It's January 2014. Here we are, back to writing objectives again.
Seems like there are really only two messages when it comes to objectives. Make them measurable. Align them carefully with your operational priorities. (That is, if you plan to have anything come of them.)
At least that what you find when you search the web, the literature, many consultants' brains. Great stuff when it comes to process improvement. Pretty inadequate when it comes to strategy.
It's January 2014. Here we are, back to writing objectives again. Want the objectives to make a difference this year?
Pay closer attention to the expectations that you are setting for managers. Research shows that managers are a relatively untapped source of leadership in many companies, and this has a serious impact on their financial performance.
Look at these distinctions in a recently released Towers Watson study.
Just to be clear, "high effectiveness companies" in this study deserve to be considered role models (or at least, good sources of useful ideas). They are those survey participants who were substantially higher than their peer group in terms of total return to shareholders, market premium and revenue per employee. And the best organizations overall are three and a half times more likely to significantly outperform their industry peers in their finances.
It's January 2014. Here we are, back to writing objectives again. Are your managers expected to just hit numbers, or do you want them to guide employees? Do you expect your managers to identify "soft" objectives that will have an impact on their department's and their employees' performance? If they do, will your company: 1) Develop managers so they know how to make a difference? 2) Have the courage to base end-of-year recognition and rewards on managers' performance on these "soft" objectives ?
If you answer yes and yes, objective setting may not seem like the same old stuff in 2015.
Margaret O'Hanlon is founder and Principal of re:Think Consulting. She'll join Ann Bares and Dan Walter of the Compensation Cafe to speak the unspoken -- Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communication -- in an upcoming book. Margaret brings deep expertise in compensation, career development and communications to the dialog at the Café. Before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal with Towers Watson. Margaret earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University, Bloomington. Creative writing is one of her outside passions, along with Masters Swimming.
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