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Is it the cup or the goals that make your employees the most productive?

Posted by Oliver Corrigan on Jun 16, 2014 9:14:00 AM
Oliver Corrigan
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Is it the cup or the goal that makes your employers work hard?

I recently read the 'wikihow' post for how to get your team motivated. I loved it, it's how I would like to think I work with my staff.

World Cup fever is snowballing throughout the country. (Could this be England’s year!?) The players will have to pull together, work as a team, and surprise opponents with collective vivaciousness, dexterity and solidarity.

 

Goals and your employees

I can't even imagine how much pressure there is on this team. Nothing compared to the majority of companies. Sure, they get paid for it but consistent pressure can cause it's problems in team work.

As David Beckham rightly pointed out to a tribe leader in the Amazon jungle on the BBC documentary ‘David Beckham into the Unknown’, football is all about teamwork.

As World Cup fervour mounts across the globe it highlights the need for teamwork in all walks of life, and none so more than the workplace.

Should employers aim for the goal or aim for the cup?

While football inevitably creates individual star players who create stunning solo moments from time to time in a match – hence the sought-after title ‘Man of the Match’ – a team triumphs with  greater ease when its players are collectively on form.

The same model of mutual talent, hard work and teamwork can be applied in a working environment.

A bit like on the World Cup football pitch, there will be employees who are more highly skilled, experienced, qualified and hardworking than others. An employer naturally wants to hold onto these ‘star’ employees, develop and nurture them the same way Alex Ferguson did to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo. Unfortunately for England, Ronaldo is not on their squad but what England does have is a team of more than proficient players.

By encouraging employees to work together, collaborate, spark ideas off each other, helps breed innovation amongst the company. Creating a culture that encourages teamwork and collective productivity in the workplace will help your company effectively ‘score goals’.

But we all know scoring goals isn’t enough. What we all really want is to hold the cup.

This is when trusting employees by providing them with a flexible working pattern and environment could prove an invaluable step in the right direction to surpassing rival companies and moving into leading position in your trade – effectively lifting the ultimate prize – the World Cup.

 

recognition and goal setting at work

 

I got this lovely little infograph from 'How to build the habit of engagement'

 

Five top reasons to setting short term goals

Setting goals in as in inherent way to steer a business towards growth. Similar to Roy Hodgson’s squad, the only way to lift the trophy is by scoring goals. Setting short terms goals is vital if a business is going to compete with competitors and evolve from the limitations of being a start-up into becoming an established, larger company.

Take a look at the following top five reasons to setting short term goals.

1-      Service goals

Setting goals related to improving customer service might be primarily short term but they will ultimately contribute to long term growth. Goals related to improving customer satisfaction will help your business maintain client respect, attract more potential clients and create strong customer retention.

2-      Social goals

As the small business ideas publication Inc advises, short term goals should also focus on social aspects. For example, providing gaols that focus on giving back to the community will help increase a company’s PR, how they are seen within the local community and inevitably ensuring the business is deemed with greater respect.

3-      Set cashflow goals

One short term goal that ultimately affects long term outcomes is to maintain cashflow control. Effective cashflow management enables a business to keep a tighter leash on costs and ultimately promote company growth. Cashflow problems waste time and money and ultimately threaten a business’s survival.

4-      Strategic thinking

Setting short term goals helps business think within more strategic terms. Strategic planning is a “systematic way of planning for the future” and helps create a sustainable means to long term survival. As Bacal and Associates, experts in helping businesses create workplace success, states, strategic thinking is a vital component in the success of any business.

5-      Building a better brand to create growth goals

Creating a more defined company brand through logos, business stationery, a slogan and decisive company colours, will help craft a more defined business which is consistent. Projecting your company’s personality, and what it stands for through its logo, website, and other marketing avenues, will help create effective branding, ultimately driving long term success

 

Top reasons for setting long term goals

According to Forbes, 8 out of ten entrepreneurs who start a business fail within the first 18 months.  Setting long term goals give businesses direction, a greater sense of purpose and a better understanding of possible roadblocks, which all help drive long term success.

Take a look at the top five reasons for setting long term goals.

1-      The bigger picture

Having long term goals in place enables CEOs, directors and business owners see beyond the challenges of ‘today’ and have a clearer understanding of the working landscape in 12 months’, two years’ or even five years’ time.

2-      Maintaining motivation

Being bogged down with arduous and difficult tasks week in week out can lead to low company morale and the feeling of constantly treading in deep water. Having long term goals in place helps us to see beyond the challenges of ‘today’. Knowing there is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ helps boost company morale, ultimately creating a more contented, proactive and inspired workforce.

3-      Creating a compelling vision

As the Goal Setting Guide states, short term goals are invaluable in helping companies create momentum, they are merely stepping stone to greater, sustainable success. Working out where you want your company to be in five years’ time, how many employees you will have, and what volume of clients will be on your books, will create a compelling vision. Sticking to this compelling vision could ultimately mean the difference between boom and bust.

4-      Helps you become more realistic

Having lost 1 – 2 to Italy, Roy Hodgson’s squad realistically knows if they are going to make it out of the group stages in the World Cup they need to defend better and score more goals. Short terms goals are great for nurturing immediate success and profit but setting long terms goals provides businesses with a realistic vision of what is either possible or impossible to achieve.

5-      Be better prepared for potential obstructions  

Having a long term strategy in place provides business of all sizes and industries with clearer direction. Having a solid direction in place will help your business be in a better position to anticipate setbacks. Being able to anticipate potential problems ensure companies are better prepared for potential roadblocks that inevitably stands in all businesses’ way.

If you want your company to retain ownership of the cup, setting solid short term goals that act as stepping stones to long terms goals will put your company in a much better position to not only still be in existence in five years’ time, but to be thriving.

The England manager Roy Hodgson believes there are goals in his World Cup squad and the team have the necessary ammunition to buck statistics in Brazil. Whether England has what it takes to lift the cup, we’ll have to wait for the World Cup drama to unravel in the next few weeks.

If you enoyed this post you may also enjoy our blog on how to grow and stay inspired with communal working.

Meanwhile if you require a modern, communal, well-facilitated and inspiring location for your business, come for a viewing of Carrwoods’ co-working space in Leeds.

 

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