Involving your people in company goal setting is a surefire way to boost employee engagement. It sends a strong message about how much you value workers’ input. And it increases employees’ ownership of goals, so they see how they fit into the big picture.
But how do you get staff involved in setting targets? Perhaps your organisation is trying to figure out ways employees can contribute. Or maybe you are in the process of reviewing your company objectives and want to get workers involved. Here we offer three practical tips to get started.
1. Forums
It can be in-person or online. Either way, staff come together in an open forum to debate and discuss. You can use forums to support goal setting at the team, departmental or corporate levels.
However, be sure to set clear expectations beforehand. The debate needs to be moderated by senior leaders to keep things on track. And employees should be reminded to be respectful and listen to others.
Having an organisational objective to guide discussions is also a good idea. Allowing employees free rein can be counterproductive. Your goal might be gathering insights and feedback on improving the employee experience. Or maybe you want staff input into customer service targets. Whatever the objective, let participants know in advance so they can be prepared.
2. Focus Groups
These smaller groups are helpful if you want to dig deeper into employees’ experiences or need more in-depth analysis. A focus group brings together a random sample of workers across the organisation.
Say the employee forum has helped you to develop an initial set of goals around customer service. Focus groups are perfect vehicles for employees to provide more detailed input. You can revise, refine and improve those draft targets with insights from the frontline.
3. Surveys
Use employee surveys to gather instant feedback in a snap poll or dive deeper with detailed questionnaires. Staff surveys work equally well on a company-wide, department, team or even role basis. Make them anonymous, and they are also helpful in connecting with workers who may not otherwise engage. Plus, you are more likely to receive honest feedback across the board.
The following golden rules will ensure that your employee surveys are as effective as possible.
- Keep the survey short and straightforward. Overly long or complicated ones risk being ignored.
- Try and ask closed rather than open-ended questions.
- Use scales rather than yes or no questions.
These tips will make it easier to analyse the results and determine the strength of opinion.
Follow-Through With Staff
Be aware that any initiative to get employees involved in goal setting will fail if you don’t feedback on the results. Avoid cynicism and mistrust. Ensure your staff are updated on the outcome of their involvement. Even better, you’ll boost team morale and power up employee engagement all round.
Check out the Write Solutions blog for more handy tips and insights. Or shoot us an email for a free consultation on how we can help your business get ahead.