Give ten people a piece each of a jigsaw puzzle. Tell them beforehand what the final picture should look like and give them some time to piece it together. Chances are, they’ll talk to each other, collaborate, connect the pieces one by one, and easily form the picture.
Now give each of one hundred people a random piece of a puzzle. This time, give them no information whatsoever about the big picture and ask them to piece it together. Now watch them have a grueling time trying to solve the puzzle.
That’s precisely what happens in an organization without transparency in goal-setting. Hierarchical structures often filter out details, leaving teams at the bottom with limited insight into the bigger picture. In such a scenario, your employees work towards achieving personal targets and not towards achieving a common organizational milestone.
According to recent research, 59.5% of employees don’t know or understand the mission, vision, or values of their organizations. When so many workers are oblivious to what they’re working to achieve, there’s little hope for the hive. What does visible goal setting look like? What is the cost of poor transparency? And how can we fix this? Before we answer them, let’s first look at the two types of goal setting.
Goal setting types: Top-down vs. Bottom-up
Top-down goal setting
In this approach, the larger, long-term goals are established first at the highest level of the organization. These are then broken down into smaller, more achievable goals that are necessary to accomplish the larger goal. This process enables individuals or organizations to establish a clear direction for what they want to achieve and then identify the specific steps needed to reach that destination.
For example, a company may set an overall goal of increasing its revenue by 20% over the next year. From there, the company may break down that goal into smaller targets, such as increasing sales in specific product lines, expanding into new markets, or improving customer retention rates. Each of these smaller goals is aligned with the larger objective and provides a clear roadmap for achieving the overall goal.
Overall, top-down goal setting helps to ensure that individual and organizational goals are aligned with the larger strategic objectives. However, this approach can be time-consuming and administratively burdensome.
Bottom-up goal setting
In this approach, the goals are set by individual employees or teams and are then aggregated and aligned with the broader goals of the organization. This approach allows for greater input and participation from the individuals who will be responsible for achieving the goals and can result in a more motivated and engaged workforce.
For example, in a company, employees may be encouraged to identify areas where they can improve processes or increase efficiency. These individual goals may then be aggregated and aligned with the overall objective of reducing costs and increasing profitability. This approach ensures that everyone in the organization is working towards a common goal while also allowing for individual contributions and input.
Bottom-up goal setting is a collaborative approach that can help to ensure that individual goals align with the broader objectives of the organization. It can also help to boost engagement and motivation, as employees are empowered to identify and work towards specific goals that are meaningful to them.
What does visible goal setting mean?
Visibility in goal setting refers to the degree to which a goal is clear, understandable, and easily measurable. It's about ensuring that the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), so that progress towards the goal can be easily tracked and evaluated.
Visibility also means making the goal known to the relevant stakeholders, such as team members or managers, and ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding the goal and its expected outcomes. This allows for accountability and transparency, as well as alignment of efforts towards achieving the goal.
"When goals are well-defined and communicated, team members understand the organization's priorities and can align their individual tasks accordingly. making it easier for them to collaborate effectively and support each other in achieving objectives."
— Mariano Martene, Co-founder of SaaS HQ
In essence, visibility in goal setting is about setting clear, well-defined goals that can be easily monitored and communicated to stakeholders—irrespective of whether it’s a top-down or bottom-up approach. The more visible and transparent your goals are, the more likely your employees are to achieve them.
Having no visibility into your goals is like driving without GPS
Most HR leaders understand that setting clear and achievable goals is essential for employee engagement and business performance. However, what many fail to consider is the impact of having no visibility into those goals. It's just like driving without GPS—you may know your destination, but you have no idea how to get there or whether you're making progress in the right direction.
Setting clear and visible goals can have a significant impact on employee engagement and performance, especially GenZ employees. It is important to establish a clear link between individual goals and the larger strategic goals of the organization in order to foster engagement and enhance the likelihood of achieving those goals.
