HOW TO EXCEL AT

MANAGEMENT
Talent Development Best Practices
A must-read guide to keeping employee
goals aligned, visible and top of mind
 Table of Contents

Introduction: The Importance of Goal Management | 4

What you’ll learn in this eBook | 5

Four Proven Goal Management Strategies | 6

1-Clearly Define All Objectives: Set SMART Goals | 8

2-Align Employee Goals With Organizational Goals | 11

3-Leaders Openly Communicate Organizational Goals and Status | 14

4-Review and Revise Goals Regularly | 16

How Managers Can Coach for Goal Achievement | 19

Drive Accountability With Regular, Ongoing Check-ins | 20

Develop Your People to Support Goal Achievement | 21

Your Next Steps in Effective Goal Management | 23

How Saba can Help | 25

References | 26
 Introduction:
The Importance of
Goal Management
 As talent development initiatives that drive performance outcomes
continue to transform companies worldwide, organizations are
increasingly realizing that effective goal management is a key strategy
in driving business outcomes.

Organizations that adopt goal management technologies, supply chain disruptions,

best practices simply perform better because
their employees understand expectations;
they work on the right projects, are aligned
in helping to achieve organizational goals
and are more engaged as a result. These
organizations create agile workforces, ready
to respond quickly to external and internal
changes while remaining aligned.
In a global, interdependent economy where
the pace of change continues to increase,
this level of responsiveness and alignment is
critical for continued organizational survival.
Companies and organizations – regardless
of industry or size – must be able to innovate
and quickly respond to forces such as new
regulatory changes and new or evolving
markets, among other fluctuations.
The trend of adopting a more modern
approach to goal management keeps gaining
momentum. Organizations are increasingly
replacing annual employee performance goal
setting with near-term goal setting. This agile
process allows organizations to keep pace in a
global economy where innovation and abrupt
changes are constantly disrupting industries
and the way organizations do business.
It’s why effective goal management matters.
And in this eBook, you’ll learn the strategies
that will help your organization excel at it.

What you’ll learn in this eBook

Discover the goal Learn how to adopt Research-based statistics

management strategies these strategies in that show the ROI of
high-performing your organization effective goal management
organizations follow and talent development
practices

How to Excel at Goal Management | 5

Four Proven Goal
Management
Strategies
 In the search for the best goal management strategies that increase
organizational results, recent research can point to some conclusions.

Research by Bersin by Deloitte, Brandon Hall Group, McKinsey and Company, Gallup
and others identify four strategies for effectively managing goals:

1. 2.
Set SMART goals for Align individual
individuals, teams, employee goals
departments and to higher-level
the organization business goals

Establish open
Regularly review, communication
revise and between leadership
update all goals and employees
as needed about company
goals
4. 3.

These goal-setting strategies ensure of Performance Management, that by linking

employees understand the organization’s performance goals to business priorities, 46
strategic goals and are ready to contribute percent of respondents reported effective
every day to meet or exceed them. performance management, compared to 16
Organizations must also regularly measure percent at companies that don’t follow the
goal performance, progress and status, so practice.
employees understand how well they have
performed and the effort needed to reach the
overall goals. DOWNLOADABLE
ASSET: Check out
Taking this strategic approach to goal
the Employee Goal
management yields results. Global
Setting Template
management consulting firm McKinsey
revealed in its survey, Harnessing the Power

Now, let’s explore each of the four goal management strategies in more detail.

How to Excel at Goal Management | 7

 STRATEGY 1

Clearly Define All

Objectives: Set
SMART Goals
When organizations put a process in place to ensure managers and employees
have agreed to performance goals, it positively affects talent development-
related activities such as organizational goal achievement, succession planning,
employee performance and development and employee engagement.

Yet organizations face a number of challenges realistic and time-bound. Each of these
when it comes to goal setting. Perhaps the elements help to ensure executives, managers
most common one is related to skills and skill and employees understand what’s expected.
development. Many executives, managers
and employees often lack the skills to set
effective goals or the ability to recognize an
existing skill gap that will prevent them from
achieving their goals. READ ON: Writing
SMART Goals
This is where the widely used SMART model
for goal setting can help. SMART goals are
specific, measurable, achievable, relevant/

In addition, managers and employees should work together to set goals, rather than
leaving it up to the manager to set the goals and assign them to the employee. This
participative approach enhances communication, clarity and engagement.

