Goal setting is critical for effective planning. Perceptions about what is important may differ, and unless time is spent in discussing and mutually agreeing on the unit’s goals, time may be wasted on the wrong activities. Such discussion begins with you and your manager and then proceeds down to include your staff.
Well-written goals also enable you and your team to check your progress. By comparing results to the goals, you can determine how effective operations have been and take needed steps if improvement is called for. In this way, goals play a control function, along with your budget .
When you and your unit sit down to agree on goals, you need to consider the following:
- What are the corporate goals?
- What demands will be made of the work group in the future?
- What conditions will affect our work in the future?
- What do we need to accomplish?
- What desirable results can we identify?
- What results should we look for along the way?
By involving your employees in setting or finalizing your unit’s goals, you benefit in three ways:
- The goals are based on the best information available to the unit.
- Employees will understand how their work fits into the bigger corporate picture, thereby feeling more job satisfaction and taking more responsibility for achieving results.
- Your employees will learn more about each other, which should support collaboration and cooperation.