Personal Business Objectives

An overall business strategy, and team specific objectives that are required to reach this aim, are vital for long-term success. However, within these plans it is also important to set personal objectives so each employee is aware of their own responsibilities within the strategy. For instance, an employee may be responsible for securing a certain number of sales in a given time period or to complete all work within their agreed deadlines. The objectives should be aligned with the team’s goals and the employee’s skills and experience, to ensure they are maximising efficiency.

The first step is for an employee and their respective line manager to outline what their objectives should be, the timeframe they should complete them in and how they can go about achieving them. This discussion, to agree ‘performance expectations’, is important for aligning personal objectives with the team’s goals, as well as ensuring everyone is aware of their role within the team. It is also necessary to carry out an appraisal after the deadlines set for these objectives, in order to review the employee’s performance. This allows managers and their employees to assess whether they met their objectives, but, more importantly, allows the employee to learn from the experience and change to enhance their performance.

Setting personal objectives is crucial for maximising individual performance, which, in turn, maximises the team’s and business’ performance. However, perhaps more importantly, it creates a sense of direction for employees and allows them to learn and develop as they carry out each task.