Employee Goal Setting and Evaluation

Managers have the goal of setting up employee expectations in the workplace. Committing the employee to established goals will help the manager better evaluate how the employee acts in the workplace. However, many managers do not establish the employee goals in a proper fashion. Managers often act as reactive individuals, working each day to solve the problems of that day. However, with proper goal-making and aligning those goals with employees, any employee evaluations will be difficult to ascertain.

The Primary Goal

All businesses have a primary goal or a set of goals. The goals can be answered by some thought-provoking questions. For example, a manager needs to consider what the main goal is of the organization they manage. A manager also needs to contend with what the overall strategy is for the organization to reach that goal. Finally, a manager needs to look at every department in the company and see how the department reaches the goal or set of goals. All of these might seem elementary, but many managers will forget these basic tenants to managing the company because of daily operations. Having these questions in the forefront of the mind of the manager will help him or her establish the goals of employees.

Set Goals to Employees

Setting the goals for employees in a company need to be within a well-structured framework so the manager can always refer to this when assessing employees. Employees should be explicitly told by the manager what is expected from them in a timely manner per day. At the same time, the manager must establish milestone points that are explicitly told to the employee so progress can be measured and assessed. Finally, all goals need to be reasonable. A manager needs to rationally assess how the goals can be completed within a reasonable time-frame. Employees will become discouraged and will not look forward to work if the manager establishes an unreasonable timetable.

Goal Alignment

Goal alignment is the process of having employees engaged in the primary goals of the company. Consistent and clear communication with the employees about the goals is just one part of the process. Proper goal alignment is helping the employee understand their role in how the primary goal or goals are being reached. With different job positions across different departments, each employee might feel unimportant or feel that their task at a company is inconsequential. The manager’s duty is to explicitly tell the employee that not only is their position a part of the ultimate goal-reaching process for the company, but that their daily work will ultimately be measured and assessed to see how well they helped the company reach its goal. This helps make the employee feel like they are part of something greater, mainly that they are helping enhance the company. At the same time, it instills a sense of responsibility within the employee so they know their work performance is being quantified and measured.

Goals and Evaluation

Managers cannot accurately assess the work performance of their employee if they do not establish how the employees are meeting the goals of the company. Knowing the primary goals, establishing the goals to employees, and aligning those goals to work evaluation will help employee productivity and remind employees of how they are evaluated.

Bernhard S