Employees need more than a job description and a list of tasks to thrive in their workplace; they need to know when they’re doing a good job, and how they can improve their performance. They need clear expectations, goals, and an understanding of the status of ongoing projects. Unfortunately, managers don’t always provide for these needs. Gallup reports only half of employees “strongly agree” they know what is expected from them.
This lack of employee understanding is why employee goal tracking software is so important: it provides a framework for status updates, performance feedback, and feedback. Employees who possess a strong sense of direction tend to have higher job satisfaction and are more motivated — factors which increase rates of employee retention.
Here are ten reasons why employee goal tracking software is important to your organization.
1. Breaking Down Projects
Facing a large, mission-critical project can leave employees feeling overwhelmed, especially when said project comes with a tight deadline. Employee goal tracking software allows teams to break larger projects down into a progressive series of smaller tasks, assign specific tasks to individual employees, and set deadlines for each small task. Doing so makes tasks that seemed herculean achievable, while providing employees both direction and an understanding of their value to the project, their department, and the larger organization.
2. Reducing Failure Rates
The possibility of failure exists whenever employees are assigned tasks. Your employees are only human, after all, and the risk of failing is a natural part of the human condition.
Goal management software helps managers identify trends that could result in employee failure, and then take steps to resolve the situation. Equally importantly, employee goal tracking software allows employees to check on their own progress, helping them self-monitor whether they are on track or not.
3. Reduced Micromanaging
No one likes micromanagement; it’s exhausting for managers and frustrating for employees. Goal management software allows managers to check on task progress without constantly looking over the shoulder of team members, while also helping identify employees who need additional guidance.
4. Regular Feedback
While employees may not like being micromanaged, most appreciate regular feedback. Employee goal tracking software provides the data necessary for feedback, be it recognition of a job well done or constructive criticism.
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5. Collaboration
Employees working in collaborative environments report increased engagement levels and higher success rates than those working alone. Goal management software provides team-level dashboards through which employees can share triumphs, request aid, and work together toward project completion. Collaborative tools are especially important when teams include remote workers or team members in satellite offices.
6. Discipline
Don’t underestimate employee goal tracking software’s effect on team discipline. Tracking helps employees identify and resolve potential distractions so they can focus on what’s important. There’s a certain amount of positive peer pressure at work as well; employees can compare their progress to that of team members, motivating those who are behind schedule to catch up with their more productive peers. Some gamification systems use employee tracking to set up friendly competitions, ranking employee achievements on leaderboards or awarding virtual badges in recognition of high performance.
7. Increased Accountability
Goal management software fosters a culture of accountability in your team. Assigning specific tasks to employees — tasks which the whole team understands and recognizes — gives employees ownership and responsibility of their roles in the company. No one wants to be the team member responsible for missing a deadline, especially when everyone with access to the goal tracking dashboard can see who was at fault. By the same token, knowing the rest of the team will see and recognize exceptional performance is a powerful motivator.
8. Realistic Completion Times
Up-to-date information on employee assignments improves a manager’s ability to estimate project completion dates. Data from previous assignments can be used to accurately predict completion times for future projects, increasing your credibility with company leaders, customers, and clients.
9. Future Planning
Employee goal tracking software doesn’t just improve management’s ability to estimate future completion dates. Data gathered by the software system can identify which employees should be assigned specific tasks, employee work styles, and missing employee skill sets. This provides information for use with future assignments, training, and 1:1 meetings. Future tasks can be automatically assigned to specific employees or teams based on their past performance.
10. Reliable Data
Prior to tracking software, managers had to rely on memory and note-taking to evaluate employee performance. Relying on memory is often unreliable, while note-taking (and searching through those notes for specific information) is a time-consuming process. Goal tracking software solves these problems.
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