How To Write Your Objectives In The Appraisal Process

Your work objectives are mutually agreed between your manager and yourself. They are usually based upon Corporate and Departmental objectives, which are then cascaded down within the organisation. They will document the expectations of your work, over the coming year.

Why Do We Have Objectives?

The objectives will define your role within the organisation and how you can contribute to the overall strategy of the organisation. They also provide you with a guideline as to what is expected from your work, during the year. Consequently, this means that your appraisal will focus on each objective and your yearend grade will be calculated based upon your objectives.

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Why are they so important?

Your objective will determine the type of work that you will be doing over the next year. It will detail your role and any project or ad hoc work that you may get involved in. It may also detail training requirements and your aspirations for promotion.

Therefore, you want to be very careful before signing off your final objectives, as it is will form the basis of how you will be assessed at the end of the year. If your objectives are difficult to attain, you may not get a bonus or a promotion that you deserve. Therefore, you must take care before signing off on your objectives.

What should I consider in Writing My Objectives

·         Caveat your Objectives: Make sure that your objectives are realistically obtainable. A year is a long time in a modern workplace, where things change quickly. Your objectives may become unattainable or obsolete; therefore you should always include a caveat to protect you from such situations. For example, you can include phrases like ‘subject to business needs’ or ‘subject to successful delivery by another person’, to caveat yourself in case you have a failure that was beyond your control.

·         State your yearend aspirations: If you want a pay rise or a promotion make it clear in your objectives that this is your aim. This will show to management that you have clear ambitions and you are here for the long run. They will also be forced into discussing the possibility of you attaining these goals.

·         Clearly Defined and Measurable: Make sure that each objective is clearly defined and your performance can be clearly measured. For example, in a project you can measure your performance against budget or timescales.

·         Layout your training requirements: If you need to get training agreed, there is no better time than when setting your objectives. After fixing your objectives, it can be hard to arrange a discussion on the subject and get a new agreement.

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·         Discuss all key points with your manager: You need to ensure that your manager feels the same way as you do about the objectives.

 

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