A. Agree on Goals and Key Results

Initiate Goal Setting with Conversations

Your involvement as an employer or supervisor is a must in goal setting. Your remote workers will rely on you to initiate and drive the whole process. And this process begins by starting a conversation with your remote workers.

Schedule a goal setting session with your team, preferably at the end of each year or after an annual performance review. This way you and your team can start the year with a clean slate and with the right mindset. New goals are a great source of motivation. They also communicate the value of each member to your company.

Identifying Goals

The term goal setting is associated with the SMART tool, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-Driven. These are the five elements that make up an ideal business goal.  In a remote setting, two out of these five criteria are hard to achieve: Measurable and Realistic.

 

Measurable Goals

There are remote jobs whose goals are not measured based on tangible targets. Virtual assistants and content writers are some examples of these remote jobs. How then do you determine the level of contribution and effort of remote workers with these roles?

Ask yourself the following questions:

  1.     What components of the job are quantifiable?
  2.     How do I factor in time in measuring success?
  3.     How do I determine the quality of work done?

Answering these questions can help lessen the anxiety you have about working with remote workers. You will know if your remote workers have succeeded in doing their job or if they did their job.

However, it is not enough to have clear measurable goals, you also have to make sure that the measures are set in smaller chunks. One way you can do this is by setting mini-goals to achieve the bigger one. If you do this, you can prevent the risk of wasting too much time on hitting a big goal. By the time you realise that there is something off, you will have already come to a point where there is too much rework to be done. As a remote leader, you must measure progress as frequently as you can, and setting smaller goals to achieve bigger ones can help you do this.

In addition, be clear on your intent when measuring progress. Is the deadline near? Remind your remote workers about it. Ask them if they need help or if they encountered a roadblock.

 

Realistic Goals

It is harder to set realistic goals in a remote work environment than in a traditional one because of the absence of physical presence. There are a lot of anxieties that come from not being able to see each other in the same physical space that setting goals may seem pointless. If a remote worker decides to leave without notice, your goals seem to disappear with them. However, think of it this way. Realistic goals set in a traditional work setup and in remote work are different. Therefore, you will need to approach realistic goal setting differently.

A realistic goal in the context of remote work is:

  1. Challenging yet workable;
    Realistic goals can be ambitious but if you can come up with a concrete plan on how to achieve it, then it is worth the endeavour.
  2. Dependent on past performance, level of confidence, skill development, and outlook of your remote workers;
    Your confidence in your remote workers to achieve their goals should be based on your observations. Did they do well in the past? Are they confident enough to take on the task? Are they improving at all? Do they have a positive outlook? Your answers to these questions can help you gauge the capability of your remote workers.
  3. Something that provides guidance and motivation;
    If the goal is inspiring enough to get your remote workers hustling, then it must be a realistic goal. This means that they think and feel that the goal is achievable because steps they need to take are clear.
  4. Agreed on by everyone in your team.
    This is why setting goals as a team is important. Each and every member should agree with the goals being set. They should all believe that they are achievable. If someone in your team does not agree, then he or she must have thought of a possible roadblock that you need to address.

 

How do we make goals realistic?

  • Provide context. Give them information about the company’s past and current performance as well as the future target. 
  • Make goal setting collaborative. Ask your remote workers to prepare a list of their goals prior to the goal setting session so that they can prepare for your discussion.
  • Get their opinion. Remember that you are only going to facilitate the goal-setting session. Let your remote workers set their own goals.
  • Suggest that they adjust their goals if necessary. If you feel like the goals are too simple or too ambitious, discuss them with your remote workers. 
  • Gain agreement. Your remote contractors should believe in the goals they set. The goal should be everyone’s goal.

 

Collaborative Goal Setting

Collaborative goal setting is a process of identifying, evaluating, and prioritising goals that involves both the managers and the employees. In other words, it is a discussion. Decisions regarding goals are not made by managers alone. The process is transparent, and the outcomes are created as a team.

According to research, collaborative goal setting plays a huge role in increasing employee engagement. Managers who help employees set their goals inspire the latter to participate more. They also understand that they are accountable for their own performance.

How does collaborative goal setting encourage employee engagement and accountability?

  1. It helps align individual goals with the objectives of the company.
    High-impact and meaningful goals are connected to your company’s objectives. To set these kinds of goals, your remote workers should have a clear idea about how they can contribute towards achieving these goals through their roles. This way they are able to keep track of the impact they have on the company and the team. They also realise their value to the business, motivating them to work harder to live up to the company’s mission.
  1. It encourages constant communication between managers and employees.
    Communication takes more than hearing your remote workers out. It involves listening to their views and concerns. They expect you to have a conversation with them. If you actively engage in conversations with your remote contractors, you make them feel like you care about their professional development and performance at work.In goal setting, sitting down with your remote workers to discuss individual and team objectives helps them to clearly express what they want and think they need to achieve and figure out how to accomplish it. With your guidance, your remote workers will be able to establish the right goals.
  1. It helps make every member of the team resilient to change.
    Despite making plans for the whole year, your priorities may still undergo inevitable change. And if your remote workers are not as ready as others in your company, then this change can affect their morale. As collaborative goal setting is done through ongoing communication, you and your remote workers can set dynamic goals that can adapt to changes in the company direction. Regardless of the situation, you trust each other’s judgment in making adjustments to your goals to remain relevant.