Setting Goals for Hybrid Teams

How to set goals for your team

Hybrid work has benefits for both employers and employees. As more and more companies adopt hybrid working arrangements, leaders have to adapt the way they manage their teams. Managers may need to adopt new ways to support their teams to perform at their best.

Effective goal setting is essential for successful hybrid teams. We have previously discussed goal-setting strategies for individual employees. Today we discuss tips for managers on setting goals for hybrid teams.

1. Create interdependent goals

The first step in setting goals for hybrid teams is to define what success looks like. This applies to both team and individual level goals. What do you want to achieve? Why is it essential to the team or individual? We suggest starting with team goals and then setting individual goals.

Set aside time to discuss and agree on team goals as a team. Team goals should align with organisational goals. If the organisational goal is to deliver customer satisfaction, how will your team contribute to that goal?

We recommend using the SMART framework to set goals. This well-known framework helps structure goals so that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The SMART framework enables you to clarify exactly what you want to achieve and how to know if you’ve achieved it. Both team and individual goals can follow the SMART framework.

Setting team goals will help team members to feel more connected with each other. They can see how their individual efforts contribute to the broader goal. For example, a media and entertainment company had the goal of better serving their customers through digital offerings. This required employees from different business areas (such as engineering and customer experience) to collaborate on new products and features.

Once you’ve agreed on team goals, cascade them down to individual-level goals. How will each employee contribute to achieving team goals? Individual-level goals should be interdependent. That way, employees can understand how they need to work together to achieve team goals.

2. Set clear expectations

As individual goals are likely to be interdependent, it’s important to be extra clear on who is responsible for what. Set clear expectations that employees are ultimately responsible for meeting goals. Make sure that each employee understands how their performance will be measured.

Encourage open communication, so that team members feel comfortable to seek support if needed. Employees may need time to adjust to new working arrangements or need additional training.

3. Make goals highly visible

To ensure your team is on track, goals need to be visible. Don’t just set and forget. Make team goals highly visible by making them easily accessible for everyone in your team, regardless of working location. So don’t only display them in the office. Make your team goals available on the intranet, or even suggest team members include them on their screensaver.

Visible goals keep your team motivated and focused on what’s important. Practise saying “no” to requests or tasks that do not contribute to team goals.

4. Give autonomy

Once goals are clear, let your employees decide how to achieve them. This helps to promote a results-focused culture. Let employees have ownership of their goals and give them as much autonomy as possible.

Autonomy is having control over what, when, and how we work. We know that having freedom is incredibly motivating. As managers, the more autonomy you can give your team, the more engaged they’ll be.

5. Check-in regularly

While setting goals for hybrid teams is the start of effective management, it doesn’t end there. Goals need to be reviewed regularly to ensure they stay up-to-date. Goals may need to be adjusted as a company and team priorities change.

To build a goal-driven culture, try reviewing team goals together every month. In addition, check-in with each employee and ask them how they’re going with their individual goals. Regular check-ins mean that any issues can be dealt with promptly. If the team is smashing its goals, celebrate! Recognise success and make sure your team knows that you genuinely appreciate their good work!

At PEPworldwide, we work with teams and individuals to build productive workplace habits and increase effectiveness. See how our tailored programs can help you and your team to set goals and smash them. We will work with your team to implement practical strategies that can be applied straight away, regardless of working location.

This article first appeared on the PEPworldwide Australia blog at: https://www.pepaust.com/blog/setting-goals-for-hybrid-teams/