Looking for effective employee goals examples to use in your organisation? Here are 61 goals that range from performance goals to collaboration goals, and more.
According to research from Gartner, goals that align with the organisational needs improve employee performance by 22%.
Setting realistic and actionable goals for employees that fit within their role and career aspirations is a powerful tool to drive engagement and productivity in the workplace.
It drives clarity, provides direction, and even advances career growth for the employee. A productive and satisfied employee contributes to the organisation’s growth.
Rather than spend hours trying to create the perfect goals for employees, I have curated a large list of employee goals examples you can borrow.
All you have to do is tune them to your company’s needs and employees’ roles.
5 Tips for using these employee goals examples
There are a few tips you can apply when using these employee goals examples for your employees.
Collaborate with the employee
The employee should take an active role in the goal-setting process.
It helps you consider the employee’s personal career goals and aspirations in addition to the organisation’s needs.
You’re able to align goals to the individual strengths and skills of each employee, and this leads to better goal outcomes.
Besides, involving the employee in the goal-setting process makes them more likely to own it. They’ll understand how their contribution fits into the broader company objectives. This fosters a higher level of employee engagement and motivation.
A research study also suggests that employee participation in goal setting has a positive impact on their proactive behaviour. This, in turn, enhances organisational performance.
Align employee goals to organisational goals
All employees’ goals should align with the company’s overarching goals.
It ensures that all employee efforts are going toward driving the organisation’s strategic objectives.
Proper alignment also ensures that the company resources are directed toward tasks and projects that have the most significant impact on the company’s bottom line.
To achieve this, set cascading goals. This is where you first establish goals at the organisational level, then set supporting employee goals that directly contribute to the organisation’s goals.
Use the SMART framework
Use the SMART framework to tailor the employee goals examples I’m about to provide. Make them a fit for your employees’ capabilities, organisation’s priorities, and available resources.
Using the SMART framework means setting employee goals that are:
- Specific: What the employee should achieve should be well-defined and clear.
- Measurable: Include concrete metrics such as percentages. It makes it easy to track goal progress and determine if they have been achieved or not
- Achievable: The employee should have the skills capacity and resources to achieve the goals
- Relevant: The goals should align with the employee’s role and contribute to the company’s vision and mission
- Time-bound: Have a specific deadline for the goal completion
Set strength-based goals
As you use these employee goals examples, tailor them based on the existing strengths and positive qualities of each employee.
It’s called setting strength-based goals.
Strength-based goals capitalise on what the employee is already good at and aim at making them better, instead of simply fixing their weaknesses.
It’s an empowering approach to goal setting. It makes employees feel that they’re using their strengths to progress the organisation’s larger objectives, and this builds engagement and motivation.
Monitor the goals
Your work doesn’t end when you adopt these employee goals. Provide ongoing guidance to ensure the employee stays on track. It’ll facilitate better goal outcomes.
Monitor their progress and provide the resources they need to succeed.
Choose a platform where you can have regular conversations about challenges they may be facing. You can use Slack or any reliable alternatives. Here’s a Slack alternatives post by Attrock that you can use to choose a reliable tool.
If the organisation’s priorities change, realign employee goals accordingly.
61 Employee goals examples you can use
Here are some SMART employee goals examples you can use for your organisation.
Examples of professional development employee goals
- Develop proficiency in negotiation by attending a negotiation skills workshop by the end of quarter 3
- Allocate 5 to 10 hours per week to complete a project management certification course within the next 12 months
- Grow industry knowledge and stay current with trends by attending two industry conferences before the end of the year
- Dedicate 10 hours per week to learn Java 17 programming language within the next 3 months
- Enhance customer service skills by shadowing the lead customer service representative for 20 hours in the next 3 months
- Identify a mentor in project management and participate in at least 2 coaching sessions per week for the next 3 months
- Attend a conflict resolution workshop in the next quarter and successfully resolve 3 conflicts in the next 6 months
- Enhance proficiency in financial software by enrolling in a relevant software training program within the next 3 months
- Improve efficiency in campaign management by completing a marketing automation workshop with a passing grade score of 80% or higher in the next 2 months
- Successfully complete a materials science course in the next 6 months to gain knowledge on advanced materials that can facilitate sustainable and innovative product design
- Attend an online class in public speaking and lead 2 departmental presentations within the next quarter. Achieve a score of 4 out of 5 in anonymous audience evaluations
Examples of performance goals for employees
- Improve product knowledge to achieve a minimum average customer satisfaction score of 95% in the next quarter
- Develop a more effective outreach strategy that will increase monthly sales revenue by 20% within the next six months
- Improve industry expertise and increase first call resolution rate to over 60% before the end of the month
- Increase the accuracy and reliability of monthly reports within the next 3 months by reducing error rates to less than 3%
- Achieve a minimum of 95% OTIFNE (On-Time In-Full and No Errors) in customer order delivery performance in the next six months
- Implement a more systematic approach to project management that will increase project quality scores by 12% in the next six months
- Generate at least 3 new leads every week for the next 3 months by leveraging social media marketing tools
- Improve project cost management to increase project profit margins by 10% in the next quarter
- Implement stricter quality control measures in financial reporting processes to achieve 99% accuracy in monthly financial reports by the end of the next quarter
- Implement more robust SEO strategies and more targeted ad campaigns to increase monthly website traffic by 30% in the next quarter
Examples of communication skills goals for employees
- Improve written communication and receive positive feedback on the clarity of written communication before the end of the quarter
- Develop the practice of responding to emails within 24 hours of receiving them before the end of the month
- Improve cross-cultural communication with colleagues of diverse cultural backgrounds by participating in a diversity and inclusion workshop this quarter
- Demonstrate proficient active listening skills during 1:1 meetings and consistently receive positive feedback in this aspect by the end of the quarter
- Develop persuasive communication techniques by practising in mock scenarios and implementing feedback. Successfully persuade team leaders to support a proposal before the end of the quarter.
