The Benefits of Setting Goals
There’s no doubt that setting goals is beneficial for the individuals, the team and the entire organization. Numerous studies show that goal setting positively impacts both productivity and performance.
According to psychologists Gary Latham and Edwin Locke, goal setting can increase productivity between 11 to 25 percent. And in today's competitive landscape, having a productive and high-performing workforce is more important than ever. Creating goals that support your vision or strategy is sometimes easier said than done. But putting in time and effort to do so is often worth the investment in the long run, both for the employees and the overall organizational health. There are many frameworks for goal setting; some of the most common are OKRs, SMART and BHAG. Using an established and well-tested framework can be helpful in getting started with goal management.
There are many beneficial aspects of working effectively with goals.
Here are 5 common and significant advantages:
1. Goals help you track your progress
Setting goals can help you quantify or evaluate growth. Without measuring, you won’t know if you’re meeting your targets or falling short. Measurable goals allow you to work intentionally and strategically to reach your key results.
2. They provide vision
What do you wish to achieve? Where do you want to be next month or next year? Goals are a wonderful way to help gather the team and focus on the big challenges to reach milestones for success.
3. They provide clarity
Clear company goals help everyone know what their own priorities should be. It also helps people make better decisions when facing trade-offs. The more context you can give your team, the better their decisions will be.
4. They create alignment
Setting team goals makes it easier to keep everyone on the same page and work in the same direction. This is especially crucial for remote teams working across multiple locations or time zones.
5. Goals increase productivity
A goal-setting framework clarifies what’s expected of people at all levels. It helps direct focus and resources to become more productive, efficient and effective in producing an enhanced result.
When done right, goal setting is fun and can greatly impact your business in many ways. Setting goals communicates expectations and helps your team understand the impact on the big picture. This leads to higher engagement, motivation, and productivity, which in turn helps the business grow. Goals provide clear priorities and help everyone understand what they are working towards.
Goals in AlexisHR
With goals easily accessible in AlexisHR, employees and managers can work and collaborate intentionally toward your vision or strategic direction. The feature is flexible and designed to support OKRs, SMART goals, or any other framework you might use. Read more about it on our homepage or book a free demo to learn more.