Employee performance alignment with business goals will jumpstart productivity in any organization. Inspiring employees to excel in ways that are in sync with company goals boosts morale and motivates everyone by having a shared vision.
If your employees are not aligned with company goals, you're more likely to lose them to a competitor where they'll feel more valued. Productivity and growth can plummet as a result. Let's look at HR strategies for goal alignment and employee performance.
The Benefits of Goal Alignment
When your team members understand how their contributions align with the bigger picture, it keeps them more engaged and motivated in the workplace. The enhanced clarity that comes with the alignment of company objectives allows employees to remain focused on core priorities. Business owners are often amazed at how much better overall organizational performance becomes when aligning business goals and employee performance.
Key Strategies for Aligning Employee Performance with Business Goals
Set Clear Organizational Goals
Start small by defining some SMART objectives for your business. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. An example would be setting a SMART goal to increase a company's website traffic by 20 percent over the next fiscal quarter. That's specific, you can measure it, the results are achievable, it's relevant to the business model, and it has a clear deadline for completion.
Develop Cascading Goals
Cascading goals are high-level goals broken down into departmental and individual objectives. Think of it as being similar to an assembly line where each employee plays a role in putting the final product together. Each department and each individual can have assigned roles with cascading goals, and understand how their work contributes to achieving the high-level objective.
Use Regular Performance Reviews
Regular performance reviews should be a part of your business goal-setting best practices. Understand that this will be a dynamic process. Performance reviews will allow you to monitor progress and adjust goals if needed. Affiliated HR and Payroll Performance Reviews can help you streamline and optimize your review process.
Leverage Continuous Feedback
Employee feedback systems will foster open communication to keep employees aligned with company goals. Keeping an open line of communication with employees where they are encouraged to offer feedback will boost morale and keep projects on track.
Incorporate Technology Tools
Your HR team should implement cloud-based technology solutions to enhance the overall process. Goal-tracking and performance management software can provide real-time insights that allow you to make adjustments when necessary.
Metrics and KPIs for Performance Alignment
Every department will have slightly different performance metrics for business success. Your sales team might be working to increase conversion rates and track customer acquisition costs.
The marketing department might be focusing on website traffic and click-through rates. Operations might be monitoring employee productivity rates and inventory turnover rates. Meanwhile, HR can track employee engagement scores and fill key vacancies as they happen.
Tracking and analyzing performance data will be crucial, especially in a larger company with a lot of moving parts.
Overcoming Challenges in Goal Alignment
Some employees might be resistant to change as you work to align performance with business goals. This is why communicating early and often in the process is important. Keeping employees apprised of the plans and inviting their input will help to overcome resistance.
Understand that your business goals need to remain flexible and adaptable. Goals are sometimes unachievable within a given timeframe due to unforeseen factors. Treating goals as if they are carved in stone can come back to bite you if employees feel like they're failing at their objectives.
Your managers will play a key role in aligning business goals and employee performance. Make sure they receive training to effectively communicate and reinforce goals. It's their job to keep everyone on the same page and working toward the same objectives.
Conclusion
Employee performance alignment can be challenging, but it pays many dividends in the end. The result can be a more engaged and effective workforce. Employees will come to realize that their own success is tied to the company's success.
Align your team’s performance with your business goals using Affiliated HR and Payroll’s performance management solutions. Explore our tools and services today.