When setting performance goals, keep in mind this is an intermediate objective to actual accomplishment. The key is to ensure your goals are not only realistic and challenging, but that they are achievable.
The process, especially working together with employees so that you build trust and confidence, increase satisfaction, and inspire motivation that yields lasting results and achieves goals, is the end-state everyone wants.
The Playing Field
Critical to maintaining employee motivation and satisfaction is ensuring that everyone knows the rating system and they feel that they will be evaluated fairly.
Setting and achieving goals requires that you clearly communicate expectations while you establish objective terms to evaluate performance. One way to do this is to ensure that each of your job goals lists the task, conditions, and standard(s) associated with the effort.
When objective terms are not possible and the evaluation must be subjective,
" ... you should describe as clearly as possible what you like and dislike, what you will observe, and how you are likely to react to these observations." -- Patricia King
Setting Performance Goals
Objective goals are specific, measurable, and have a time limit.
Imagine a pilot's job goals that did not include each of these parameters. They could fly from one airport to the next directly, or they could take the scenic route consuming precious fuel. Or, they might travel 150 miles beyond their destination before turning around to land significantly late. Whoops!
Italian Pilot Joke:
Folks I have a some a good a news and some a bad a news. The bad a news is we are a lost. The good a news is that we are a making a good time!
The performance appraisal process begins with clear definitions of what must be accomplished. Again, goals must be specific, measurable, and have a time limit.
7 Tips for Setting Performance Goals
1. Encourage the employee to discuss their ideas and goals and reach agreement on goals to foster a spirit of cooperation.
2. Maintain regular contact and meet at least daily or weekly.
3. Use these meetings as opportunities for discussion and clarification. At times, they will become "foot locker" coaching sessions when appropriate.
4. Mentor and coach during these sessions to help the employee learn and grow instead of it being perceived as part of a critical evaluation.
5. Conduct periodic, semi-formal reviews to serve as checkpoints that will enable both parties to make any necessary course corrections or adjustments.
6. Conduct these interim reviews in "pencil" to set expectations if there are no changes.
7. Continue communicating so that you minimize surprises and remove much of the inherent stress associated with the annual review and appraisal process.
Transforming the Appraisal Process into a Valuable Experience
Employee performance appraisals require significant time, but with the right approach, you can transform an often difficult task into a continuous process to everyone's advantage.
By involving the employee when setting performance goals, leaders can turn the appraisal process into an ongoing learning experience instead of a dreaded annual event.
Employees want to be involved, and they should be. However, ultimately it is the leader's job to finalize job goals.
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