The effects you wish to achieve and uphold within your organization are your business objectives. Entrepreneurs and decision makers must have a clear vision of what must occur for their business to be a success. Assembling a defined methodology to assist you toward your goals is a first step toward a creating a thriving company.
Thus, a business objective is the desired result of applying these methodologies and techniques. Objectives can be periodically measured and quantified; they should also be realistic and achievable with an attainable associated timeline.
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Here is a list of four common types of business objectives:
1. Human Resource Objectives. Human resource objectives consist of employee relations and organizational structure. These include employee training and business development goals. An example of a human resource objective is improving employee productivity by providing a new training program for all employees. Human resource objectives help an organization operate effectively through hiring competent employees.
2. Financial Objectives. Financial objectives should outline an organization’s financial goals. One an example of a financial objective is to increase company revenue by 20 percent within the next 12 months. This objective would be considered measurable and attainable.
3. Sales and Marketing Objectives. Organizations need to have sales and marketing objectives to help them measure their position against industry competitors. These objectives include methods to guide businesses toward competing for market share, brand recognition, and product quality. An example of a marketing objective is to introduce a new product line that will appeal to a wider demographic range.
4. Customer Service Objectives. To provide clientele with quality customer service standards, these objective techniques attempt to measure customer service alongside costs and overall service or product quality. An example of a customer service objective is to improve the response time of client inquiries or complaints.
Why is it important to have business objectives?
1. Business objectives ensure all team members are on board. If business leaders want to maximize production efficiency, every employee within the organization must be aware of the company’s ultimate purpose.
2. Business objectives ensure all employees meet required productivity levels. When an organization has clear objectives, workers also have a better sense of instruction on how they are expected to perform their tasks.
3. Business objectives allow business owners to discover whether or not results were achieved within the given timeframe. When business owners set clear objectives, they can review these objectives and ensure that goals have been achieved in the proper way. Conversely, targets that were not realized can be assessed and reconsidered for better future results.
4. Business objectives may help business owners secure outside financing. Investors and lenders intend to turn profit on their investments; and when a business displays clear objectives, it also presents itself as one that will be highly successful. Such representation will surely encourage banks and/or individuals to invest in the business.
Conversely, if an organization fails to take the necessary strategic steps toward their goals, its operations are likely to become increasingly inefficient. Leaders must also remember that in order to achieve their objectives, they must incorporate the appropriate help, delegating specific roles to capable employees to help build a sense of accord toward the common goal, as well as increase their chances of reaching.
How to plan and write effective objectives for your company:
1. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Conduct a SWOT (Strengths and Weaknesses; Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This will help you develop strategies that are realistic and relevant to the organization. Do research on future trends in your industry so that you can create objectives that will give you a competitive edge.
2. Ask yourself where you want your business to be in 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years. Your vision for your organization should be reflected in your objectives. Your objectives can be a combination of long-term and short-term goals. Begin with your five-year goals. What do you want to achieve by that time, and what strategies do you intend to use to achieve those goals? These strategies will be your objectives for one year. To attain your one-year goals, however, you need to achieve your monthly, quarterly and semi-annual goals.
3. Set your business objectives using the SMART model.
Specific
- What do you want your company to be best at?
- On what scale do you want to compete with other businesses?
- Do you want to be the best business in your city or in the world?
Measureable
- How will you know when you have achieved your objectives?
- With what yardsticks will you measure your success?
Attainable
- Can you attain this objective with your current available resources?
- What obstacles will you encounter as you try to attain your objective?
- How are you going to get past these obstacles?
Relevant
- How relevant is your objective to the company?
- How relevant is your objective to your employees?
- Will your objective benefit the organization as a whole?
Time bound
- When do you want to achieve this objective?
4. Identify who is contributing to the objectives. Do not organizational goals with departmental goals. Instead, remember this: If anyone in the company can contribute to the objective, then that objective is on the organizational level.
5. Ask for or your employees’ feedback. Do not leave organizational objectives solely to your executive team, even if these objectives are on an executive level. Ask for your employees’ feedback. They can provide you with insight into your strategies because they may be working more directly with your customers, providing them with firsthand knowledge of what your clientele wants and/or expect from your product and the company itself.
Conclusion
Once you have developed your company’s objectives, you need to communicate this information to all levels of your staff. Show them your vision for the business and how you want to achieve your organization’s objectives. By doing this, you will encourage and motivate your employees to start thinking of how they can contribute your organization’s success.
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