Goal Setting Information

Setting Goals and Obtaining Results


GOALS SHOULD BE QUANTIFIABLE: It should be possible to analyze every goal in terms of specific quantifiable objectives. Naturally, for certain tasks, measurement of objectives will be more difficult to attain; the key is to make every effort to reduce each goal to its most quantifiable form. For example, a customer service department might have the following general goals: 1. To increase output on customer acknowledgments. 2. To boost the number of customer telephone inquiries that are handled. 3. To distribute mail in a timely manner. As described, the above goals are completely immeasurable. It is almost certain that the manager's expectations will not be met. The solution: Quantify these goals in a realistic, feasible fashion that will also insure departmental productivity: 1. To type 10 customer acknowledgment letters per hour. 2. Handle a minimum of 15 telephone customer inquiries per each two hour shift. 3. Open, sort, and distribute all mail for the third floor before 10 a.m. each working day.

GOALS MUST BE SET IN A PROPER CLIMATE: A conducive climate (where the employees do not feel threatened and are encouraged to ask for clarification) provides the possibility of two-way feedback. Such a setting insures that a transmitted goal or objective will leave no room for doubt as to what is required. Consider this example: the department head of inventory-control specialists who approaches all the specialists at once. She presents a department goal and in front of all the specialists, identifies how each will participate in the goal. Unless this is followed up with individual meetings with each specialist to discuss his or her role, it is likely that none of the specialists will approach the department head for any sort of discussion and, consequently, the goal will never reach fruition.

AVOID THE VAGUE AND AMBIGUOUS: Objective: "To increase the output of sales training programs for international personnel." To almost any listener, some or all of the following questions may come to mind in response to this goal. "What does output mean?" If there is no room for measurement, how will we know when the goal is met? What is the time period involved? In addition, there is the vagueness of the term "international personnel." Does it mean all personnel now based overseas, or could it include home office people based in the United States who are responsible for overseas operations? Ambiguous wording leads to such confusion, jeopardizing the success of what might be an otherwise reasonable, attainable goal.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.


MORE RESOURCES:

Community goal-setting
Tracy Press, CA - 10 hours ago
... it was a goal setting session — before a dozen or so Mountain House residents and made it clear what they’d like to see happen over the next few years. ...


Is goal setting enough?
Let's Play Hockey.com, MN - 9 hours ago
By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS Have you set your goals for 2009 yet? Hopefully, you set goals for what you wanted to achieve back at the start of the season. ...


Commission strategic planning, goal setting follow-up workshop ...
Navarre Press, FL - 9 hours ago
The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners will continue strategic planning and goal setting during a workshop on Thursday, Jan. ...


A strategic plan for goal setting
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA - Jan 7, 2009
The council has done goal setting, but it seems that there are usually goals focusing on pet projects or pet issues of individuals, but there never has been ...


Team and a Dream Announces Goal Setting Teleseminar for Web Businesses
PR.com (press release), NY - 19 hours ago
Team and a Dream (www.TeamAndADream.com) is announcing a Teleseminar workshop on January 12, 2009 entitled “Is your Web Business Failing to Capture Clients? ...


Goal-setting programs make for more active co-workers
DailyIndia.com, FL - Jan 7, 2009
"They had individual goal setting - a common technique - but they also had group and organizational goal setting, which provided the peer encouragement that ...
Wellness programs benefit from management support Business Insurance
all 4 news articles


Frugal Duchess: Goal-setting
Bellingham Herald, WA - Jan 6, 2009
Goal setting is an annual exercise as we try to whip our home and other fiscal assets into better shape. And so we crunch numbers and try to tone up our ...


Employer-Sponsored Workouts Boost Workers' Health
Washington Post, United States - Jan 6, 2009
Key to the program's success may have been the use of group and organizational goal-setting along with individual goals, because they provide vital peer ...


Missoula officials offer New Year's goal setting tips
KPAX-TV, MT - Jan 2, 2009
Missoula City-County Health officials say the new year is a great time to re-commit to new health goals. Here are some goals they recommend striving for ...


Make your New Year's resolutions stick with vision and planning
Honolulu Advertiser, HI - 7 hours ago
A LifeVision workshop on the Big Island on January 30 February 1, 2009, is using art, movement, visioning and goal setting to help women create long term ...

Goal-Setting - Google News

home | index |site map
© 2006