“Achieving goals is often about making tradeoffs when things don’t go as planned. Employees need to understand the bigger picture to make those tradeoffs when things go wrong.”
— Linda Hill, the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
When goals are made visible across all levels in the hierarchy, the entire organization is aligned towards common objectives, creating transparency around individual and team performance. In such a scenario, employees at all levels can see how their work contributes to the overall success of the organization, and understand how their performance is being measured.
This visibility creates a sense of accountability, as employees are more likely to take ownership of their goals and be motivated to achieve them when they are visible to others. When goals are shared across the organization, it also enables greater collaboration, as employees can see how their work fits into the larger picture and identify opportunities for cross-functional teamwork.
The price of poor visibility into goals
Poor visibility in goal setting can cost individuals, teams, and organizations significantly. When goals are unclear or ineffectively communicated, it can have a ripple effect throughout an organization, impacting its ability to achieve its objectives in the long term. Here are some of the consequences of poor goal-setting visibility:
- Missed Deadlines and Increased Costs: When employees don't have visibility into their goals, they may not understand the priority of their tasks, which can lead to missed deadlines and delayed projects. This can eventually result in increased budgets, as the organization has to spend more time and resources to complete projects.
- Poor Performance: When employees don't have clear goals, it can be challenging for employees to perform well, as well as for managers to measure their performance. Your organization may underperform, as employees don't know what they're supposed to achieve or how their work is being evaluated.
- Misalignment: When goals are not visible across all levels of the organization, it can result in misalignment between departments and teams. This can lead to duplication of efforts or conflicting priorities, which can result in delays and increased costs.
- Limited Collaboration: When employees don't have visibility into each other's goals, it can be challenging to collaborate effectively. This can lead to people working in silos, poor cross-functional communication, and missed opportunities for innovation.
- Inefficient Resource Allocation: Teams may not be aware of the priorities or objectives of other teams. This can result in teams working on projects that are not aligned with the organization's overall goals, wasting resources and leading to missed opportunities.
- Lower Motivation and Engagement: Poor visibility into goals can make it difficult for employees to see the impact of their work on the organization's overall success. This can lead to lower motivation and disengagement among employees, who may feel like their work doesn't matter.
What can HR Leaders do to create better goal transparency?
Improving visibility in your organizational goal setting, can help you create a more engaged and motivated workforce, better aligned with the organization's objectives. HR leaders can take concrete steps to address poor visibility in goal setting and support effective goal setting practices across the organization in the following ways:
- Work with department heads and managers to define SMART goals—goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This can help employees understand what they need to achieve and how their work contributes to the organization's success.
- Encourage regular communication between managers and employees to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding goals and priorities. This can include regular check-ins, team meetings, and company-wide updates.
- Provide training and support to employees to help them achieve their goals. This can include skill-building workshops, mentorship programs, and access to resources and tools.
- Leverage technology to facilitate goal setting and tracking. This can be performance management software, collaboration tools, or project management platforms.
- Foster a culture of accountability, where individuals and teams are held responsible for achieving their goals and are recognized for their successes.
Hard work without purpose won't take you very far
Without clear goals, employees may not understand the purpose of their work or how it contributes to the organization's overall objectives. As a result, they may struggle to prioritize their tasks or make effective use of their time, which can lead to missed deadlines and decreased productivity.
When employees have a clear purpose and understand how their work contributes to the organization's success, they are more likely to perform well, take ownership of their work, and achieve their goals. Transparency in goal setting is not a one-time event but an ongoing practice that requires self-reflection, collaboration, and adaptability for effectiveness in the long term.
“Creating a system of tracking progress regularly and sharing it with employees can increase accountability and drive motivation towards achieving goals. Without this visibility, goal setting is like driving blindfolded—you may have a general idea of where you're going, but you're likely to miss a lot of important details along the way.”
— Shirley Borg, Head of Human Resources at Energy Casino
