about maximum productivity when they are coupled with
a communication process that goes on all year.2.Consider a regular and scheduled way to communicate about
progress toward the goals.
One way to communicate about goals and progress toward
those goals is to have some regular and formalized way to
do so. There are a number of ways, including the following:
a. Set up a regular reporting system in which employees
submit a brief statement (let’s say monthly or quarterly)
outlining “where they are at” in terms of hitting their
goals. Not only does this help you know what is going on,
but it also makes the performance goals more visible to
each employee and emphasizes that you take the goals
seriously. Perhaps most important, it encourages employ-
ees to monitor their ownprogress and measure it when
possible. When setting up a reporting system, keep in
mind that it should be simple, straightforward, and not
time-consuming.
b. Schedule regular, short meetings with employees to dis-
cuss progress toward their goals. Believe it or not, these
may be as short as five minutes—just long enough to
share information about progress. These meetings should
have two purposes: first, to provide a forum for basic com-
munication so all parties know the situation, and second,
to serve as opportunities to discuss barriers to perform-
ance, any things that are slowing progress toward their
goals. In other words, use these meetings to identify barri-
ers and to develop strategies to remove them. That’s one
of the prime roles of managers and supervisors, to work
with each of their employees to build success.
23Getting the Most from Performance Goals