The best managers understand they are there to help employees succeed. This is an important driver of the overall success of an organization. One of the key metrics for employee and corporate success is the setting and working toward on-the-job goals. Most managers also understand the necessity of their involvement in this process, and most companies see a dramatic increase in profitability when employee goals are linked with the company’s overall strategies.

Here’s why it’s so important for managers to be on the same page with employees and their goal-setting process.

Goal Setting 101 – Important for Managers, Employees and the Business

Helping employees set and reach their goals is an important part of guaranteeing the success of the employee and the business. That’s exactly why managers should strive to understand what motivates employees. This process can help an employee connect more thoroughly to overall corporate goals. It can also help motivate employees to achieve the upward mobility they’ve been seeking. Finally, it can help managers understand the career and promotions track to put the employee on. When all of these areas come together, employees are more engaged and retention is less of a worry.

The majority of employees, especially knowledge workers in the nursing profession, want to set clear, measurable goals. It’s the job of management to not only give employees the tools they need to meet the goals, but also to track and evaluate their progress as part of a formal evaluation process. When everyone is working in tandem toward aligned corporate and individual goals, corporate vision can be executed faster and more effectively. The bottom line may be better patient health outcomes or increased revenues for the organization, but for the employee, the goals hit much closer to home.

Aligning Employee and Corporate Goals

It’s imperative that managers work to align employee goals with corporate strategy. This can help:

• Keep the employee focused on the most important goals of the organization, such as lowered risk or improved health outcomes.
• Give the employee a stronger understanding of their specific responsibilities associated with their goals.
• Improve accountability by assigning and tracking measurable goals.

Managers should meet with employees to go over corporate and employee goals. Then, regularly track progress on the goals as part of both an informal and formal review process. They can do this by creating action plans with milestones for large and small goals, and then tracking activities to ensure daily efforts are building toward those overarching goals.

Management should always be aware of employee performance as measured against these goals and be prepared to help “right the ship” if necessary. How the manager handles the monitoring of goals can create a stronger culture and engage their employees – or turn them away from the organization entirely. Caution should be used to support team members; avoid the big stick whenever possible and work to encourage and provide the support your team needs to reach their goals.

Talk with the team at MAS Medical about your corporate goal setting. We can help you achieve your goals with a host of staffing solutions. Contact us today to find out more.