The end of 2020 brings the opportunity for change for many people and businesses. Companies have begun to set goals and aspirations for the new year. It is a good idea to encourage your team to set individual goals to help further the overall bottom line. Here are a few tips on how you can assist your team in setting realistic, achievable SMART career goals.
What Are SMART Goals?
SMART goals refer to an acronym where each letter defines criteria your goals should meet. Here is what each of the letters stands for.
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- Specific: Make sure your goals have a targeted area of improvement, don’t just say you want to improve.
- Measurable: When you determine where you would like to improve, decide how success will be measured. If you are trying to increase sales, for instance, measure how your efforts have impacted sales.
- Achievable: Consider whether the goals you are setting are achievable or not. Compare them to what others in the industry are doing right now and think about the resources you’ll need to get it done.
- Relevant: When you look at what other front-runners in the industry are doing, what are they achieving? Make sure your goals are relevant to the industry you are in and the growth you want to accomplish.
- Time-bound: Have a realistic deadline for meeting your goals. If you want to increase your production over the next 12 months, for instance, set monthly deadlines for production.
That may sound easy enough, but when you are leading a team, it can be difficult to orchestrate SMART goals within an organization. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help your team set SMART goals.
Know What You Want the Team to Accomplish
First and foremost, know what you want to accomplish and communicate it with your staff. When you approach your team about creating SMART goals for their departments in the new year, have an idea of what you’d like the company as a whole to accomplish. This will help them hone in on what goals they’d like to focus on for the year.
Encourage Individual and Team Goals
Encouraging individual and team goals will help your employees feel tied to the project at hand. Scaling down company goals to the individual and team level will also help make them more measurable. Managers and supervisors will be able to report the progress of individual projects in their departments and provide a bigger picture of the company’s goals at large.
Establish Deadlines and Track Progress
As mentioned above, your goals for your business should be time-bound. Establish deadlines for your company’s goals. In many cases, this will mean tracking progress on smaller progress and keeping track of how each contribution adds to your business’ bottom line. Consider using project management software and time tracking tools. These can help you keep track of how your team is using their time and where the business stands in terms of meeting its objectives.
Have Staffing Solutions on Hand
Last, but not least, having the right team on your side is half the battle. Some businesses may consider altering their current staff to help meet annual goals. Contract workers or part-time employees can be a great addition to your team and help fill in the gaps you need to meet your SMART goals for 2021.
We Can Help You Staff Up for 2021
See how Top Notch Personnel can help you with your staffing needs. Give us a call today to learn more!
