Objective Setting Guide for Managers

Setting objectives at work is a key part of motivating and managing your team, as well as helping to optimise their performance.

In this practical guide for managers, we look at how to set objectives for employees at work, from the different types of objectives that can be used and how these can be set, to how objectives can be monitored and measured.

 

What are objectives?

Objectives, in the context of the workplace, typically refer to the goals set for different departments and employees, together with the timeframes within which to meet these goals. Objectives help define what each department’s and employee’s responsibilities are within an organisation, where setting objectives is part of establishing expectations for staff and managing them. This is also commonly known as the performance management process, where management uses objective setting to assess and improve performance.

The phrase “objective setting” refers to the planning and research that management undertakes in order to determine the types of the goals that will be put in place for different departments and employees. This is the process by which goals are planned at work and discussions are had as to how to meet them on a realistic timescale, where setting objectives can help a company to progress and plan for the future. Equally, by fully understanding objective setting, this can help employers, line managers and team leaders to improve a company’s capability, on an individual or departmental and organisational level.

 

What are the different types of objectives?

There are several different types of objectives that can be used at work, including:

• Role objectives: every role has its own objectives which form part of the job description for that position. For example, a waiter’s role objectives are to greet and serve customers in order to ensure a positive dining experience and customer satisfaction. The role objectives state what a person needs to do and why this is important, where performance standards, such as speed and knowledge, can help to evaluate role objectives.
• Target objectives: these objectives refer to measurable results from an employee or team. This could measure output, income, service, cost reduction or other targets. For example, a target objective for a retailer could be measured with reference to their sales per day.
• Task objectives: these objectives are completed by finishing tasks or major projects by a specified date. For example, a project’s deadline, such as completing a media marketing pitch, can be the task objective for a single employee or for an entire department.
• Behavioural goals: managers often set behavioural goals for an entire department, although they can also be set for an individual. Some behavioural expectations involve the use of language, dress, actions and speech representative of the company and team, but generally refer to any standards of conduct that must be maintained.
• Performance goals: these refer to improved performance objectives and help define what can help an individual, team or department to achieve better results. Often, performance goals result in performance improvement plans that specify what actions both employees and management need to take, where these plans will also typically provide a prescribed timeframe within which measurable improvements must be made.
• Learning goals: these types of objectives help specify areas where employees and teams can develop, whether that be through additional skills or knowledge. Where learning goals have been identified, steps will often be taken by management to support how these goals are met through specialised training sessions, courses or mentoring.

 

How to use objectives effectively

Objectives can be used in a number of different contexts in the workplace, including project management, employee performance management and even personal development. They can also be used in a much broader context, to help drive a company’s overall performance.

However, when it comes objective setting for teams, it is important to understand how this fits into any team project or performance management strategy, and how the use of objectives can be used to help motivate teams, meet goals and improve performance.

In many cases, knowing how to set objectives for a team can come down to understanding the needs of the business and the capabilities of each team to drive that business forward.
Still, knowing a business inside out is not always enough, where it is important to have a framework in place to be able to define what is needed and why, as well as the ways in which this can be achieved. In this way, a team tasked with a particular project or asked to make overall improvements will be better able to stay the course to completion.

By not putting in place clear parameters, or by setting unrealistic goals, this can often have a counter-productive impact on employee and team performance. By failing to use objectives in a positive and healthy way, this can seriously damage individual and team morale, causing undue stress and, in turn, reducing employee engagement and productivity.

 

What are SMART objectives?

SMART is an acronym, giving set criteria to help guide in goal or objective setting in ways that are thought to give better results in the context of things like project management, employee performance management and even personal development. The “SMART” in SMART objectives stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

It is far easier to succeed when management have clearly defined objectives that are based in reality, where teams often fall short of meeting goals due to a lack of consensus on the definition of success. SMART goals use the following specific set of criteria to help ensure that objectives are clearly defined and attainable within a certain timeframe:

Specific: in order for an individual, team-wide or departmental goal to be effective, it must be specific. A specific goal will address what needs to be accomplished, who is responsible for that goal and what steps need to be taken to achieve it.

Measurable: by quantifying goals, making sure that they are measurable, this will make it easier to track progress and to know when a particular objective has been met or, if not, how much additional progress needs to be made to meet that objective. This often means, for example, placing a figure or percentage on growth by way of trackable benchmarks.

Achievable: this is about being realistic in the objective setting process, where it is important to assess whether or not a particular goal can reasonably be accomplished. This assessment will need to be undertaken having regard to the resources, abilities and time available to an employee, team or department. Setting unrealistic goals will result in inevitable failure which can have a serious adverse impact on future performance.