Even better? Setting and committing to specific, challenging goals can

boost employee effort, focus and performance.

EFFORT FOCUS PERFORMANCE

How to Excel at Goal Management | 9

Questions Employees Should Ask When Setting SMART Goals

SPECIFIC. Accurately describe the MEASURABLE. Determine how you

expectations and desired outcome. will measure whether you successfully
achieve your goal.
Ask: What specifically do you
want to accomplish? What Ask: Will the results be
will the business result be? quantitative, qualitative
or a combination?

Time-bound.
The goal should state
SMART ACHIEVABLE. The goal
must be ambitious – but
the specific deadline doable – to move the
for completion. needle on performance
outcomes.
Ask: Is it a monthly,
quarterly or an annual Ask: Do you have the
goal? Can it or should necessary skills and
it be deconstructed support? Identify and
into sub-goals? consider all available skills,
resources and potential
RELEVANT. Align the goal to team,
pitfalls that will affect goal
department and organizational goals.
progress and success.

Ask: Does this goal move the needle on

performance and business outcomes?

When setting goals, managers and
employees should also discuss how the
employee’s goal will help the team or
department and organization achieve its
goals. This link between individual and
organizational goals – also known as goal
WATCH: How to
Involve Employees
(With Bad Ideas) In
Goal Setting
alignment – should be a clear and driving
force as employees start to map out their
SMART goals.
Setting poor-quality goals – or worse, no
goals at all – means employees and their
organizations don’t have the clarity and
alignment needed for high performance.
Managers have no basis for evaluating
employee performance, providing feedback
and coaching, developing employees or
supporting career advancement. And
executives can’t effectively measure
organizational performance and progress.

10 | How to Excel at Goal Management

 STRATEGY 2

Align Employee
Goals With
Organizational Goals
 Research tells us that one of the keys to employee accountability is
helping employees understand how their daily work contributes to
organizational success. McKinsey reports that 91 percent of companies
with effective performance management systems in place say that
their employees’ goals align to business priorities.

Often however, employees even just a few

levels down from the executive leadership
team within an organization don’t
understand how the work they do contributes
to their team’s or the organization’s success.
Your employees need to understand and
feel a connection to your organizational
vision – what you do and why you do it – and
objectives so that they can set their own
meaningful performance goals.
“Our staff now understands how what they
do contributes to the organizational goal.
We no longer hear, ‘I don't know why I'm
doing this.’ Now they say, ‘I'm doing this
because it makes a difference in areas like
patient outcomes, improved service delivery
and money saved.”
— Holly Winn, Chief Operating Officer at Black River
Memorial Hospital

Unfortunately, according to Gallup research,

only 30 percent of employees strongly agree WATCH THE VIDEO
that their manager or supervisor directly CASE STUDY HERE
involves them in goal setting. It’s a missed
opportunity because Gallup research also
reveals that employees who do strongly agree
they are involved in goal setting are 3.6 times
more likely to be engaged.

91% of companies with
effective performance
management systems
in place say that their
employees’ goals align to
business priorities.
30% of employees
strongly agree that their
manager or supervisor
directly involves them in
goal setting.
3.6 x
However, employees
who do strongly agree they
are involved in goal setting
are 3.6 TIMES more likely
to be engaged.

12 | How to Excel at Goal Management

Business leaders and managers can give employees this all-important context by first setting
and communicating high-level organizational goals, then tasking employees with establishing
individual goals that directly link to, and support, the organizational goals. The result? Employees
whose goals contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. This increases their overall
sense of understanding, accountability and contribution.

The Next Step: Provide Organizational

Line of Sight to Employees

Effective and ongoing goal alignment
is one of the top strategies leveraged by
high-performing organizations, according
to Brandon Hall Group’s 2018 Learning
Measurement Study.
It’s not enough to simply link an employee’s
goals to their manager’s goals. Employees need
a more direct view of the connection between
their individual goals and the organization’s
high-level goals and sub-goals.

Gallup found that this direct line of sight includes several key actions:

Set clear and meaningful organizational objectives. Once executives

communicate organizational goals, direct managers can discuss how those
objectives relate to the employee’s daily work.

Know your talent. Managers must know their employees’ individual strengths
and areas of improvement so they can work to deliver outcomes more effectively.
This “coaching for growth” helps to develop team members while supporting goal
accountability, engagement and success.

Create challenging goals, together. What’s worse than an unmet goal? An

easy one! Excellent managers empower their team members to take control
(within reason) over their performance goals. When goals are challenging and
personalized, everyone wins.

