Nowadays, it is commonplace to set a developmental goal for work. But why is this process important, and how should these goals be created? In what way are goals different from objectives? And what is the difference between developmental goals and performance goals?
This article answers these questions so that you can create meaningful goals that will allow your employees to grow and add value to your business.
What is a developmental goal?
To understand what a developmental goal is, we must first start with employee evaluations. These appraisals usually encompass several key areas:
- Performance
- Achievements
- Teamwork
- Communication skills
- Leadership (if applicable)
During this review, the employee might identify a new direction that they wish to take their career in, or perhaps a new responsibility that they would like to have in their current role—this is where a developmental goal often originates.
Therefore, developmental goals are a type of goal you set at work to increase your knowledge, skills, and capabilities in certain areas so that your current role—and also your career—progresses in a particular direction.
Common themes of developmental goals include:
- Acquisition of new knowledge or abilities
- Improving interpersonal skills
- Developing better organizational and time management skills
- Becoming a more effective leader
- Developing your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills
- Increasing your opportunities for networking
- Challenging yourself in a new direction—for example, by taking on additional responsibilities that are completely unrelated to your normal duties.
So, developmental goals are clearly very broad and are set at a high level (i.e., a development goal might be to “develop and expand knowledge” in a particular area, rather than “read procedures titled X, Y, and Z”).
The importance of a developmental goal
Organizations and employees across the world regularly set goals together. Yet, as it is a routine and habitual task, supervisors, and workers do not often stop to contemplate the benefits that goal-setting provides its company and staff.
So, to better understand the importance of setting developmental goals, it is worth highlighting the advantages it offers a business and its employees.
1. Feedback and engagement
The process of habitually getting together to discuss goals establishes a valuable feedback channel between employers and employees. This meeting is often scheduled months in advance, meaning that the employee has the opportunity to plan ahead and think about what they want to achieve.
Listening to employees’ aspirations and desires helps them feel valued and respected at work, specifically because their employer is demonstrating a real interest in their well-being as a person and in their progress as a professional.
In turn, the employee becomes more engaged at work and invested in their own career, knowing that they are able to influence its direction with the support of the organization. This decreases employee turnover, which means that the need for expensive recruitment and training is also reduced.
2. Personal well-being
Both at work and at home, it is mentally and physically rewarding to expand your horizons and stretch yourself by trying something new. Inevitably, we all fall into habitual routines over time, which means that certain parts of our brain and body might not be used as much as others. As such, shaking things up and stepping out of our comfort zone helps us to maintain cognitive and physical functions.
Therefore, setting developmental goals and tackling new challenges at work is vital for mental and physical stimulation, as well as maintaining motivation. Conversely, employees who are stagnant with regard to their duties and skills are likely to become bored, dissatisfied, and less productive. Eventually, this leads to a costly cycle of employee turnover, recruitment, and training.
3. Discovering new talents
By setting challenging developmental goals for an employee, you might help workers discover previously unexplored talents, leading to financial and intellectual rewards for the employee. For instance, many people who join an organization start by working in a low-level role and then get promoted to a higher level once they have demonstrated what else they can bring to the business.
To learn more about one CEO’s journey up the corporate ladder, read Mary T. Barra’s story at General Motors.
The organization also benefits from helping workers set and achieve developmental goals by retaining talented individuals who know the business inside and out.
4. Increased long-term productivity and resilience
An employee who is constantly developing and evolving over time remains fresh and productive. Also, increasing a worker’s skill set means that they stay up-to-date on cutting-edge technology and industry trends, which ensures future resilience of the organization.
For example, it was likely much easier for businesses that were ‘early adopters’ of video conferencing technology to cope with some of the seismic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as communicating and holding meetings while working remotely.
So, it’s clear that setting developmental goals is beneficial on many levels to the employer and employee. At this stage, however, it is worthwhile also discussing the differences between goals and objectives.
Goals vs. objectives
These two terms, goals and objectives, are sometimes used interchangeably when talking about employee development. However, while there are similarities and ways in which they overlap, it is best to keep them separate and distinct elements based on their differences.
To clarify the divergence of the two words when discussing workers’ growth, take a look at the explanations below:
- A goal is the overall direction or end point of the development. Usually, it is broad and aspirational but not measurable or tangible; it refers to the general desired outcome.
- Conversely, an objective relates to a specific, narrow, measurable action or milestone. Accomplishing a number of related objectives is normally used to achieve an overarching goal.
For instance, if your goal is to attain financial security, your objectives might be (1) to find a job with an above-average salary, and (2) to reduce your household expenditure by a certain amount. Here, the goal is broad, aspirational, and intangible, whereas the two objectives are very specific and measurable ways to achieve the overall goal.
The tangible nature of objectives means that they align with the SMART approach to setting targets. Specifically, this states that objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
However, goals are often slightly harder to define, although it has been suggested that they should be relevant, experimental, aspirational, and learning-based (REAL).
Developmental goal vs. performance goal
So, by now it should be clear what developmental goals are. But how do they differ from performance goals?
Performance goals usually relate to day-to-day job duties and KPIs. These goals are linked to the organization’s expectations regarding performance in a particular role, usually in the short term. Performance goals tell the employee what is expected of them today, by focusing on performance and end results.
Common themes of performance goals include:
- Improving the quality of your work
- Meeting deadlines
- Communicating effectively
- Being punctual when attending meetings, events, etc.
So, to summarize, developmental goals focus on improving and enhancing the skills and knowledge of an employee. This is achieved through gaining experience, or through training and education, with the aim of developing current and future roles. As such, these goals are important for setting the future direction of an employee’s career.
However, performance goals focus on the results that an employee achieves in their current role. The aim is to maximize an employee’s performance rather than develop their abilities or knowledge for personal and professional growth.
Keeping on track
While setting a developmental goal for work is the first step, it is only half the battle, however. Additionally, the employee’s progress with their objectives and goals should be regularly monitored. If these targets are not being met, then remedial actions must be taken at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the employee swiftly gets back on track.
It is natural to think about how these goals and employee development will benefit the organization. Nevertheless, it’s also important for the business to recognize that it should do all it can to support employees in achieving their goals, which benefits both parties.
If some of your employees’ developmental goals at work involve developing greater proficiency in another language, explore how Preply Business can help with corporate language training for your company.
