In both your personal life and in the workplace, goal setting is one of the vital steps towards achievement and success. Goals can serve a variety of different functions. Among the most important is the ability to provide guidance and direction. Goals then help facilitate planning and help to evaluate performance all whilst motivating and inspiring employees. As an employer, setting goals can ensure that your team is working towards the business’s success, as well as being motivated and committed to their own tasks.
Setting SMART goals can be a way to outline clear objectives to strive towards. Keep your goals; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely.
Specific:
Goal setting aims to achieve things that are specific, and more challenging goals may lead to higher performance. Setting clear and established aims for both you and your employees are crucial to success, avoid setting broad goals that may be difficult to create action from.
Measurable:
Once you have outlined specific goals, it is helpful to be able to measure their success or completion. This can demonstrate when you have reached or may be close to reaching your goal. As a manager or employer, this can be a useful way to track progress in your workplace. For example, setting a goal to reach a certain number of social media followers can be an achievable aspiration with a clear measurable number.
Achievable:
Set goals that you are able to achieve. Goals that are too difficult may be discouraging and lead to you eventually giving up. In setting achievable goals, consider how you intend to accomplish the goal, and if you have the tools or skills that are required.
Relevant:
This aspect refers to a goal that makes sense within the context of your business. For example, if your goal is to launch a new product, it should align with the overall objectives of the business. Goals are more successful when they are relevant and meaningful.
Timely:
Finally, it is necessary to set goals that can be achieved in a realistic timeframe. Goals that lack efficient timing have a smaller chance of succeeding. Set out a timetable of what you intend to achieve and when you intend to achieve it to help you and your team visualise the goals in action. Setting deadlines is helpful, but also allow for a flexible timeline to keep the morale of the business high.