This alignment helps gives employees a context for their day-to-day

work and builds their pride and motivation.

How to Excel at Goal Management | 13

 STRATEGY 3

Leaders Openly
Communicate
Organizational Goals
and Status
 For goal management to be successful, it needs to be ingrained in
the corporate culture. Leaders, who set the tone for company culture
and performance, need to clearly set and communicate organizational
goals in addition to providing a performance management framework.

This approach empowers managers to

guide and support employee goals while
keeping their people accountable for their READ ON: 3 Ways
deliverables. Bersin by Deloitte found a strong to Build a Culture
correlation between the frequency of executive of Ownership
communication about organizational goals and
their status and business results.

In order to achieve higher engagement and

better business results, leaders need to:

Understand and Create and discuss

communicate the goals strategies to achieve
of the organization the goals

Share the status Foster

of the goals accountability

Leaders can do this by:

Making the larger organizational goals
visible to everyone
Encouraging employees from across
the organization to link their individual
goals to higher-level organizational
goals
It also helps all employees see themselves
as part of a larger team. With systemic goal
management, no individual division or
department can succeed at the expense
of another.

Offering insight into the progress on

linked goals, so everyone can see how READ ON:
they’re contributing and the effect of
3 Leadership Habits
their efforts
That Create a High-
Celebrating milestones and successes
Performing Culture
Regularly monitoring and
communicating goal status at all levels
of the organization

How to Excel at Goal Management | 15

 STRATEGY 4

Review and Revise

Goals Regularly
 Organizations that review their goals quarterly (or more often), rather
than annually, are more effective at managing costs and have better
financial performance, according to research from Bersin by Deloitte.

Organizations that regularly review Yet most companies still miss

and revise goals are: the mark for goal review:

45% more likely to 64% more likely to 54% of organizations still

have above-average be effective at holding think of goal setting as a once
financial performance costs at or below level or twice per year activity
of competitors

Regularly reviewing, revising and

updating goals makes it easier to pivot
EBOOK: The Ultimate
and even drop goals as the needs of
the organization evolve. Change is the
Guide to 1:1 Meetings
only constant in the global economy, for Managers and
and organizational priorities can – and Employees
should – keep pace.

Factors to consider:

What if there’s a shift or disruption

within the industry?

What if regional or international

regulations or compliance
standards change?

What if the organization gets

acquired or merges with a
competitor?

How to Excel at Goal Management | 17

 Organizations should have a mechanism for monitoring and
communicating progress on business goals.
Consider adding milestones and interim due
dates to take broad goals and divide them into
achievable steps to success.
Remember that goals are living projects,
which is why it’s important for employees
to be committed, but not attached, to their
goals. Organizations and their people must
be able to adapt to change and pivot priorities
as needed in order to create value for both
the people and the business.
DOWNLOADABLE
ASSET: 10-Minute
Performance Check-In
Conversation Guide
18 | How to Excel at Goal Management
“We do monthly one-on-one meetings.
All the coworkers I’ve spoken with said
they really like that they have that one-
on-one time with their managers to hear
about their performance – how they’re
doing and how they’re tracking towards
meeting their goals. Overall, people are
more engaged in their work because they
know where they stand.”
— Bailey Borzecki, HR Generalist at Dogfish
Head Craft Brewery
WATCH THE VIDEO
CASE STUDY HERE
 How Managers
Can Coach for Goal
Achievement
 Drive Accountability With
Regular, Ongoing Check-ins

Successful goal setting and achievement at all levels of an

organization requires an enhanced level of mindfulness and
accountability to ensure goal achievement.

That’s why it’s so important to establish
proper progress “reporting” tools and
processes, where managers and
employees can regularly review and revise
goals to ensure continued progress and
celebrate successes.
Reinforcing multi-level accountability
while monitoring and supporting goal
progress is one of the key reasons why
regular, ongoing check-ins – or one-on-
one meetings – between managers and
employees are so important.
Managers and employees can check in on
the status of goals and related development
activities, and make real-time updates to
these activities during their meetings.
These conversations offer an ideal setting
for managers to offer support, guidance
or coaching.
WATCH: Performance
Conversations in Just
10 Minutes a Month

20 | How to Excel at Goal Management

 Develop Your People to
Support Goal Achievement

Flagging a goal that has hit a roadblock or identifying a critical skills

gap that needs to be addressed in order to achieve the goal is all part
of effective goal management.

