HR Question: Helping Employees Draft SMART Goals

Question: How can we help our employees write professional goals that are meaningful and motivating to them? Some of our employees don’t know where to begin.

Answer: Getting started can be the hardest part of setting professional goals, especially for employees who haven’t thought about it before or don’t see any value in it. Here are a few ways you can help your employees create and feel connected to their professional goals:

• Share upcoming projects, team priorities, or company goals with employees. Ask them to envision how they could contribute to these efforts in specific, measurable ways.
• Encourage employees to think in terms of the results they’d like to achieve or where they have room to improve. Goals completion can be measured by improved accuracy, faster response times, reduced rework, or higher customer satisfaction scores.
• Ask employees what skills they’d like to develop or what kind of work they’d like to try. Then look for ways to tie that interest back to their current role. For example, if an employee expressed interest in improving their communication skills, you might look at ways to incorporate that learning in their current job duties (e.g., provide additional opportunities to present at meetings).
• Tell employees that you will reward success (if you can follow through). Ultimately, professional goals will only be meaningful and motivating if they result in a good outcome for the employee. Many companies tie bonuses and promotions to successful goal completion.
• Remind employees that while professional goals are a tool to help them contribute effectively and ultimately grow in their career, working towards these goals can have immediate benefits. They can reduce day-to-day frustrations, make routine tasks easier, improve both individual and team performance, and result in other benefits.

If you’d like to learn more about goal setting, check out our guide on SMART goals.

This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.

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