Five Ways To Draw up Goals With Your Team (15-02-11, Economic Times, Mumbai)

It’s that time of the year when departments and divisions start finalising their annual budgets, yearly targets and goals. And it is here that bosses should ideally build engagement with subordinates and employees to ensure success, says Writankar Mukherjee

Focus on goal, not cost
A successful budget starts from the premise of what to achieve rather than what it will cost. Once this approach is adopted, bosses will have to involve other team members and subordinates to draw up the budget. “When a budget is drawn from the point of goals, a boss will be forced to sense the pulse of the employees, their needs and requirements,” says Hinduja Global Solutions global HR head Anthony Joseph.

Involve those at the bottom
In most companies, the top 6 to 10 people define the budget and targets. Such a process never involves the employees who remain alienated and often feel pressurised. Some companies like Hinduja Global Solutions have started to involve their top 100 leaders in budgeting and goal-setting. “This way, the budget belongs to the people who will actually work towards achieving it,” says Joseph.

Meet team members
It pays to conduct sessions with team members before the budgeting actually starts. This could also include one or two sessions by management experts on how to draw a budget and set targets, followed by meetings with team members. “This way, the budget does not overestimate inflows and underestimate expenses. It also brings about a sense of loyalty and ownership amongst employees and ensures the budget immediately moves beyond the stage of planning to execution,” says MphasiS chief HR officer Elango R.

Do a SWOT analysis
While the starting point of a budget or yearly plan is an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), it pays to take inputs from all employees. “The potential of the employees is rightly assessed and they have an ownership over the goals set. Employees would then be much more enthused to draw specific strategies to achieve goals,” says Sunil Goel, director of Delhi-based HR firm GlobalHunt.

Make it a year-round affair
Bosses should engage employees on the budget, achievements against goals and progress throughout the year. The best way to do it is by engaging an employee’s rational, assertive, emotive and cognitive faculties. The cognitive level can be targeted by telling employees about their ability to use knowledge to perform better, says KPMG partner and head (human capital) Ganesh Shermon. “At the rational level, bosses can set benchmarks. Assertiveness can be achieved by holding up the best performers as examples and the emotive level, there is fair reward and recognition. Once these are met, employees will naturally be interested in budgets and targets,” says Shermon.