When To Have A Process Goal vs. An Outcome Goal

*This post was published originally at Smart Goals HQ.*

Has anyone ever set a goal with the intent of getting worse? I don’t think so. All goals are intended to produce a better outcome than the status quo. However, sometimes it can be difficult to determine which type of SMART goal is the best to use in order to maximize the outcome: a process or an outcome goal? “Well, we want a better outcome, so I better create a goal about the outcome,” you might be thinking. While this seems to be a logical thought, there may be some instances where a process goal will lead to a better outcome than an outcome goal.

First, let’s define our terms. An outcome goal is any goal that has the ultimate desired outcome as the target. An example would be “I will lose ten pounds by July 1st.” A process goal is any goal that uses as the target any action or process that will lead to the outcome if it is achieved. “I will reduce by 500 the number of calories that I eat each day.” The first goal has the desired ten lbs. lost as the target whereas the second goal focuses on the process that will enable the person to lose ten lbs.

So why might it be better to have a process goal?

The outcome is difficult to define. The primary reason to use a process goal over an outcome goal is that the outcome is one that is difficult to give a specific target or definition. Say you want to be more knowledgeable of current affairs. How would you quantify and measure that? It is difficult to make the outcome specific. Instead, you may say “I will read the newspaper five days per week for a month.” Or “I will read at least three news articles per day.” These are both specific and measurable process goals that, if achieved, will lead to the desired outcome, however nebulous it might be.

You are developing your Execution Plan. Another reason to use a process goal instead of an outcome goal is that you are developing the Action Items for your Execution Plan. Remember, for every goal that you set, you will need to identify two to five actions to complete in order to achieve your goal. Each of these actions should be SMART goals in and of themselves; they will undoubtedly be process goals. When creating the Execution Plan for the above goal: “I will lose ten pounds by July 1st”, the first Action Item will be the process goal that we discussed: “I will reduce by 500 the number of calories that I eat each day.” The second Action Item might be “I will exercise 30 minutes per day, five days per week”– another process goal. Identifying processes that are within your control will help you to achieve the ultimate outcome that you desire. This brings us to the third and final reason for having a process goal.

The outcome is beyond your control. Your first response to reading the last sentence may be, “I thought goals should be achievable and relevant. Why would you even have a goal if you cannot control the outcome?” This final reason mainly pertains to members of teams, especially in the organizational setting. In other posts, we have discussed the importance of cascading goals properly throughout an organization. One consideration when cascading goals is that lower level employees cannot control every variable that goes into the overall organizational goal outcome. However, their part may be a vital piece of the puzzle. A billing clerk does not have complete control of how much cash on hand the hospital has, but they can have an impact on how much money is being brought in through overturned insurance denials. The clerk should not have the goal “Achieve $100 million cash on hand”, but should instead have the goal “Resolve 30 denials each week.” If all employees are hitting their process targets across the lower levels of the organization, leaders should be succeeding on their areas’ outcome goals, and the organization should be succeeding on its outcome goals.

Though goals are ultimately concerned with achieving a better outcome, sometimes it may be more prudent to focus on driving processes. If an outcome is difficult to define, if the Execution Plan is being developed, or if the outcome is beyond the operator’s control, then process goals should be used instead of outcome goals. Successful achievement of the process will result in the successful achievement of the outcome.