Imagine a company filled with high-performing employees working tirelessly to achieve their individual and team goals. Despite this, the organization seems to be driving in neutral. Projects are delayed, morale is low, and day-to-day work feels disconnected from strategic goals and business objectives.
This too-common scenario is usually the result of a misaligned organization. Strategic alignment ensures that everyone in the organization works toward a common goal, just like a well-oiled machine where each gear represents an individual employee. The machine runs smoothly and efficiently when the gears are aligned and working together.
However, if even one gear is misaligned, the entire machine can malfunction. When individuals are aligned with the organization’s objectives, they feel more motivated, engaged, and productive.
Unfortunately, achieving alignment is not always easy. Research shows that only 23% of companies have successfully aligned their individual and organizational goals. Read on to explore the benefits of aligning the objectives of your team members with your company goals. We’ll provide practical steps for building and implementing a successful alignment strategy.
The benefits of organizational alignment
Aligning individual goals with organizational objectives creates synergy that benefits the entire organization.
It increases employee engagement and motivation. Employees who understand how their work contributes to the company’s mission and strategic priorities are more likely to feel engaged and motivated. This can lead to increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved job satisfaction.
It improves productivity and efficiency. As employees work toward common goals, they collaborate more effectively and are less likely to duplicate another colleague or team’s work. This improves workflows and overall strategy execution.
Cross-functional collaboration and teamwork become easier when you break down silos and build a company culture around a shared purpose. Team alignment strengthens collaboration and clarifies communication. This also reduces conflict and confusion that arises from misaligned goals and siloed work.
4 steps to aligning individual goals with organizational objectives
Now that you understand the importance of organizational alignment, here are five steps you can follow to build your own organizational alignment model. Every organization is different, and your strategy has its nuances, but these steps will get you started.
1. Define organizational goals
Begin your journey toward organizational alignment by defining your mission, the purpose that guides your company’s actions. Next, outline your vision, the aspirational future you aim to create.
Finally, establish strategic objectives and long-term goals that highlight the journey to achieving your company’s strategy. These objectives should be SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, a company building a strategic plan focused on becoming a leader in their industry would set an objective like achieving a 20% increase in market share within the next three years.
Consider using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) framework. This involves setting clear, qualitative objectives linked to specific, achievable goals. These objectives outline initiatives that need to be achieved within a specific timeframe. Key results are measurable metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that make it possible to track progress toward those objectives.
2. Communicate goals effectively
Your hard work establishing organizational goals will be in vain if the rest of the organization isn’t aware of them. Effective communication is key to aligning individual goals with broader company objectives.
- Communicate through multiple channels: Combine various communication methods, such as company-wide meetings, internal newsletters, town halls, and one-on-one conversations to reach stakeholders at all levels.
- Keep it simple and concise: Avoid jargon and technical terms. Break down complex goals into easily understandable language.
- Use storytelling: Craft compelling narratives that connect your organizational goals to the individual impact of employees’ work.
- Foster open dialogue: Encourage employees to ask questions, provide feedback, and share their perspectives. This fosters a culture of transparency and understanding.
- Provide regular updates: Your leadership team must keep employees informed about any progress toward organizational goals. This helps maintain engagement and motivation toward achieving your company’s success. At the same time, leaders must be transparent and also share information about setbacks and challenges and how these are to be addressed.
3. Provide your team with support and resources
Your work doesn’t stop at getting your team to understand their individual and organizational goals. It’s essential to equip them with the tools and resources they need to carry out their role effectively.
- Define clear roles and responsibilities: Every employee needs to clearly understand their role and what is expected of them. They must also make the connections between what they’re doing and how it affects the overall strategy. Involving them directly in goal-setting is a good way to ensure this happens.
- Invest in training and development programs: By enhancing employee skills and knowledge, you give them the tools they need to achieve their individual and team goals.
- Offer mentorship and coaching: Assign mentors or coaches to provide guidance, support, and feedback to employees so they can stay on track and overcome challenges.
- Allocate sufficient resources: Employees must have access to the necessary resources, such as technology, tools, and budget, to accomplish their tasks.
- Conduct performance management: Implement a performance management system that creates a strong feedback loop and enables continuous improvement.
4. Regularly review and adjust your business strategy
Strategic planning doesn’t stop once you start implementation — it’s an ongoing process. Regularly review your strategy to ensure it remains aligned with your organization’s evolving goals and market conditions. Failure to do this makes it easier for you to veer off course.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Collect status updates regularly: Start collecting updates and data on a regular basis. Every month, your teams must report back on their progress in a standardized and timely manner.
- Conduct quarterly strategy reviews: Every quarter, your leadership team should get together to take a quick snapshot of everything that has been reported so far. This is a great way to identify any serious sticking points and take corrective action in the short term.
- Have annual strategic evaluation with data-driven decision-making: Once a year, conduct a thorough strategic evaluation. While your quarterly strategy review is good for making smaller, short-term fixes, your annual review is where the major decisions are made. These decisions must be based on the data you’ve collected and will make your strategy more resilient and better equipped for success.
Streamline your organizational alignment with AchieveIt
The tools you use when planning and implementing your strategy can make it much easier to align your goals to your organizational structure. AchieveIt is comprehensive strategic planning and implementation software that streamlines your strategic endeavors from goal-setting to update collection and review.
AchieveIt makes it easy to track progress through automated updates and ensures that everyone’s efforts are aligned. Your information is centralized, and your workflow is smoother and more driven by data.
If you’d like to learn more about how AchieveIt can help you build an aligned organization, contact our team now.
