- What's your view about the use
of personal objectives as a performance measure?
I think if we were to ask 10 managers
what their philosophy is about them,
I predict we would get 10 different opinions.
It would range from those seeing them
as being highly effective tools
to those dreading them and feeling
they're time-consuming, bureaucratic chores.
Some companies spend an enormous amount of time
on the creation of group objectives
and then pass them on to each staff member
to then add their own,
while other companies have policies
that don't utilize them at all.
This is one of those situations
where you gather information from a variety of sources
and develop the strategy that works best for you
and the people you're managing,
while at the same time falling
within the guidelines of your company.
For me, developing personal objectives
with a salesperson is a chance
to combine the coaching that I really enjoy
with the corporate mandate,
which means I like the one-on-one session,
since it's a focus on creating plans together
to help the salesperson improve.
I cringe at times at the corporate requirements
because it can get too structured and formal.
I'm of the school that less is more.
I'd rather have five really actionable objectives
than a laundry list that goes on for more than a dozen.
I like that it's an assignment
that I can work on together with each salesperson.
It should be seen as a positive task rather than a burden.
Many companies and managers like the use
of the SMART performance management strategy,
since it clearly gives a strong direction
to create effective objectives.
S, specific.
This ties back to my preference for a focused objective
and avoiding ones that have no clear direction.
For a salesperson,
we could say that during the first two quarters of the year,
increase the amount of opportunities opened by 20
and dollar projections by $100,000.
M, measurable.
Using my prior example,
I've stated real numbers,
not a percentage,
and have a specific timetable of six months.
There's no guesswork.
Everyone is clear on the numbers.
A, achievable, agreed.
No one likes to be assigned a personal objective
that's unrealistic or one where they've had no input.
As a manager, this is a great way to work
on some mutual goals together
and enable the salesperson to take some real ownership.
R, relevant, realistic.
It should be pretty straightforward,
but developing objectives that have
no chance of being completed
is demoralizing right from the start
and really defeats the purpose altogether.
Objectives need to stretch people
but also need to be achievable.
That's the reward when they're accomplished.
T, trackable, time limit.
I'm a big believer of timelines and dates.
If you say something is due by the start of the month,
it carries less significance than saying
completion date required by May 1.
I apply trackable timelines even for myself,
as it puts some pressure on it and importance.
Working with each salesperson to develop
an agreed-upon set of personal objective
can be a really effective way to get everyone
focused on performance improvement.
The measurable items can be a win-win for everyone.
It can build teamwork between you and your direct reports,
but even more importantly,
enable you to coach and target improvements
to enhance the skills for each sales professional.