Whatever industry one might be working in, from an office setting or from home, performance goals are extremely important. Workplace performance goals are like those proverbial carrots that are achievable and rewarding, without any scope for disappointments. Everyone in a corporate environment wants to make a mark for themselves, so setting performance and personal goals is vital to their progress. Effective goal setting creates a favourable work atmosphere that helps further the process of workforce accomplishment, benefitting the individual as well as the company.
Why are workplace performance goals valuable? Workplace performance goals are extremely important for growth of the employee as well as the company. A work relationship is most successful when there is symbiotic growth for all concerned. This ensures inclusive benefits across the board.
With the setting of workplace goals, individuals embrace performing their jobs to the best of their ability. They embrace giving themselves the goal of optimal performance within the job. As long as goals are set to be attainable and work symbiotically with the company while benefiting the individual, a win-win work ethic is put into place for future successes.
The importance of workplace performance goals
A workplace ideally should be like a protective family elder looking after the wellbeing and growth potential of every member in the family. This can happen smoothly when this family of employees have the same thought process. This is where having workplace performance goals helps. These performance goals are set out to be attainable because they help boost performances, not only personally but also as part of a larger whole.
We look at this from two different aspects:
1. Personal Performance Goals.
2. Company Performance Goals.
Employee and employer benefit from the mutually satisfying journey of performance goal setting. Every company has a particular objective in mind when it is set up. It provides resources to its employees in the quest of achieving these objectives, which are mainly growth, diversity and revenue generation. Employees have to work on their workplace goals in order to perform on what matters to the company. In this way both of these parties can create a harmonious relationship at the workplace and work towards success.
Why are workplace personal goals so vital?
Having personal goals is extremely vital to the growth of an individual in the corporate setting. This is what gives direction and motivation
to an individual. Working in the most conducive of environments does not mean motivation and drive will always be high. The daily grind of work, often irrelevant to what one may actually wish to do, can be a dampener for the best of people. How then will one motivate oneself into action aimed at personal corporate growth? This is the dilemma many employees face at some point or other in their careers. This is where having specific goals helps.
A large chunk of our lives is spent at the workplace. Most of us begin young and join some company or the other. Most of the time finances are the basic driving force. For some however, the high of working on a job that is a dream come true acts as a catalyst. For instance, the goal might be the fulfilment of a coveted position that they have always aspired to.
Whatever be the motivating factor behind an individual’s goals at work, they have to chart their own course to find the best path towards this. How you are currently placed and where you aspire to be in a few years’ time will determine your personal workplace goals. Every time one feels they might be slacking on their vision a bit, it is good to be reminded of the workplace performance goals.
In a dynamic office setting, there is the constant movement of personnel up or down the office hierarchy. This depends upon multiple factors, such as how the company is performing, whether a particular move has worked or backfired, what the external factors, including the global cues, are and so on. This means the vision you began with when you started off in a company might no longer hold true or remain relevant. Being flexible in such situations is essential to keep up performance in the workplace.
Now, achieving an objective is not going to come easy for anyone. In a corporate setup, there will be multiple individuals who will be equally focused and driven. Self-evaluation is a great way to assess where one really stands in relation to their colleagues. This done, the focus can now shift on having a clear plan in mind keeping all variables in view.
Personal Performance Goals
Personal growth and recognition are big driving forces for individuals charting out their future course in the workplace. The answer to a standard interview question, “Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?” is not a rehearsed or practised one for many people. And these are people who have put great thought into how they wish to progress towards boosting their career in the office. Where they want to be, what role they have in mind, what sort of remuneration they think works for them, are some of the basic points one may aspire to at the workplace. Setting goals for oneself helps define an objective and gives body to something to aspire to. The person now knows what they need to do in order to reach that particular point when the realism of setting personal performance goals provides the fuel for how to get there.
What are personal goals?
Personal goals vis-a-vis the workplace are short-term objectives related to the current job. These are designed around specific tasks related to the job description. Personal goals depend upon the company one works for, specifically the department and requirements of the same, and have to be in sync with overall company goals. Anything that is in conflict with company interests will obviously not help an employee’s cause.
How to set personal goals at the workplace
Go about setting your workplace goals in a systematic manner. Be S.M.A.R.T. is what we mean here. This places an almost real goal ahead of you and one that you can visualize and set about to achieve in due course. Refer yourself to the method below to find out more about your own process:
S – Specific goals. Set specific goals for yourself. For example, moving up to a particular stratum in the office hierarchy or aspiring to a different department and honing one’s skills there. This will help you to have a tangible target ahead of you and plan your moves to reach the same, and even exceed it.
M – Measurable goals. For some people it is easier to set and achieve a target if it is measurable in some form. For example, the salaries that they take home, the number of free memberships they are eligible to, the company allowances, and more of the sort.
A – Attainable goals. Not always do we think practically and rationally. While it is all very well to be ambitious, think big and aim for the skies, ground realities do matter. Setting impossible targets for oneself can lead to depression when these remain unmet. Be realistic and take in ground realities when you set yourself a workplace performance target.
R – Realistic approach. It is in your own interest to be realistic in your journey towards attainment of goals. The way you visualize your journey may not, and most certainly, will not pan out that way. After all a workplace is a dynamic situation and it is difficult to predict with certainty how things will go in your scheme of things.
T – Timeframe your goals. It is very important to set a timeframe to your goals. You cannot dream of reaching a certain place in the workplace and expect others to wait around patiently until you are there, can you? It is a fiercely competitive world out there and everyone else around you is aspiring to similar goals in all possibility.
