GOAL SETTING MATTERS TO
CANADIAN WORKERS
Having a goal is the first step to achieving it, or so the saying goes.
Staffing firm Accountemps recently surveyed Canadian workers,
and 88 per cent said goal setting is important to their on-the-job
performance. And while more than two in five professionals (34
per cent) discuss goal progress with their manager at least month-ly,
14 per cent never broach the topic.
GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES
Younger employees place more emphasis on work-related per-formance
goals, the research found. More than half (54 per cent)
of millennials surveyed thought goal setting was very important,
compared to 40 per cent of Baby Boomers.
PREFERENCES BY GENDER
Slightly more men (37 per cent) than women (32 per cent) dis-cuss
performance goals with their manager at least monthly.
Additionally, 19 per cent of female workers never bring up the
subject compared to just nine per cent of their male counterparts.
“Setting goals at work encourages professionals to regularly re-flect
on their growth, evolve their objectives and establish a defined
roadmap for career advancement,” said Dianne Hunnam-Jones,
Canadian president of Accountemps. “Professional development
can’t occur in isolation. Schedule time with your manager, who
can help identify new challenges and opportunities that align with
your goals, and provide access to the resources you need to reach
them.”
Accountemps offers five tips for setting – and achieving – pro-fessional
goals:
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1. Retreat and refocus. Goal setting is not something you can
accomplish during a coffee break or in a busy office. Remove
yourself from distractions to really think about your current
job and desired career path.
2. Get detailed. Identify a small number of goals to tackle at
once. As you settle on objectives, make sure they are specific,
quantifiable, realistic and timely. Always set a deadline to
keep yourself on track.
3. Go long, then short. Start with the destination and then
work backward. First determine your long-term goals, then
establish a series of smaller tasks to help you reach them.
4. Enlist your manager’s help. Employers want their employees
to achieve professional success and job satisfaction. Partner
with your boss to set goals that align with department and
company objectives, and discuss career paths and next steps
during your regular meetings.
5. Put them in writing. Record your goals somewhere so you
can review them regularly and hold yourself accountable.
This will help you stay on track and ensure the work you’re
doing is aligned with your objectives.
JUST ONE-THIRD OF CANADIAN
EMPLOYERS ARE TAKING A FORMAL
APPROACH TO WORKPLACE WELLNESS
Canadian employers may be missing opportunities to demon-strate
their commitment to employee health and wellbeing. A
Conference Board of Canada survey finds that just one-third of
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