6 Must-Haves for Successful Goal Alignment

The enormous, interlinked web that is the organizational goal alignment

process can seem daunting at first glance. But as we’ve been discussing,
successful goal alignment can be achieved with the right roadmap and
technology. Setting up your own roadmap doesn’t have to be a headache if
you do your homework (and we’ve got plenty of resources to help you get
there). To give you a head start on learning how to align goals for success,
here are 6 must-haves every manager should know for successfully aligning
goals.

#1. Know organizational goals like the

back of your hand
Half of the workforce doesn’t strongly feel they know what is expected of
them. Don’t become a part of that problem. Managers are typically those who
plan and delegate employees’ goals to align with organizational goals. For that
reason, understanding the mission of every organizational goal, even those
which they might not directly be responsible for, will make aligning
goals happen more seamlessly.

Tip: Familiarize yourself with the other managers or leaders who are setting
goals of their own. Find out problems or reasons driving these new
organizational goals and if your team can in some way be a part of the
solution.

 Build an understanding of your organizational goals, starting with these

steps:

 
#2. Get leadership behind goals
One surefire way to sabotage successful goal alignment is presenting goals to
employees without consensus from each member of the leadership team. In
their 2013 Change and Communication ROI survey, Towers Watson found
that 75% of change initiatives fail. Why? It turns out only 68% of senior
managers understand the reasons behind organizational goals. Everyone
must have transparency into company strategy, issues at hand, and who is
responsible for what in order to be successful not only in aligning around
goals, but also accomplishing them.  

Tip: Coordinate with colleagues to make sure the messaging of the goal

alignment process is communicated accurately and consistently across each
responsible department.

Also read: Why Aligning Corporate Goals Takes More than Just Software

#3. Follow through on established

standards
Part of successful goal alignment is staying true to company values and
standards when planning and implementing goals on any level. Lacking
consistency on the standards and expectations employees are held to in their
day-to-day tasks and especially when carrying out projects, leads goals down
the wrong path and contradicts company guidelines. Things like chain of
command, standards of quality and amount of workload expected to be
completed must be clarified and consistent. 70% of employees who lack
confidence in their leadership are disengaged. You’ve established trust with
your teams, don’t break that trust with inconsistent standards.

Tip:  Don't break trust with inconsistent standards for your employees and suffer this
daunting outcome: 
 
Tip: When setting goals, establish standards first, not last, and make sure
employees are educated on them before they are assigned goals. Avoid
making significant changes once they have been implemented. If change is
necessary, for example if key members of the team are leaving the company,
carefully outline why the change is happening, how it impacts each person’s
job and what will change in the goal process moving forward.

#4. Support employees in achieving goals

Upwards of 50% of employees don’t feel their manager helps remove
obstacles to doing their job better? For organizational goal alignment to be
successful, employees need the right resources, guidance and plan to help
them realistically meet goals.

Tip: Managers have to be extremely well-versed on the capabilities of their

team members, making sure goals are appropriate and, if needed, supported
with tools to facilitate success.

#5. Assign accountability measures

While your performance management system should have a goals dashboard
to keep each person accountable for their own responsibilities in the goal
alignment process, ensuring those individual goals and deadlines are
appropriate is the key to success. Did you know employees are seven times
more likely to be engaged when they report that their managers are aware of
the tasks and projects that they are working on? In case you skimmed over
that, I said seven times more likely.

Tip: Avoid keeping your thoughts about the goal setting process to yourself.
Share them with colleagues and discuss them with each team member during
the goal-setting stage so that everyone is in agreement on the parameters of
objectives and deadlines.

#6. Guide the goal alignment process with

regular communication
Aligning goals isn’t something managers can just wipe their hands of once the
wheels are in motion. Like everything in life, there will be bumps along the
road that can cause projects to derail, deadlines to be pushed back and
responsibilities shifted around.

Tip: Create an environment of open communication with your team so they

can voice concerns about their progress. Gallup research shows that 60% of
employees with managers who are open and approachable are more engaged
in their work. That’s a win-win for you! On that same note, don’t be afraid to
seek the help of your colleagues or offer a helping hand to keep the goal
alignment process on track.

Want your company’s goal alignment process to be successful? Don’t be a

part of the problem, be a part of the solution by keeping these 6 things in mind