It’s a simple fact that people want to work for a business that cares about their needs and dreams. Gone are the days of monotonous assembly lines. Now, people want productive, engaging work that supports their professional ambitions.
That’s why goal setting is so important. Helping employees create specific targets keeps them focused and productive while also prioritizing the needs of the business. Once these goals are made, you need to help employees achieve them. Here are a few ways your business can help employees reach their goals:
“Ninety-three percent of employees want to discuss their careers paths with their managers.”
Hold Discussions to See What Your Employees Want
Your employees have their own ambitions, and they want to discuss these dreams with their managers and executives. According to research by Robert Half Finance and Accounting, 93 percent of the workforce wants to discuss their career paths with their managers. However, only 60 percent ever get the chance to.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to hold recurring check-in sessions to discuss what goals your employees had in the past, if and how those goals changed and where they are in their careers. Knowing what your employees want helps you align their needs with those of the company.
Break Large Projects Into Smaller Ones
The best way to achieve a goal is to work towards it a little bit each day, and the best way to maintain that daily focus is to set little reminders. Inc. suggested breaking large goals into small objectives, and you can pair that with a system to organize check-ins and review these steps. Regular conversations keep employees reminded of the big accomplishment they’re ultimately working toward.
Say you want your marketing team to increase social media interaction by securing an additional 2600 retweets and Facebook shares by the end of the quarter. That seems like a lot, but it’s fewer than 30 engagements per day – 40 if you exclude the weekend. Breaking the goal up in this manner keeps employees focused, and you can remind them how these relate to the overall goal during your meetings.
Set Frequent Reminders
Even though it’s a good idea to break large goals into smaller pieces, it’s also easy to get lost in the day-to-day process. That’s why frequent reminders of an employee’s overall goals are important. They need to know that what they’re doing isn’t just busy work – it’s a means to an end that furthers their career and improves your business.
“Ongoing performance management is a great way to keep employees working responsibly.”
Don’t forget – ongoing performance management is a great way to keep employees working responsibly and make sure they’re making progress toward their goals. You can use this time to see how employees progress through their workday, suggest tips to help them work smarter and discuss where they’d like to go next.
Provide Motivation
Instead of increasing productivity through numerous deadlines and extended work hours, increase engagement by offering small motivators. You’ll see much stronger and better work as a result – people are more engaged if they’re inspired by rewards instead of stress. If your team does well, surprise them with a box of fresh donuts or a free lunch. Even a bit of praise during a monthly check in is enough to spur an employee to work harder and thus produce better results.
By helping employees reach their goals, you show how invested you and your company are in their development. This inspires them to work harder, increasing productivity and producing better results for your business.