Are there companies you admire, businesses you would like to emulate? If so, chances are these successful enterprises have an ethos of goal setting and achieving among employees at all levels.

Here are some tips to help you get all of your employees to set personal work goals:

You may have to require that all employees set goals. Not everyone is a goal setter and several of your employees may feel intimated by the process. Be gentle but firm in your mandate and be sure to offer as much guidance as employees need.

Be sure every goal set by an employee is measurable. That is, stay away from “gut feelings” and other esoteric measurements. If, for example, an employee’s goal is to “improve my attitude,” ask him how he’ll measure that improvement. And look at what’s really causing him to be known as having a “poor attitude.” Is he chronically late? Does he continually miss deadlines? Perhaps a better goal may to be “arrive on time every day” or “complete projects a day before they’re due.”

Give your employees the chance to set their goals. People tend to reach goals they’ve set themselves as opposed to reaching those mandated by others. Don’t let employees set goals carte blanche (see above). Get their input, let them put together first drafts and then let you and/or department managers tweak as necessary.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. There’s nothing like a deadline to focus one’s mind. What’s that old saw? “Dreams are but goals without a deadline”? It’s human nature; people tend to let things lie undone if not given an expected end date.

Visit with your employees periodically to gauge progress. Look at these not as a chance to micro-manage your staff but as a time to ask questions, offer solutions to delays, and to make sure employees aren’t focusing on one goal at the expense of others.

Speaking of multiple goals, keep the number of goals to a minimum. Too many goals can lead to an unfocused effort to reach them.

Finally, aim to get the goals in alignment with your company’s own goals and strategy. These are work goals after all, and every employee’s goals for work should somehow relate and contribute to the company’s.

Call Winston Resources when it’s time to set a strategic staffing goal. We can provide your Manhattan-area company with top marketing, administrative, healthcare, IT, accounting, legal, human resources, publishing, and real estate professionals. Contact us today to learn more about how strategic staffing can help your business succeed.