating on your team’s goal-setting and performance management, don’t overlook your own goals and performance. Are your goals geared to supporting your people and improving their job performance? Do your goals support your supervisor’s objectives and the mission of your company?

Managing and being managed simultaneously is a juggling act. You’re accountable for your staff’s performance as well as your own.

The more direct reports you have, the more precarious your position and the greater the likelihood you’ll drop a ball—and you can bet someone will be watching when you do. Depending on the company, you may be judged on your abilities to:

Motivate and engage your staff

Collaborate with them, and provide assignments for their development

Communicate and model the importance of goal-setting

Set a positive direction and inspire your group

Use resources efficiently

Provide (and accept) feedback thoughtfully

Achieving Goals Can Get You and Your Company Where You Want to Be

Achieving goals is not about resting on one’s laurels. The consumer wants a better mousetrap, a more efficient car, or a more nutritious cereal. To bring products to market, increase sales, or get the public’s attention, innovations and improvements are an integral part of any cutting-edge company.

You want your company to succeed, but a company is only as good as its products and its employees. You want your employees to be productive, loyal, and happy. Statistics have found that replacing an employee costs well more than her salary; you must include lost productivity, hiring expenses, the training period for getting new personnel up to speed. Retaining top-notch employees, however, isn’t just a matter of money. Job satisfaction ranks high on the average person’s list of employment benefits. Boosting your organization’s ability to reach its goals is a winning way to maintain high morale and low employee turnover—and keep your company in business with a healthy bottom line.

Meeting goals is about your contented and high-functioning staff making your workplace attractive to clients and the general public, including prospective future employees. Having a productive work environment helps decrease employee turnover and increases efficiency, giving your company a much-needed advantage in this increasingly competitive global economy.

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