According to a report by Sibson Consulting and WorldatWork, only half of the respondents to a survey of theirs reported that their organization used any form of goal setting in its performance management system. And only half of them or 25% of the total used metrics to establish those goals.
In those companies where goals were actually set, the alignment of goals to the company’s strategy tends to be tighter at the top end and looser at the bottom:
- Goals are largely aligned for 70% of senior managers.
- 45% aligned for middle managers and
- 17% aligned for frontline employees.
Companies in the new economy should be using metrics to set performance goals for all employees. These goals should set out actions that need to be taken to meet and improve upon both outcome measures and activity measures. This system of setting goals with employees will enable them to clearly understand how their work connects with the overall strategy of the firm and what they need to do to be successful. In this way they will be more engaged in the work of the firm on an ongoing basis.
To hear a few perspectives on Goal Setting, watch the following video, the first in our training series on Goal Setting: