A highly effective way to support employees is by establishing clear goals and attainable results for them to strive towards. Performance goals provide a structured framework for evaluating progress and motivating employees to take ownership of their contributions. Whether aiming to improve collaboration, enhance communication, or develop critical soft skills, performance goals empower individuals to fulfill their career aspirations and make a distinct impact on their organization and team. In this blog post, we’ll explore what performance goals are, why they are essential, and provide a range of examples to inspire the goal-setting process in your workplace.
What Are Performance Goals?
Performance goals are measurable objectives set by individuals or teams to push the organization’s vision forward and achieve desired business outcomes. Performance goals provide a standard for evaluating performance and are typically created to reflect specific development areas. By establishing clear performance goals, employees and managers can align their efforts with the organization’s mission and strategic objectives, fostering a culture of accountability and efficiency.
Why Are Performance Goals Important?
Performance goals are critical to the overall success of any high-performing organization. An absence of goals is often an indication that employees are working in silos, performance efforts are not furthering the mission/vision, and teams are not aligned or working toward the same desired end. Interestingly, 37% of survey respondents from Betterworks said that greater visibility and employee goals would spur their performance. The list below highlights the major reasons why performance goals are so crucial.
- Clarity: Performance goals give employees clear direction, helping them to prioritize tasks effectively so performance efforts are more focused. Clarity in the form of well-written goals gives employees peace about the expectations they are being held accountable to, further improving their relationships with their managers.
- Motivation: Setting attainable goals boosts motivation and engagement as employees can see their progress and accomplishments. When performance goals are aligned with larger company goals, employees can directly see the effect their efforts have on the organization as a whole.
- Accountability: Goals create a framework for accountability, enabling managers to track progress and offer support where needed. Managers are also equipped with tangible data to fuel coaching conversations, helping them to become better leaders and take ownership of their team’s individual and collective accomplishments.
- Skills Development: Performance goals empower employees to develop new skills and hone in on existing ones, promoting a workplace culture that values and rewards professional growth.
Examples of Performance Goals?
Though the following example goals are not a comprehensive list, these examples do capture the common categories of performance goals that organizations and their leaders desire to develop. Keep in mind that while you may copy these examples directly, our general goals philosophy is that managers and employees should work together to create specific employee performance goals that reflect the organization’s objectives and the individual’s skills and expertise.
Differing Performance Goal Methods
We would be remiss not to mention the two most common methods for developing goals: SMART goals and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Following this method ensures that goals are not ambiguous and that employees know exactly what is required. Objectives and Key Results, or OKRs, are even more simplistic. This method insists that an objective, or what should be achieved, is established and that the key results should indicate how the progress of that objective will be measured. One example of each method is listed below.
SMART Goal Example
Integrate a software system to streamline hybrid work management and boost employee experience by 20% within the next 6 months.
OKR Example
Improve workplace efficiency by participating in 5 demos of different work management platforms and selecting 1 for our organization in the next 90 days.
It is highly recommended to incorporate one of these two goal-creation methods (or another preferred goals model!) when developing and aligning performance goals. Following a set structure ensures the goals are easily understood and that performance efforts can realistically be measured based on goal progress.
Examples of Performance Goals
The following list provides three performance goal examples for the categories of collaboration, professional growth, communication, soft skills, problem-solving, and people management.
1. Collaboration:
- Collaborate with at least two separate departments on a specific project within the next quarter, aiming for positive survey responses from all participants and a project completion rate of 95%.
- Include a brainstorming session during each quarterly team meeting to generate new ideas for improving department processes, aiming to produce at least 3 ideas per session that are implemented within the next 6 months.
- Develop a peer feedback program by the end of the year where team members provide constructive 360-degree feedback to one another monthly, aiming for an increase in overall team performance review ratings by 20% in comparison to last year’s scores.
2. Professional Growth Performance Goals:
- Complete at least 2 professional development courses on LinkedIn Learning within 6 months, with one focused on the industry and one focused on the technical skills required for your role.
- Within the next 12 months, sign up to participate in our mentorship program, find a mentor, and establish a consistent frequency of meeting together to discuss your career aspirations.
- Attend at least 3 workshops, seminars, or lunch-and-learns on emerging industry trends within the next 8 months, implementing at least 2 new strategies and/or tools learned into daily work processes. Be prepared to share and discuss these strategies in upcoming team meetings.
3. Communication Performance Goals:
- Request feedback from colleagues using our 360-degree feedback software tool on your communication style and effectiveness once each quarter, aiming for a 15% increase in positive feedback scores by year-end.
- Volunteer to facilitate the monthly department meeting at least twice in the next 12 months and seek constructive feedback each time on your presentation techniques and ability to engage the room.
- Begin sending out brief weekly email updates on project status to the team to reduce project-related questions by 20% over the next 2 quarters.
4. Soft Skills Performance Goals:
- Over the next 4 months, practice active listening in meetings by summarizing key points for everyone and asking clarifying questions, with the goal of receiving an average of 4 out of 5 stars from peers on our core value of Listening With Intent in your next 360-degree feedback results.
- Attend a conflict resolution workshop/seminar and apply the learned techniques in workplace scenarios, aiming to resolve at least 80% of conflicts within the team independently within the next 6 months. Track all employee mentions of conflicts/issues in our performance check-in software.
- Volunteer for at least 2 cross-functional projects or tasks outside of your usual responsibilities within the next year, aiming to demonstrate the core values of Adaptability and Teamwork, as measured by manager and peer feedback.
5. Problem-Solving Performance Goals:
- Develop an approach to addressing recurring customer complaints, aiming to resolve at least 90% of issues on the first contact within 3 months.
- Conduct a root cause analysis on a recurring issue within the team (or project) each quarter with the goal of reducing the issue’s occurrence by 40% within 6 months.
- Facilitate a monthly problem-solving lunch for the team to collaboratively tackle recent challenges, with the goal of solving at least 3 significant client issues each quarter and tracking their implementation progress in our work management platform.
6. People Management Performance Goals:
- Conduct monthly one-on-one check-in meetings with each team member, with a focus on employee needs and overall sentiment, with the goal of achieving a 25% increase in employee retention over the next year.
- Revamp the performance review process by incorporating 360-degree feedback data, aiming for a 20% increase in employee satisfaction with the review process within the next review cycle, as measured by our brief post-review survey.
- Create individualized development plans (IDPs) for each team member within the next 3 months, focusing on their career aspirations and skills gaps, and track progress to ensure at least 80% of team members meet their development milestones within 12 months.
How WorkDove Improves Performance Goals for Employees
Fostering alignment and collaboration through performance goals is most efficiently accomplished through goal management software. With WorkDove’s cascading or simplified goals tools, you get real-time goal tracking and progress updates for individuals, teams, and departments with powerful dashboards and reports. You can also embed goals or OKRs into regular performance check-ins and performance reviews, staying on top of at-risk goals and improving overall employee engagement. Using WorkDove, you can organically integrate goals into your team’s daily routines to support employees and improve key performance indicators. Providing your employees with a simple, easy-to-use tool for monitoring their goal progress sets them and their managers up for success, personally and professionally!
