With clear goals comes good performance. Workers with specific goals perform 12% to 15% better than workers without plans. Yet, a long-running Gallup study found that 50% of employees need to learn what is expected of them.

What is the current state of goal-setting in your company? Here are four suggestions to ensure your team members have clear objectives that enhance performance.

1. Cooperation Is Vital - Goal-setting should be a collaborative effort between the leader and the person carrying them out. Some leaders need to set goals for their teams in collaboration. A plan must have personal significance for a person. Working with them is the only way to determine if a goal is motivating.
   
   Working together with your people has even another advantage. They are more likely to succeed when they are heavily involved in setting the objectives.
   
   
2. Set challenging but attainable goals - The ideal objective is a stretch, one that is doable but difficult. Stretch objectives boost employee engagement and motivation for the company. They inspire people to be active and imaginative. They motivate employees to take the initiative and develop. Additionally, they urge people to use untapped talents.
   
   Stretch objectives can increase self-assurance and foster a sense of success. But if one doesn't meet them, there is a risk. Self-esteem can be damaged by failure. Don't downplay this. The outcome may be highly harmful.
   
   Remind the individual you're leading if they fell short of a stretch goal that it was one. Tell them you believe in their capacity. Remind them about their past achievements.
   
   More than one attempt at this is required, especially if the stretch goal is well-known. Before they can go over the difficulty, they might need to hear you express confidence multiple times.
   
   People who experience excessive pressure to meet stretch goals may also take dangerous risks and engage in immoral behavior. Of course, you want to avoid setting up a scenario that tempts people to make poor decisions.
   
   The lesson to be learned from all of this is to develop attainable stretch objectives with the help of your team.
   
   
3. Provide prompt feedback - If we receive feedback along the road, it is easier to determine whether we are on track to accomplish a goal. Although it might seem straightforward, most leaders do not regularly give feedback. Only a couple times a year from their management, according to about half of the workforce, needs to be more severe.
   
   Leaders should provide feedback in a proper context and as quickly as possible. The explanation is simple: feedback is considerably more effective when given when it is pertinent. People may need to remember the occurrence in a week, month, or year.
   
   Don't worry about offering criticism. Approximately 65% of workers want more of it. Most people will receive a positive complaint. They object to criticism that appears to be directed at them. Of course, there are occasions when individuals need to hear constructive criticism, but that is a separate topic.
   
   
4. Implement quarterly check-ins Rather than annual reviews - Throw away your yearly performance reviews. They aren't assisting anyone. That much is true.
   
   

   According to Gallup, only 14% of workers claimed their performance reviews motivated them to improve. More depressingly, more than 30% reported that it negatively impacted their performance.

   When leaders provide feedback that should have been delivered throughout the year, an annual performance review becomes even more difficult.

These discussions take care of any unpleasant surprises. People can adjust their course as needed because they know their yearly progress.

Although it might seem like additional work, it's worthwhile. Quarterly reviews are beneficial.

According to research by Josh Bersin, businesses that engage in quarterly conversations see a 31% higher return on their performance process than those that conduct annual assessments.

Final Thoughts

In the workplace, setting goals motivates performance. However, it is a little more complicated than that. Work together with your team to develop plans. Make stretch objectives that are difficult but doable. Provide performance feedback as soon as you can. Hold quarterly updates rather than yearly evaluations.

If you follow these steps, you'll be on your way to converting workplace planning into actual workplace results.

Reference Link: The above is an adaptation of a blog written by Doug Glener on April 13, 2023, https://resources.kenblanchard.com/blanchard-leaderchat/goal-setting-to-improve-performance-4-best-practices