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Company leaders are marching on confidently toward collective goals, but when they reach back for help, they realize their team has veered off long ago. All too often, employees are not aware of the larger goals that leadership is basing their strategy on. Teams and leaders start to drift in different directions when no one is quite sure how their own performance goals align with those of the company.
One of the four vital management skills for motivating employees from Dale Carnegie Training, rests in the ability of management to communicate with their employees.
“Explain their roles and responsibilities in the team clearly. Demonstrate how their day-to-day tasks impact the organization’s goals to help them feel enthusiastic about their company and their job.”
In all honesty, most employees wish to be able to make an impact in their professional world, but are rarely armored with the necessary information to do so. The fact that far too many employees are not deliberately made part of the corporate objectives and strategies is a collective problem, but HR is where organizations can start.
Even HR can get caught up in work the way that most of us do –focused on immediate tasks with no frame of reference for our work. If you called the recruiting manager right now, would they be able to define the company goals?
If you answered…
A) Yes: I challenge you to put your theory to the test and see if you’re right. You’ll most likely be unpleasantly surprised.
B) Maybe?: I challenge you to figure out just how accurate or inaccurate they are.
C) I don't even know the company goals: Don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for.
The real answer to this question is important, because when leadership reaches back for help on their march toward goals, they need a team there. If everyone is working with different (or no) roadmaps, it’s each worker for themselves.
HR thought-leader and ERE contributor Dr. John Sullivan said:
“Unfortunately, in my interactions with corporate recruiting leaders, I am frequently surprised to find that they don’t have a formal set of strategic goals for their talent acquisition function. That’s a major problem because you certainly can’t be strategic unless you have a formal written strategy (most don’t) and a corresponding set of goals to make it clear to everyone what you’re trying to accomplish.”
On the HR and recruiting level, hiring with blinders on results in the use of generic job descriptions and template interview questions. With little context or focus on talent/goal alignment, how accurate do you really think your hiring team can get with new hires? The cyclical nature of uninformed hiring will only create a widening distance between the goals of the individual and the goals of the organization.
Canned recruiting efforts don’t find matches; goal and talent alignment strategies do! This is an action item that you can do today –right now. Find out how informed your HR and recruiting departments are as it relates to the company goals. While you’re at it, find out who knows the company values, or who has revisited the mission statement lately. Hiring involves the big picture, creating relevant talent pools, proactive sourcing and addressing talent gaps. All of which are a shot in the dark without established, communicated and tracked goals.
Strategic goal alignment can sound and look like a daunting task, and it is, without the right tools. We would like to invite you to demo our Talent Management System and find out how your company vision can be understood and acted upon on a daily basis.
photo credit: jorgophotography via bigstock cc
