Think of yourself as a PT, you don't go to a PT with a goal focus on completing a marathon and walk away with a program for how far you should run each week, you could have Googled it yourself and if that was enough you would have already done it.
With your goal focus, you want exercises on how to train and you want the PT to look so that you perform the exercises correctly.
You need a step-by-step upgrade of changes in diet, running, exercises at the gym, etc. You want to go there regularly and get feedback on your development, get a pat on the back and get support and tips in your next goal-focused step. Exactly the same applies to motivate and engage employees. You're the PT with goal focus, they're going to run Maran.
There are many theories and thoughts about setting goals and being goal-focused. Some people find it simple and others find it quite difficult. Regardless, we know that it is extremely important to have goals that ensure that we all move in the right direction. You know the classic, no one or very few get in the car without knowing where to go. Of course, it is not possible to run a business without everyone who is in the organization knowing where we are going.
The most common targets for companies are quantitative targets, such as market share, sales volume and returns measured in shares, SEK, percent, etc.
Natural as it is a prerequisite for following and ensuring the survival of the company.
What about then? How are we to ensure that everyone in the organization understands exactly what is expected of each in order for us to achieve the goals? I am often told among our users that the longer the employee is from the company's customer, the more difficult it is to translate quantitative targets into concrete behaviors. However, it is clearer for salespeople and customer service staff with goal focus because they have the role of bringing the money into the company and creating satisfied customers that can be measured in an NKI. My question then becomes, is it really true that only the sales and customer service department is the key to the company's success?
Of course not!
EVERYONE in the organization needs to know the goal focus and what is expected, what responsibility lies with each individual and what priorities need to be made in everyday life to help achieve the goal focus.
How do you create participation and commitment for everyone to contribute and move towards the same goal focus? And of course create security for management that the company will meet the larger goal.
Step 1: Break down target focus with quantitative annual targets to smaller milestones.
If we are to reach an annual target, we need to break them down into goal-focused milestones and decide which checkpoints we can put along the path to the goal. It is important that we have milestones to ensure along the way that we will achieve the main objective. Even that quite simple. Remember to divide your goal focus with regard to season, time off, how many employees can contribute, etc.
Step 2: Identify and set qualitative goals.
Once we have set our performance targets, in order for us to know what we need to do, we should start looking at what activity goals we should have. What do we need to do to achieve our goal focus with milestones and main goals.
Just because we have decided that we want to reach a certain turnover, it does not come by itself.
For example, we need to look at how many customer meetings we need to do. To know that, we need to know what a customer is worth on average, then we need to know what it takes to get a customer meeting, etc. The above applies to sales, but what do other competences need to contribute in order for us to achieve our goal focus? Does our product need to be developed? What measurement points do we need around it? Can we do anything to keep existing customers for longer? How should we work most efficiently? What processes should we keep track of?
What should each team be responsible for? Who's going to do what? The questions here can be many, but it is incredibly important that we take that time and ask these questions. Importantly, this happens for each team and that each team has only then learned what is expected to achieve set goal focus.
As for the specific numerical goals, which, for example, you should do this many of a certain thing, when we get this far, it will be a fairly easy match.
Step 3: Break down qualitative goals into activities at the individual level.
Then we'll get to the next step. Who's going to be responsible for what? What should each individual be able to do?
What behavior and competence should each individual have in order for us to get to our goal focus? Where are there gaps in relation to where we stand today and where we want to go?
Many people only talk about the individual's development and individual goals and behaviors in the annual employee discussion and then it's good. The question is, is the employee conversation structured so that it is in line with the company's goal focus or is it linked to an "old picture" of what the role is?
Step 4: Sit down with each employee and ensure expectations, gaps and activities linked to your goal focus.
Take the time to have a conversation with each individual about the expectations you have for them to be part of the company's goal focus. Look at the main goal and their part in it, break them down into milestones, and become concrete based on what the individual needs to know, what is the desired focus, what does the individual himself think it needs for support to achieve the goal focus, the employee needs to be trained, develop something in their behavior. Where does they have their development potential? What should the simple activity be so that you constantly take micro steps in the right direction towards set goal focus.
Keep in mind that it is not a LARGE megac life once a year that makes a difference it is small steps in the right direction continuously in everyday life that change over time.
Step 5: Follow up and confirm goal focus
What we know for sure is that what employees lack most about their manager is feedback.
In order to provide relevant feedback, you must have reconciliations and follow up.
You need to confirm the wear and tear regardless of the result. If the individual has fought hard but not quite reached the goal, it is perhaps worth more than if it was as easy as it was and you switched over. If you confirm the effort, the employee will want to do it again.
In order for you to take the time to keep track of the hard work towards your goal focus, you need to get routines to know how each individual works with their development plan and goals in order to provide feedback based on their hard work. You can do this through monthly follow-ups one to one, through reflection that you give feedback on. But make sure you do it!
Keep in mind that...
Make sure the goal focus is gripping, they must not be too long then they tend to get too big and I wait to start and so we forgot.
If we want to reach new heights, develop, we cannot continue to do as we have always done. Then we cannot continue to work on the development of the individual if we have always done so.
Set concrete behavioral activities that lead to your goal focus. If I'm going to be more focused to get more done, what should I do to be? Write lists? Turn off the e-mails? Then we are down to a level where I know what to do and I can easily start working and me and my boss have the same picture of what it takes.