Your company is only as good as its employees.
Think about it: Where would you be otherwise?
Midway through this year’s fourth quarter, it’s time to set goals and objectives for 2014. And in order to be successful, you need total workforce buy in, right from the start.
Engagement is No Longer Enough.
According to recent industry reports, the bar has been raised in terms of employee ownership in your business strategies for the year ahead. Passion is the new engagement.
The 2013 Deloitte Passion Report notes that in order to succeed, businesses must cultivate workers “with the passion to realize extreme sustained performance improvement … Employee engagement is no longer enough. Times have changed. Worker passion, defined by three attributes, will be critical.”
Those attributes are:
- A continuing commitment to accomplishment in a particular domain.
- A disposition to quest and explore.
- An openness to connect with others on a team.
Deloitte notes that cultivating this passion may demand that companies restructure their work environment and “assess how they encourage or discourage workers to actively collaborate on work projects.”
In other words, give employees direction. Lead them – versus dictating to them – and then get out of their way. As part of this strategy, clearly communicate to workers how each individual makes an impact on the company, as well as the broader industry.
Tap Into Employees’ Desires.
To ensure that employees contribute at or near 100 percent every day, never lose sight of the question “What’s in it for me?” In order for your company objectives to be attainable, they must matter to every single person involved in reaching them.
With this in mind, set goals for your employees that are:
- Aligned with your organizational mission and strategy.
- Clear, easy to understand and well communicated.
- Accepted and recognized as important.
- Measurable in terms of progress.
- Framed in time with clear beginning and ending points.
- Supported by a robust rewards program.
- Challenging, but achievable.
Read that last point one more time.
Be sure that employee goals are not dependent on circumstances beyond their control. In other words, set your employees up to win. The results will be mutually beneficial and productivity will soar.
Align Employee Goals with Company Strategy
Writing for The Wall Street Journal’s how-to guide on goal-setting for employees, Alan Murray emphasized the importance of team involvement in your company’s planning process.
“You must make sure the goals you set for your team align with those of the broader organization,” Murray noted. “The more you can involve your employees in setting goals for themselves and the group, the more committed to those goals they are likely to be.”
2014 is almost here. It’s an exciting prospect as the economy turns around and employers shore up for a successful future. But it also can be daunting. For direction in guiding your workforce toward business success in the New Year, contact the team at PrideStaff Modesto. We’ll partner with you to make it happen.
