Each of us has goals, wants to grow beyond himself, and find something that drives him. We do the same in companies. We set goals, realize them, and set ourselves new goals. Unfortunately, this process is usually only so simple in our imagination. To change this and make it easier for you to achieve your goals in the future, we explain how you can establish goal management in your company.
The way to the right goalsetting
If you have ever dealt with goals, you know that they should be SMART. SMART is an acronym and stands for:
Specific: Goals must be clearly defined, as precise as possible
Measurable: Goals must be measurable.
Activating: The goals must be appealing or desirable for the person.
Realistic: The set goal must be possible and realizable.
Terminated: A clear deadline must be set for the goal.
For a goal to be smart, all these criteria must be met. To formulate your goals, ask yourself: What do I want to achieve? How can this improvement be measured? Is this goal desirable? How can I realize it, what resources do I need to achieve it, who can help me? And finally: By when should the goal be achieved?
Measuring goals to achieve goals
To manage means to measure. It is not enough to formulate rough goals or instructions for action. Too rough goals can be a guideline or a vision, but if you do not make goals measurable, you run the risk of not achieving them at all. Measurable goals always allow you to check the target/actual status, formulate concrete instructions for your employees, and determine the best measures you need to take to achieve your goals. Not every goal is measurable in concrete terms, for example, the increase in customer satisfaction. These goals are also called qualitative goals and must first be made measurable. To increase customer satisfaction, for example, you can shorten delivery times or make the purchase process or problem-solving as easy as possible for the customer. Accommodating customer support, with short waiting times and helpful, polite employees can also increase customer satisfaction.
Achieving business goals can be challenging. Concrete, smart business goals can be achieved by increasing certain key performance indicators.
For the actual achievement of objectives, it is imperative to assign the appropriate process objectives to the result targets, for example, a 5% increase in sales within 6 months. Process goals are the measures you define for the achievement of objectives, such as the acquisition of X new customers per week.
To achieve certain goals, it may be sufficient to increase or reduce certain key performance indicators. Below you will find further examples of concrete company goals and the corresponding measures.
Increasing turnover by increasing the purchase frequency per customer.
The purchase frequency can be increased, for example, by developing new innovative products. This process goal can be achieved by the submission of new ideas by employees and by developing prototypes. Possibly, new markets can also be opened up by the product.
Another example is the fluctuation of employees. Due to the high fluctuation, considerable costs arise for the company, which can be avoided.
If this is to be reduced, it is necessary to find out why employees leave the company or are often absent. Under certain circumstances, fluctuation can be an indicator of a bad working atmosphere. The improvement of the working climate would be a qualitative goal. In this blog article, you will find tips on how to improve the working climate of your company.
The reduction of the complaint rate can be achieved by customers buying a suitable product directly. This can be achieved in online retailing through size tables, high-quality product images, and product descriptions. In retail, by tasting, trying on, or testing the products. You should also avoid long delivery times, as this ensures that the customer has a longer chance of buying a comparable product at better conditions.
With the qmBase goal management we make this and all other targets easier for you. The link to the necessary measures helps you to get closer to your goal step by step. Clear responsibilities and deadlines ensure transparency for all parties involved and increase the probability of achieving your goals. You can also use this circumstance to motivate your employees. Ultimately, the employees also benefit when the company is successful and this must always be made aware to the employee.
Company evaluations - get to know your company
To set goals and track their progress, you need to know the status quo of your company. This requires an analysis of the company. For this purpose, you can choose between different methods. To realize various goals it is necessary to identify the resources of the company. A resource is for example the qualifications of your employees. For realistic planning and elaboration of the goals, you need to know how you are positioned in terms of personnel. In addition, your employees must have sufficient qualifications to supervise a certain project and to achieve a corresponding goal. With the help of a qualification matrix, you can see at a glance which employees have which qualifications and where training is still required. Use our free Excel template or our app Training and Qualifications.
Another method for company analysis is the SWOT analysis. In this case, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. With the SWOT analysis, internal as well as external company divisions are analyzed. The internal factors, such as strengths and weaknesses, show you what potential your company has and what needs to be improved. The opportunities and threats map the external factors, which you also have to consider when formulating your goals.
The SWOT analysis is easy to perform, informative, and applicable to the entire company or smaller areas or specific departments. An english version of our blogpost about the SWOT Analysis is coming soon!
Deal confidently with mistakes and stay agile
It is not uncommon for companies not to be able to achieve the goals they have set themselves. There can be various reasons for this, for example, the lack of employee commitment, unforeseen risks from the environment, etc. It is important to evaluate these mistakes and analyze how goals can be successfully realized in the future.
Blame and punishment often do not help, but only promote a negative working atmosphere and the fear of making mistakes again. Here, management is responsible for demonstrating a constructive approach to mistakes.
Mistakes should be recognized as early as possible so that the damage can be limited. The goal is to identify, eliminate, or at least limit potential causes and sources of error at an early stage. Through this active error prevention, significant cost savings can be realized. This can be achieved, for example, with FMEA - The Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. An English version of our blog post will be available for you soon.
Another important point to achieve goals is agility. In our constantly changing world, rigid targets are synonymous with a standstill. If you notice that the goal that was originally planned is no longer appropriate in the current situation, dare to step back and react flexibly to your environment. With the OKR-method you can succeed in this. OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. Objectives are superordinate to Key Results and describe the main goal for the next months. The Key Results are milestones that must be reached in order to achieve this goal. They are measurable, specific, and reflect the progress towards achieving the goal. The OKRs are designed for a period of 3 to 4 months, in between, there are reports in which the current status is communicated. If you want to learn more about the OKR method and your background, click here.
Agile management can also give you advantages in other areas of your company. It enables faster decision-making, which allows the company to react faster to changes in the markets and individual customer requirements.
The qmBase goal management
With the qmBase target management you have the possibility to actively influence the course of your company. The App goal management combines everything you need to achieve your company's goals. With the qmBase goal management app, you can easily define goals, responsibilities and deadlines. Employees are automatically informed about your goals. Objectives can then be linked directly to the corresponding measures so that your employees know directly what needs to be done.
The progress of goal achievement is documented transparently in the system. This is especially helpful if you have a certified management system in your company (e.g. ISO 9001) and must document the achievement of the goals anyway.
Click here to learn more about the target management of qmBase and request your free trial version right now.
Sources:
Walter Simon, 2007, GABALs großer Methodenkoffer Grundlagen der Arbeitsorganisation
Walter Bungard, Oliver Kohnke, 2000, Zielvereinbarungen erfolgreich umsetzen
Share this Post