Working towards objectives immediately refers to a strategic vision of the work organization and, therefore, an orderly and assessable one. Instead of spontaneously discovering what level of results can be achieved at any given moment, concrete goals are set, combining ambition with realism, towards which efforts can be deliberately directed.
Thanks to this methodology, which is also very intuitive, it is easier to evaluate the resources used in each aspect of the work. More importantly, it is possible to objectively assess the progress of each employee, each team, each department, and, ultimately, the company as a whole.
Working towards objectives: with or without a deadline?
When we talk about working towards objectives, we can refer to two different work contexts depending on the workers’ schedule: how many hours they work and how they are distributed.
1. Working towards objectives without a set schedule
In this context, workers do not have a specific schedule to adhere strictly to. They have goals and are paid precisely for achieving them, regardless of the time it takes. Therefore, it is the workers themselves who, with total or partial flexibility, organize their working time according to the goals set.
This model has certain disadvantages due to the lack of predictability or structuring of the workday, but it provides great flexibility to employees and, most importantly, superb efficiency. They do not dedicate more time to their work than the time strictly oriented to production, thus reducing the “dead” or “unproductive” hours typical of a more conventional work model.
2. Working towards objectives within a fixed schedule
This context is the most common in most companies since it is the traditional work model. The employee generally has a specific schedule (administratively associated with a full or part-time schedule) and is paid according to this schedule without prejudice to the possibility of receiving other bonuses depending on the achievement of objectives.
In this context, the available hours greatly influence each employee or team’s strategy when working towards objectives. It has the advantage that the working day is more structured and income is more predictable. However, it is a model that, especially in some sectors or positions, lends itself very much to an overextension of the schedule in practice (without reflection in income) due to the pressure to achieve the objectives set even though the available plan is insufficient to do so.
How to approach working by objectives
Everyone knows that tasks are not approached – or experienced – in the same way when we have a limited schedule for completing them as when we decide how much time we will invest in meeting them. Nevertheless, there are certain things that we can consider when working towards objectives if we want to maximize the probability of being efficient.
Therefore, anyone who sets a personal or professional objective, or any manager whose tasks include organizing others’ tasks, must bear in mind the main characteristics of a successful objective:
1. Objectives must be realistic
To work efficiently by objectives, we must set goals that are sufficiently ambitious so that achieving them will represent an improvement in our performance and development. However, they must also be attainable enough so that the investment of resources in them is justified.
2. Objectives must be measurable
As we pointed out at the beginning of this article, one of the main advantages of working with objectives is that it makes the processes easier to evaluate, allowing corrections to be made that increase the probability of achieving the goal.
3. Objectives should be time-bound
One factor that most affects performance is not having a schedule. Therefore, focusing resources on a specific start date and an estimated date for achieving the objectives is often beneficial.
4. Objectives must be meaningful
It’s basic but worth remembering: if what I set out to achieve is not important, meaningful, or valuable in some way, why should I strive to achieve it in the most efficient way possible? To work towards objectives properly, what we do has to matter.
Fostering emotional well-being in organizations
At ifeel, we believe that the important thing to support performance is to understand the advantages and disadvantages of different organizations of time and how that influences the results achieved by working towards objectives.
To convey this idea, our team of psychologists, experts in well-being at work, has created an emotional well-being program for companies that brings relevant benefits to the whole team, including Human Resources managers.
These managers play a fundamental role in the company’s final results. It is crucial to support them to properly guide the relationship between the company and employees and ensure that it is as beneficial as possible for both.
Are you part of your organization’s Human Resources department? That’s why, through our program, you can receive personalized, data-driven advice on improving the psychological well-being of the teams under your care. Try our program now to see how it could help you.
In addition, this program offers all employees a complete mental health care service that they can access in different ways depending on their needs. Those who wish can access an online therapy service with one of our psychologists, specialized in cases like theirs, or interact with one of our professionals to receive emotional support in a more specific circumstance that concerns them.
Of course, in our Resources section, you can find different materials, such as podcasts, HR Guides on various topics (e.g., employee experience or how to design a good HR strategy), or interviews with important HR positions. In addition, we have a Psychosocial Risk Factors Template, which you can use to comply with the requirements of the Labor Inspectorate.
We hope you found this post about working towards objectives interesting. If you would like more information about our emotional well-being program for companies, just ask us, and we will contact your team as soon as possible.