Company Performance Goals
What is a company looking for when it sets up the office? Besides creating brand awareness and establishing their presence in the market, they are looking at sustained revenue generation and keeping their employees and shareholders satisfied. Any organization requires dedicated workers who are focused on attaining goals set by the company. In the same vein, the organization has a responsibility towards its shareholders too. To fulfil this responsibility, the company needs to register sustained growth in terms of profits on a regular basis.
Setting goals gives a company the required direction. Strategies can then be designed around these goals in order to best achieve them. These combined together help a company achieve its objectives and succeed in placing itself in a premier position in the market. As in the case of personal performance, companies also work on a timeframe in order to achieve their goals.
There is always more to establishing company performance goals:
1. Set targets department wise and company wise. To achieve goals set by a company to sustain and grow over a period of time, it has to convey these to each department, as well as to the board. Each and every person on the company payroll needs to be aware of these. This is the best way to ensure everyone is on board and in sync.
2. Outline directions to achieve goals. Only setting goals does not end the story. It is only the first step. The objectives will be achieved in a systematic and smooth manner only when the top organization takes things in their hands. This means setting specific guidelines to achieve these goals. Each company has its own culture and a cohesive thought process behind achieving success. Some of them are inclusive and open to all kinds of input. Others are strictly driven by the top management and want their employees to follow the path outlined by the managers. Whatever be it, finding oneself along the guidelines set and approved by the organization helps employees achieve success not only for themselves, but for the company at large.
3. Set a timeframe for these targets. As in the case of personal workplace goals and achieving the same, there is a timeframe for companies as well. Companies face stiff competition from the industry and are under tremendous pressure to ‘perform or perish’ at most times. There are similar products at competitive values in the market all the time. All of this means a company cannot wallow endlessly on its goals. It has to adhere to a timeframe and deliver.
4. Enable and empower employees towards target fulfilment. The vision of a company in terms of placing itself and its products and services in the market is fulfilled largely by its workers. The company manages the situation but the actual work is done by its employees. In order to seamlessly do this, they need to be enabled and empowered. This is done by:
- – Providing best infrastructure.
- – Looking after employee wellness.
- – Providing competitive remuneration.
- – Having inclusive growth.
- – Encouraging new ideas.
- – Fostering healthy inter-office competition.
5. Be aware of competition. An organization has to be aware of its competition at all times. Aspiring to a goal is all very well but the competition is not sitting idle all this time. Fulfilling workplace performance goals by a company is done efficiently by being aware of what their competition is up to at all times. This extends to taking care of own workers, especially the performers, so that they are not tempted to move out and head for competing companies.
6. Upgrade and reinvent. Be it hardware, software, products or strategies, organizations need to constantly upgrade and reinvent in order to remain relevant and competitive in the market. Workplace goals are dynamic too, depending upon the dictates of the market. It is foolish to go on with the same policies and strategies in a changing market scenario. Companies need to be open and flexible in their approach and re-strategize according to shifting goalposts.
Workplace performance and work fortunes
Setting and following your workplace performance goals is the best way to up your personal performance. There is a direct correlation between performance and your career upswing. Working on a career plan is sure to produce results for the company. As discussed earlier, personal growth and goal achievement is symbiotic to company fortunes and then back to the person. It is an ever-enhancing cycle that yields well for everyone.
Companies are always on the lookout for individuals who are driven and focused upon the company agenda and in sync with company policies. These are the ones who help achieve milestones while growing in a personal capacity. Not all employees can be the same of course, and it would actually become an unsustainable model. However, a few driven individuals are all it takes to spur on a company’s growth. Most times, these performers are the best leaders for the rest of the workers. While they set examples for others and act as role models, they have the leadership skills needed to take entire departments together on the growth curve.
This is why having clear-cut workplace performance goals are important. They help to bring such individuals into the company’s notice to be singled out as performers. They tend to become valuable assets for the company in their onward journey.
Working on self-improvement
In a changing corporate scenario, keeping oneself updated with new techniques and tools comes in handy in attaining goals. Many offices provide their employees the opportunity to better their skill sets by organizing consortiums and workshops on a regular basis. Employees must make sure they take these opportunities. If this is not the case at your particular workplace, the bonus is upon you to take steps to acquire new skill sets. Being on the lookout for relevant workshops or learning new skills that might be relevant in the future is a good way to keep yourself ahead of the competition in the office.
In addition to corporate skills, one must practice the art of mindfulness at work in order to be more productive and improve performance. Workplaces are stressful for most industries. There are pressures, deadlines and competition. If you are stressed you will not be able to perform at your best. This will not only lower your productivity but affect the company adversely too. In addition, it will set you back from your personal set of goals as well. In this context too, there is increased corporate awareness. Take time to attend self-improvement sessions arranged by companies or at your own accord. This will help boost your leadership skills and improve focus.
Physical fitness is another aspect that helps sharpen the mind and release stress in a big way. Again, lots of companies are integrating this into their work culture. Make sure to participate in some kind of physical activity daily in order to energize the mind and body. Getting a gym membership or going on a brisk walk is a good way to keep mind and body in good shape.
Check out other Topics on Open Sourced Workplace:
Coworking, Technology, Stress, Wellness, Sustainability, Workplace Productivity, Employee Experience, Hot Desking
Related Questions
How can employee performance be boosted? Companies try to get the best out of employees for their own good. This can be done by providing ideal workplaces with attention to physical as well as mental wellbeing at all times. Amply lit spaces with comfortable seating, healthy food and activity stations are some means.
Does a green office help? Providing green spaces has been shown on studies to boost morale, help focus and ensure happier workers. This fact is being increasingly taken up by companies as an easy and environment-friendly way to ensure wellness as well as boost overall company performance.
