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4 Tricky Goal Alignment Mistakes that Managers Must Avoid

Whether you are practising work from home, in an office job or hybrid model in your company, aligning goals for individuals, teams, and departments is necessary to provide them with direction and a sense of clarity to stay on track and focused. Not to mention, having clear objectives lets them manage their time and work to meet daily deliveries while enhancing their decision-making skills. 

However, establishing goals, daily KRAs, and targets is not that easy. And, managers tend to make mistakes, as there is no hard rule for all roles and responsibilities. As a result, the team or department fails to meet the organisation’s expectations, which further leads to dissatisfaction and disappointment among team members too. 

To help you avoid such undesirable situations, we have compiled a list of some common yet tricky goal alignment mistakes to be aware of. Read on to get better insights on the same.

Gaps in SMART goal setting

Setting SMART goals is something that must be done properly as it lays the foundation for every goal management system within a workspace. Since their introduction by George T. Doran in 1981, SMART goals have been adopted by organisations all around the world. 

Employees lack direction and a clear understanding of their objectives when they don’t develop SMART goals. Look further to know the key components of SMART goals for better understanding:

Specific: it states that objectives should serve a clear purpose. It gets simpler for workers to comprehend. Goals that lack specificity will eventually fail.

Measurable: For employees to monitor their development towards achieving the goals, they must be quantifiable. They should be able to measure their progress and determine success.

Achievable: Objectives shouldn’t be either too simple or too complex. The person won’t feel challenged by easy objectives or demotivated by completing extremely difficult tasks. 

Relevant: Goals should be pertinent and connected to the organization’s and department’s overarching aims.

Time-Bound: The aim must be time-bound, with a deadline for completion. When objectives are time-bound, performance increases, and workers remain motivated and engaged.

Neglecting employees

It is observed that managers frequently make the mistake of leaving employees out of the goal-alignment process. As a result, employees do not have a clear idea of their aims or expectations. Instead, it should involve both the manager and the staff working together. Employees feel more responsible for their goals when they are included in the goal-setting process. Additionally, the employees don’t feel the goals are being pushed on them as firmly, which boosts job happiness and productivity.

Inflexible goals

Many times, it happens that the objective of the goals changes after deploying a resource, due to the nature of work or any other reason. In this case, it is wise to update the goals as per their needs. Even after an employee begins to work toward a goal, it is frequently possible for the goal’s actual objective to alter. Update the objectives in this situation in accordance with their requirements. Employee engagement and productivity are frequently impacted by static goals. The majority of firms make the mistake of delaying revisiting or changing their goals until it is time for employee performance reviews. 

Goals that are adaptable are more relevant and significant for the employee and the organisation.

Problems in the performance review system

As was already said, some organisations wait until performance evaluations to reexamine their goals. As a result, employees fail to recognise what they are doing correctly and should continue with the same approach, as well as what they are doing wrong and should quit or not. 

Tracking goals or having timely performance reviews with the help of impeccable performance management software makes it easier to see issues and gauge progress. As a manager, assist staff in identifying important benchmarks and creating a timeline to meet deadlines. Every now and then, assess their development and provide your staff with suggestions or feedback. This will support their will to do their best and adhere to the objectives of the company.

Hence, performance review and appraisal are key aspects of the goal alignment process in an organisation that must be overlooked, rather than evaluated frequently to set, moderate, and communicate goals throughout the organisation. 

 

All the above-mentioned are some common gaps that must be bridged for optimum performance and the success of the company. Make sure to implement them in your goal-setting strategy to reap favourable results.

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