- Learn to maintain engagement and convey information effectively during virtual presentations. Successfully deliver three virtual presentations with favourable feedback before the end of the month.
- Share at least one idea in every team meeting this month and express thoughts effectively
- Seek input and share updates with colleagues from three different departments within the next two months to foster cross-functional communication
- Provide constructive peer feedback with actionable outcomes on at least 3 projects in this quarter
- Give at least 2 presentations within the next three months with a 90% positive feedback rating
Leadership development goals examples for employees
- Improve decision-making by seeking mentorship and attending decision-making workshops. Receive positive 360-degree feedback on improved decision-making
- Coach and mentor at least two new employees for an hour every week over the next quarter
- Study strategic management concepts and develop a strategic plan for at least one project in the next quarter.
- Improve delegation by delegating two specific and non-core tasks to teammates in every project assigned in the next quarter
- Attend two online leadership conferences before the end of the year
- Successfully lead one weekly departmental meeting per month for the next three consecutive months
- Develop emotional skills by attending at least three emotional intelligence workshops over the next year
- Receive positive manager feedback for making valuable contributions during team and cross-functional projects over the next six months
- Successfully facilitate the resolution of at least three complex team-related challenges over the next year
- Demonstrate proactive initiative by implementing at least two process improvements on assigned projects over the next two quarters
Collaboration and teamwork goals examples for employees
- Attend at least 4 team-building activities in the next 6 months
- Engage in knowledge-sharing by contributing a helpful resource or best practice tip with other team members in every team meeting over the next 6 months
- Proactively offer assistance to at least one team member on a project or any other work-related matter over the next month
- Collaborate with colleagues from different departments on at least two cross-functional projects that deliver measurable outcomes over the next quarter
- Actively seek constructive feedback from one different colleague every month for the next 6 months and implement suggestions
- Engage in weekly self-assessments over the next six months. Identify one opportunity where a constructive contribution was made during a meeting based on understanding a colleague’s input
- Seek the input of other team members when making key decisions during the next two months
- Actively participate in weekly team brainstorming sessions and share at least one innovative solution consistently over the next quarter
- Build dependability and trust with team members by consistently completing tasks within set deadlines over the next quarter
- Promote role integration by contributing to at least two projects beyond your main role within the next year
Employee goals examples to boost work-life balance
- Establish work-life boundaries by consistently disconnecting from work emails and avoiding other work-related activities outside of work hours for the next 6 months
- Limit overtime hours to a maximum of three hours per week over the next quarter
- Utilise unpaid time off by disconnecting from work-related activities at least twice every quarter
- Create a dedicated remote workspace before the end of the month to increase productivity and reduce the average time taken on tasks by 20%, leading to a better work-life balance
- Attend one personal growth course that’s enriching beyond work before the end of the quarter
- Schedule a weekly review of tasks to identify opportunities for delegation and prevent overwhelming workloads during the next six months
- Attend stress management workshops within the month and track improvements in well-being over the next three months
- Initiate a conversation with the manager within the month to communicate personal boundaries. Maintain open dialogue over the year to ensure personal time is continuously respected
- Attend a time management workshop. Maintain an optimised daily schedule that supports 80% task completion and a 30-minutes daily session of physical exercise for the next 3 consecutive months
- Overcome procrastination. Decrease the average time taken to complete projects and tasks by 30% within the next quarter to create adequate time for personal life
In Summary
Setting the right goals for employees can be challenging. But this list of employee goals examples will make it easier. As I’ve mentioned, make them more effective by:
- Collaborating with the employee to tailor the goals to their strengths and career aspirations
- Aligning the employee goals to the wider company goals
- Using the SMART framework to fine-tune your goals
- Relying on the employees’ strengths to assign relevant goals
- Monitoring the progress of the set employee goals
Apply these tips and you’re sure to experience better goal outcomes.
About the Author
Reena Aggarwal is Director of Operations and Sales at Attrock, a result-driven digital marketing company. With 10+ years of sales and operations experience in the field of e-commerce and digital marketing, she is quite an industry expert. She is a people person and considers the human resources as the most valuable asset of a company.
