Tea Making Objectives – Are You Guilty?

I have worked at a few places in the past who only set their employee objectives at the dreaded annual appraisal. I have also seen some truly lame objectives set such as “turn up for work on time every day”, “keep up to date with your reporting” or “make a decent cup of tea” (that one might be slightly exaggerated!) These are NOT objectives they are part and parcel of an employee’s normal terms of employment (apart from the tea bit), and they offer absolutely ZERO value to a company or employee.

By not setting meaningful objectives that are intrinsically linked and cascaded down from the top, how are employees going to feel included, engaged or motivated to help a company succeed in achieving its best outcome and required results.

Here are some top tips around setting meaningful objectives:

• Your long-term business plan and strategy should not be a board secret – you need to get buy-in from all your employees and if there is a change of direction it needs to be effectively communicated to all.
• Get input from your employees on how they think their role and actions can play a part in achieving company goals.
• Do not dictate, agree on objectives with employees and explain why they are important and why they need to be achieved. Objectives should also be challenging and aim to achieve positive outcomes, avoid setting too difficult or too easy objectives.
• Set clear objectives, use ‘SMART‘ (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic (or relevant), and timely.
• Use a project management platform or methodology to efficiently track progress and aid cross-functional collaboration.
• Incorporate your succession plan by including developmental objectives to broaden employee skillsets and support career progression.
• Positively recognize when objectives have been met and offer support and encouragement when an objective has not been met, share feedback in a constructive manner that aids in generating change.
• Regularly review objectives with employees to ensure relevance and to highlight any potential pitfalls.

Pink Giraffe delivers Talent acquisition and HR Services for Creative agencies across the Southwest.

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