In this installment of our management guide we look at setting goals. The setting of goals is one of the most significant, but often overlooked, tasks at work. However, by following some basic guidelines, managers and their employees can set and achieve goals that push themselves and their organization forward.

Managers often times assume that employees automatically know the goals of the company. This is not always the case, yet employees need to be aware of them in order to accomplish them. Timetabling regular meetings with employees to talk about the state of the company and future goals can have a great effect on employee morale. Employees that are briefed on where the company is going are more likely to be headed in the same direction.

Managers and their employees should meet to develop mutually agreed upon goals. Employees enjoy being involved in the goal setting process and more often than not achieve the goals if they played a role in setting them.

Simply setting a goal to increase sales outright does little to motivate the sales team. However, if the goal is to increase sales by 5% in the month of March, the goal becomes more focused and challenging. Goals needs to include amounts, times and dates. Being specific means a much better chance of the goal being accomplished.

If goals are established and then employees never hear whether or not they have been achieved, the whole idea of goal setting becomes without credit. Managers should update employees regularly throughout the time period set for achieving a goal to inform them how near they are to reaching it.

Ensuring everyone is focused on a common goal can be as simple as noting the goals down and sticking them in an easily visible area. To keep employees right up-to-date, management can even plot the progress toward the goals. This is advisable because only finding out after the allotted time has elapsed that a goal was not reached does little to boost morale.