This article has been accepted for publication in the September/October 2004 issue of Association Executive, the magazine for the
New York Society of Association Executives

Goal Achievement?
It's All About Staff Performance
By Barbara Brown, PhD

Goals! Although every association has them, achieving them is not always easy. Why? Some obvious reasons include high turnover, limited budgets, and large workloads. Some less apparent causes were reported in a recent FranklinCovey XQ survey of 11,045 adult workers. The researchers found that only 44% of workers understood their organization's goals, only 49% knew what they were supposed to do to support those goals, and only 33% felt rewarded for doing things that supported those goals.

Even if you don't believe these statistics represent your staff, you should constantly re-examine the approaches you use to inspire outstanding performance. That's the way you know what keeps staff members highly committed. And a highly committed staff will continuously deliver the kind of performance that leads to optimal goal achievement.

Create A "Big Picture" Link

If all the goals for your association were represented as a huge interlocking puzzle, would every staff member know where they fit? Better yet, would they know how every individual action affected every association goal? If you answered "no" to either of these questions, you have some educating to do. It's important for staff to see the "common purpose" of their actions. They need to understand the broader connection between personal actions and association achievements. This leads to greater buy-in, higher commitment, and better performance.

Jackie Barnes, Chief Operating Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA's National Office in New York says their goals are written using a SMART system:  Specific, Measurable, Adjustable, Relevant, and Trackable. Staff members can trace each goal in their performance plans back to the long-range goals established by the National Board of Directors. They know how everyday actions impact association performance.

Carol Beebe, Executive Director of the New York State School Food Service Association explains that her staff keeps focused on their overarching goal, which is to "help their members." Beebe says her staff embraces every association goal as their own because they understand the connections between their individual actions and the broader association goal.

Bottom-line. If staff members know where you're going and how all the pieces fit into the big picture, they will work hard to help you achieve goals. Use these strategies to create a "Big Picture" link for your staff:

1. Allow staff to participate in goal discussions with board members, committee members, or other staff members.
2. Explain how every individual performance goal is linked to broader association goals.
3. Give staff copies of strategic plans or other goal-related materials.

Link Staff Performance To Goal Outcomes

Consider the numerous actions you take each day that have a cause-and-effect relationship. You flip the light switch to receive light, step on the brake pedal to slow the car, and turn on the faucet to get water. You know which action produces which result. Your staff members need this same clarity about the impact of their actions. They should understand how individual performance affects association goals, priorities, and achievements. Staff can then make contributions that have the greatest impact on bottom-line results.

Bernard Bourdeau, CAE, President of the New York Insurance Association, Inc. directly aligns staff performance goals with association goals. Even though he has a small staff, Bourdeau says that making connections like these keeps his staff focused on doing what's most important. Barnes has a formal approach for aligning staff goals as well. To quote Barnes, "Everything we do directly correlates to the Girl Scout's strategic plan." 

Lawrence Cummings, Executive Director of the Central New York School Boards Association says he plans to establish a formal process that aligns individual performance goals with association goals. His reasoning, "A structured process provides an added reward. People like to know you appreciate what they are doing beyond the more informal discussion approach."

Staff members are highly committed to make significant contributions when there is a connection among association goals, office priorities, and daily activities. That's how staff determines what's really important. Use these strategies to create links between goals for your staff and association:

1. Link goals in staff performance plans to association goals.
2. At the beginning of each month, have a meeting with your entire staff and create links between your monthly goals and association goals.
3. When discussing projects, problems, or solutions create links to association goals.

Provide Frequent Progress Updates

Think about the score keeping in some familiar sports like football, basketball, or soccer. Suppose those players never knew their individual scores or team scores until the end of the game? It's unimaginable!  And while we recognize the severity of this feedback method in sports, we sometimes overlook its impact in the workplace.

Ongoing feedback allows staff members to make timely adjustments that directly impact your association's achievements. If you want staff members to deliver outstanding performance, you must provide frequent information about individual and association progress. Cummings constantly reassesses his staff's strengths and weaknesses, making task adjustments as needed. Barnes says that every few months her supervisors meet with staff members to refine goals. 

The actions of these two association executives keep staff members engaged and focused. Such communications helps staff see the connection between daily activities and goal achievement. The result is targeted contributions and better performance. Use these strategies to keep your staff updated:

1. Place a list of the Top 10 goals for your association in your office as well as in a public place.
2. Conduct weekly meetings and provide updates on the achievements of your staff's goals.
3. Create a progress chart that tracks the achievement of your staff's goals and association goals.

Recognize Staff Contributions

Reflect on the earlier cause-and-effect example. Would you keep flipping the light switch if you didn't get light? Absolutely not! If you take an action and there is no expected reward, you stop taking that action. Well, the same thing happens to staff members. They need to know that you appreciate their efforts. This requires learning what motivates staff beyond the receipt of a paycheck. It also requires providing recognition that is meaningful and continuous outside of the typical performance measurement system. 

Barnes's association has an annual recognition luncheon where peers nominate staff members for recognition in areas such as innovation, leadership, teamwork, diversity, and values. Cummings places a great deal of pride in providing rewards that are unique to his staff members. Cummings explains, "One staff member placed greater value on flexibility in hours to handle personal issues than in monetary rewards. So I provided that option."  Bourdeau uses interesting and challenging assignments to reward his staff. And Beebe says that providing positive verbal reinforcement on a continuous basis works for her. 

Even the most highly committed staff members want to be acknowledged for their efforts. Letting staff know you appreciate them and what they do provides the motivation for continuous outstanding performance. Use these strategies to recognize staff contributions:

1. Have a monthly goal-achievement celebration that includes cookies, ice cream, pizza, etc.
2. Use non-monetary rewards such as allowing extra time off, working on a special project, or putting staff pictures in your newsletter. 
3. When goals are achieved, show how these achievements resulted in a win-win for the staff and the association: less complaints, more compliments, greater flexibility, etc.

For other recognition ideas, check out 1001 Ways To Energize Employees by best selling author Bob Nelson, or visit www.nelson-motivation.com.

Maintaining The Momentum

Staff members will consistently do what's necessary to achieve association goals when they feel valued for doing valuable work. This happens when you involve staff and reinforce their contributions. Use these strategies as a start.

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