It’s also a critical element of talent

development, and something
employees expect you to support.
And organizations that make the link
between learning and performance are
much more likely to experience goal
achievement at all levels – driving positive
business outcomes.
“Looking to the long term, we have rebranded
West Marine as a company with a culture
that supports the continuous learning and
development of our people so we can learn,
work and grow together. With managers
guiding the conversations, associates are
supported in achieving their goals.”
— Helen Rossiter, Senior Talent Development
Specialist at West Marine

WATCH: The Learning

and Performance Link: WATCH THE VIDEO
Making the Connection CASE STUDY HERE

How to Excel at Goal Management | 21

 Case in point: When it comes to linking L&D to
performance outcomes, Brandon Hall Group found
that among high-performing organizations:

51% link 51% align L&D

L&D objectives to objectives with the
departmental goals needs of key business
stakeholders

46% review L&D goals 42% link L&D

compared to corporate objectives to individual
objectives at least quarterly performance reviews

Managers and employees should have the

tools necessary to prescribe learning in the
WATCH: Coaching for
moment of need and give employees the
Goal Achievement
autonomy to explore and grow on their own.

22 | How to Excel at Goal Management

Your Next Steps
in Effective Goal
Management
 We hope you’ve found this resource valuable on your talent
management journey. As you look to evaluate goal management in
your organization, consider these key questions:

Which of the strategies Which ones should you think

described in this eBook of implementing?
does your organization
currently follow?

Are all of your employees

Are all of your employees able working to achieve
to state your current individual goals?
organizational goals?

How could you measure the How does your L&D

business impact of adopting strategy support your goal
better goal management achievement strategy?
practices?

As organizations recognize the value of developing employees to become more self-empowered,

self-motivated and self-directed, it’s essential that organizations and their leaders effectively
manage goals to ultimately create valuable business outcomes. And effective goal management
incorporates talent development strategies, such as learning and development, coaching for
growth, and regular feedback as part of employees’ everyday experiences, so they can deliver
their best, every day.

24 | How to Excel at Goal Management

 How Saba can Help

At Saba, we know that when your people
are successful, your business is successful.
We are a strategic talent partner who takes
the time to understand your organization’s
unique culture and vision; and our dedicated
talent experts are willing to work shoulder-
to-shoulder with you to achieve your most
aspirational goals or solve your toughest
challenges.
So you can develop your talent and create
lasting value for your business.

Ready to learn more? Check out how our Strategic

Services team can help you make the most of these
goal management strategies to transform your talent
management programs, creating even more value for
your people and your business.

Your success The Saba Experience:

24/7 customer support Regular user group meetings

starts here! Collaborative online

customer community
Standard or customized
implementation services

Value-added strategic Dedicated customer

services success rep

Learning Performance Engagement Recruiting Workforce Planning

© 2018 Saba Software Inc. All rights reserved. Saba, the Saba logo, and the marks relating to Saba products and services referenced herein are
either trademarks or registered trademarks of Saba Software, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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 References

Bersin by Deloitte, High Impact Performance Management: Part 1 – Designing a Study for
Effectiveness, 2011

Bersin by Deloitte, Maximizing the Impact of Goal-Setting and Revising, Aug. 2011

Bersin by Deloitte, The Performance Management Framework, May 2011

Bersin by Deloitte, The Performance Management Maturity Model, 2013

Bersin by Deloitte, The Myths of Performance Management, 2012

Brandon Hall Group, Learning Management Study, March 2018

Brandon Hall Group, Performance Management Study, Aug. 2017

Brandon Hall Group, The Impact of Innovation in Performance Management, Aug. 2017

Deloitte, Global Human Capital Trends, 2017

Gallup, The Most Expensive Mistake Leaders Can Make, March 2018

Gallup, State of the American Workplace Report, 2017

Gallup, Obsolete Annual Reviews: Gallup’s Advice, Sept. 2015

Gallup, State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders, 2017

Harvard Business Review, The “Sandwich Approach” Undermines Your Feedback, April 2013

Josh Bersin, Forbes: Feedback Is The Killer App: A New Market and Management Model Emerges,
Aug. 2016

McKinsey & Company, Harnessing the Power of Performance Management, April 2018

McKinsey & Company, How Effective Goal-setting Motivates Employees, Dec. 2017

26 | How to Excel at Goal Management