Relevant: this ensures that, when setting objectives, careful consideration is given to the bigger picture and the overall context within which a particular goal is decided. It forces those responsible for objective setting to identify the reasons for a chosen goal and to ensure that any goal decided upon is relevant to what needs to be accomplished.

Time-bound: finally, there need to be clear parameters as to the timeframe within which certain goals and objectives can be met. This timeframe will therefore need to specify when certain tasks or projects will start, right through to when they will be completed, with key progress markers in between. By having time-related parameters built in, all those involved will know how to stay on track within a designated timeframe.

 

Example of SMART objective setting

By leveraging SMART objectives for creating an action plan, defining these parameters as they pertain to certain goals, this can help to ensure that objectives are attainable within a certain timeframe. This structured SMART approach can help to set individual and team-wide expectations, eliminating generalities and guesswork, setting a clearly defined timeline, and making it easier to track progress and identify missed milestones.

The basic framework for SMART objective setting is as follows:

“The goal of [the target group] is to [quantifiable objective] by [timeframe or deadline]. To accomplish this goal [key players or teams] will [the steps that will be taken to achieve the goal], where completion of this goal will [the end result or overall benefits].”

Applying this framework to a retail online sales team tasked with increasing the usage of the company’s mobile app, an example of a SMART-goal statement might be:

“The goal of the online sales team is to increase usage of the mobile app by 20% within a 3-month period. To accomplish this goal the team will optimise the company’s app-store listing and create targeted advertising campaigns on the following three separate social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As mobile users tend to return to the app for repeat purchases, with the app representing a primary driver of customer loyalty, growing the company’s app usage should increase overall profitability.”

However, depending on the size of the team and existing workload, to make this achievable the SMART-goal statement may need to be scaled back to the two social media platforms where uptake will be highest, with an increase in users of just 1,000. The timeframe within which this goal is achieved may also need to be adjusted to 6 months, while incorporating clear start and finish dates. As such, the final SMART-goal statement may read:

“Grow the number of monthly-users of the company’s mobile app by 1,000 by the end of the second quarter of 2024. This will be accomplished by optimising app-store listing and creating targeted social media campaigns, which will begin running in January 2024, on Facebook and Instagram. Since mobile use is the primary driver of customer loyalty, growing the company’s app usage will ultimately increase sales.”

 

How to set objectives with your team

When setting team objectives, the following practical tips can help to create a positive and realistic SMART-goal statement that will help to achieve the end goal:

• Simplify the end goal: while the methods of meeting an end goal may be complex, it is always best to try to simplify the goal itself. Being able to articulate the goal in easy to understand terms can help to maintain focus and make the goal feel achievable.
• Consider alternative methods: when setting objectives, alternative ways of reaching the desired results should always be considered. It is important to identify the best way of meeting an end goal, but having back-up options can ensure that objectives can be met.
• Explain the objectives to the right team players: when explaining objectives to a team, it is important to identify those employees who need to understand the objective and which part is important to their role. Those higher in management may benefit from higher level objective plans, while other employees may need to only understand what they are directly responsible for achieving within that larger-scale plan.
• Divide large goals into smaller goals: when working with large goals, it may help to divide these into smaller goals, helping a team to understand the overall desired outcome, building on their sense of achievement. A team may feel more satisfied by completing several small goals over a few weeks rather than a large goal after months.
• Recognise every step of the process: by having smaller goals achievable in shorter timescales, this will provide the chance to celebrate each success every step of the way. This can help to raise morale and motivate employees, while providing an opportunity to review progress at certain milestones and take steps to make necessary improvements.

 

Next steps

There are various ways in which objectives can be monitored and measured in the workplace, although by clarifying how a goal is to be measured from the outset will help team players to appreciate when these have been reached or how far is left to go.

Additionally, there are certain key steps that can be taken to help support a team in seeing goals through to completion. These include open and honest communication, as well as checking in on progress and addressing any problems, through regular team meetings and one-to-ones. It is also important to provide adequate support and acknowledgement to help motivate and encourage team players to meet the objectives that have been set for them.

 

Need assistance?

Objective setting is one of the most effective tools in performance management. For specialist HR expertise and support on how to develop and implement effective objective setting, contact us.

 

Objective setting FAQs

What are the 5 SMART objectives?

How do you set an objective example?

What is the objective setting of the workplace?

Objective setting in the workplace refers to the goals set for different departments and employees, together with the timeframes within which to meet these goals. Objectives help define what each department's and employee's responsibilities are within an organisation.

What is an example of an objective in goal-setting?

An example of an objective in goal-setting in the context of the workplace could be a target objective, where the quarterly success of the online sales team of a retail company is measured by a set percentage increase in app-users.

Last updated: 30 November 2023