As businesses all over the world transition to in-office or hybrid workplaces, employees are preparing for new (and possibly familiar) challenges. During these times of transformation, employee motivation is essential for an organization to succeed moving forward. So how can we make sure that our employees are highly motivated? The foundation is laid by employee objectives.

How crucial is it to set goals for employees?

It’s a well-known fact that increasing your chances of success by writing down your goals. Even just writing down a goal can help you to encode it in your mind. You’ll be more driven to work toward achieving it as a result.

Employees can measure their success at work objectively when they have clear goals. The person can take a step back to figure out how to get back on track if a task or project isn’t moving along quickly enough, and management can step in if necessary.

Connect your employees to the greater mission

The saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees” is well known. This idea—that we lose sight of the big picture because we are too preoccupied with our individual tasks—is not uncommon, especially in rapidly growing companies. When employees are aware of how their daily work contributes to the larger goal of the company, their motivation to help the company achieve that goal is continually renewed. The entire business is able to grow and accomplish new objectives as a result.

Regularly discuss your company’s goals and describe how your employees’ goals help you achieve them. “ No matter what position he holds, the employee should be able to articulate precisely how his actions support the overall corporate strategy. The key word here is “routinely,” because your goals will undoubtedly change as your business grows and your customers’ needs change.

Be both more and less specific; it will become clear in a moment.

Leaders frequently talk about taking a hands-off approach, which involves letting employees figure out how to achieve their objectives on their own. It is true that autonomy increases engagement, according to research, but there is a catch that can help this strategy work even better. You have the option of specifying more or less. What does that actually mean? Give staff discretion, but first clearly state their objectives (i.e., describe them further).

To achieve this paradoxical condition of more/less, the HBR authors suggest encouraging exploration—risk-taking and experimentation—along with connecting. Establish a physical and social workplace where staff members can interact and exchange ideas frequently. A leader might, for instance, encourage discovery by highlighting opportunities for learning from mistakes and praising failures. That’s not to say that careless or sloppy work is acceptable, but mistakes made with good intentions sometimes lead to important lessons.

Setting goals for employees benefits not only them but also the whole company. Determining employee goals is crucial because it helps to motivate employees, which is a crucial component of a company’s performance. These strategies should help your staff set and accomplish goals that will help the entire company gain momentum as it navigates the months ahead.