Guidelines for Crafting Individual Performance Objectives

Is it the time of the year when you hack you brain and come up with performance objectives? Or is it the time of the year when you will evaluate your performance or the performance of your direct reports?

Depending on the firm you work for, some delegate the development of performance objectives to their staff. Traditionally, the managers set the performance objectives at the start of the year. Nowadays, a people-skilled manager will sit down with his or her direct report/s individually or in groups to develop more meaningful, relevant, and attainable performance targets.

Once you become a supervisor, you must understand the significance of the Performance Management System (PMS) and the most significant skill: aligning individual performance targets with business goals/strategies. This has been a source of frustration for some, that the process eventually becomes an act of conformity, resembling a paper exercise. Have you ever seen a performance appraisal with the highest rating but no remarks or critical incidents to support it? Have you ever witnessed a steady three rating year after year? And the most common amongst all, have you seen a performance appraisal which objectives are copy paste from previous year or a copy paste of the job description?

For a year, I researched and created a learning experience that addresses this scenario – framing the Performance Management System (PMS) that can be easily understood. You see, the PMS is not only performance review/appraisal, which some managers focus on. PMS is a cycle of planning, monitoring, and review (appraisal). The most crucial of which is the planning. This is the time that individual performance objectives are developed. A bad objective would lead to a useless result. In short, a waste of time & energy.

Here are some tips for those who are writing their performance objectives or coaching their direct reports:

Differentiate between performance objectives and work activities

When we write our performance targets, we should always think of the end goal in mind. It is a precise end result or outcomes that help the organization or the department achieve its goals. A work activity, on the other hand, is a set of actions, tasks, or activities used to perform your job duties. This is frequently included in your job description. For instance, your job entails preparing invoices, which is a work activity. An Error-free invoice or the turnaround time for preparing the invoice are examples of performance objectives that can be matched with a company's goal of customer delight.

Differentiate between outcomes and output

There were also instances when we confused tasks with objectives. Tasks or activities are considered output, a highly specific action to achieve an outcome. Most of the time, we include output in our performance objectives since it is easier to quantify and more tangible. However, our goal in writing a performance objective is to produce the desired outcome. The job to be done. Something that is achieved over time yet appears to be so complex that some people do not even consider it. Below is an example of an outcome and an output --

Outcome         : 100% retention of existing customer

                        Output             : Send company newsletter to customer 4x a year

                        Output             : Create a database of existing customer

                        Output             : Customer visit 2x a year

Outcome         : 100% compliance of company procedures to ISO Standards

                        Output             :  Conduct process review once a year

                        Output             :  Conduct internal audit once a year

                        Output             :  Certify two (2) new ISO internal auditors

Based on the examples above, one can include as many outputs as they like to achieve the desired outcome. What we seek from our performance targets are outcomes that add to the company's overall strategy and goals. We could always adjust the output or tasks if we realized that it no longer works or produce the desired results.

Alignment with company goals/objectives

It is crucial to highlight that the success of any PMS involves careful planning. Part of this involves developing an individual performance objective that speaks to you while also contributing to the company's success. As a result, the first thing you must do is understand the company's business goals and objectives. As employees, we should be aware of the organization's aims/objectives and how our performance relates to or contributes to at least one or two of the company's goals.

For instance, the company's objective is to increase its market share. Starting with this end in mind, one must know what market share means to the organization. If we talk of market share, it affects the operation of the whole company. In view, this involves maintaining customer loyalty and engagement; Employing and maintaining quality employees; Utilizing effective marketing campaigns; Building and maintaining the company brand; and, etc.  

Company Objective:  Increase market share by 2% by end of 2024

Department	Departmental Objective	Individual Objective
Sales	Increase revenue by 5% by year end	Sales staff – Generate __ new deals/ contract per month
Purchasing	Efficient inventory management of all supplies always	Purchasing staff –   Sustain ___ procurement cycle time
Quality Assurance	Pass annual ISO audit	QHSE Staff -   Maintain 100% compliance of company procedures to ISO Standard
Admin	Increase web traffic by year end	Admin staff–  Grow number of likes from ____ to ___ per month on all social media platform
HR	Provide training opportunities for new team members	HR Staff -  100% Onboarding of all new hires

The SMART way 

Always use the SMART format: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timebound. The SMT of SMART is the easiest to formulate. However, the A (attainable) and R (relevance) of the objective should be discussed thoroughly between the manager & the direct report. Most of the time, our objectives are so far out that we become fatigued and discouraged. Likewise, if we do not have the necessary assistance and resources, achieving any goal will seem unachievable. Another factor to examine is the capability of the individual who will carry out the objective. If we do not know our direct reports well and do not consider their development, we may end up leading them to failure. On the other hand, the relevance of the objective determines if it is meaningful to the employee and to the company. Value creation occurs when the objectives are related to the attainment of both personal and organisational goals.

At the end of the day, SMART targets drive performance provided they are relevant and attainable, which can be defined through an open discussion between management and employee about expectations, what success looks like, and the support required.

Less is More 

 The quality and impact of the objectives make the distinction between value creation and compliance. It is not about having more objectives, but about intentionally and purposefully choosing those that will have the most influence on the organization or department.

One would believe that the more targets you include on your performance appraisal, the better. The busier you appear to be, the more you are contributing to the organization. However, having more will trap you in a maelstrom of useless "busyness." You are either spreading your wings too thin or putting so much on your plate that you become overwhelmed, pressured, and fatigued. Then you will realize that most of your work was haphazardly completed. So, it is far better to sit down with your manager and thoroughly discuss which 3 or 4 objectives that you can focus on for the year, that really matters the most.