Creating career development plans and setting out company objectives are often seen as separate events. However, in order for a company to succeed, it is important to recognize the relationship between these two business components and how powerful a company plan can be. Exactly how does a company go about interweaving employee goals with business objectives? Keep reading to find out how:

Plan For Success Before launching into a new employee management strategy, it’s important for company leaders to identify areas for improvement as well as routes to success. Executives and HR professionals can begin by conducting an honest and objective company overview.

Executives should ask themselves how sales are adding up, if company morale is low, if a company is efficient, and how each of these answers stack up against mission statements and objectives. Leaders should measure the difference between company realities and goals set forth in a mission statement.

However, as companies should always be striving to move forward, mission statements and company objectives need to be evaluated and revised. Perhaps in order to compete an increasingly digital world, a company needs to focus more on using smart technology like HR software and mobile devices. Others may need to factor in changing markets and adjust goals accordingly.

Communicate With Staff Once an organization has identified new objectives and areas of growth, it’s time to share the results with staff. It is valuable to tell employees their performance matters not only for short-term goals, but for long-term organizational success.

During a presentation, an executive can show employees the difference between current company practices and goals the business should be striving for. It’s vital for success that company leaders communicate honestly with staff about future changes and new plans that will help them thrive.

Set Challenging Goals Establishing new goals for employees is essential to tying individual goals to overall company objectives. One of the best ways to ensure positive outcomes is to include each staff member in their own planning session.

Certain employees’ sales numbers may be lagging because they are not being challenged – these same workers may be perfect for leadership roles and can help drive a company forward to new heights. HR representatives can sit down with employees and map out new ways for them to succeed. For example, if a company needs to improve new hire performance, an HR professional can set up a new program in which company veterans work with new employees to get them up to speed quickly and efficiently.

Or, if sales numbers are not where they should be, a company can challenge employees to achieve greater sales numbers each month. The main thing to remember here is that goals need to be both challenging and attainable. Lofty goals that are impossible to reach will not encourage workers to thrive – rather, they may discourage staff and make them feel they cannot succeed in their current roles.

Consider Compensation Plans Sometimes, employees need more than encouragement to help get a company on track to meet business objectives. This is where compensation plans come in. These programs are especially important in sales-based organizations, where individual performance adds up to company profits on a daily basis.

A company can bring about higher sales by tying achievements – such as a 10 percent increase in sales over a quarter – to financial incentives. Bonuses and commission rates will motivate employees to perform better, and along the way they will be guiding a company toward achieving its main objectives.

Track Success It’s not enough to implement a strong plan to align personal performance with company objectives – progress also needs to be monitored on a regular basis. After a plan has been put in place, HR professionals need to set aside time to track a plan’s success to ensure high return on employee investment.

Company leaders can request regular meetings with employees to talk to them about their performance, make adjustments to individual plans, and to receive honest feedback from staff. These meetings will give insight into how an employee can most benefit from a plan, and how an employee can simultaneously benefit the company as a whole with their success.

Another way to track program success is by using customer surveys. Whether a company works with businesses as clients or directly with consumers, surveys can be invaluable to monitoring performance. If a company has an overarching objective to improve the level of customer service, it can ask clients and customers about their experience with salespeople, or ask about their opinions of the brand as a whole.

Every company should always be striving forward to achieve more and better their business practices. It is always important to remember that employee performance directly affects company behavior, which is why HR professionals should guide staff toward the kind of performance that will improve a company overall.