Personalised goals go beyond simple goal-setting. They take into account the individual abilities of your employees. They also affect the intensity of our actions and emotions, according to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s research as Locke shares:

“Every person’s life depends on the process of choosing goals to pursue; if you remain passive, you are not going to thrive as a human being.”

In business, having goals increases employee motivation and engagement in the workplace, giving us purpose and a path forward. One way to get the most out of the goals your team is working towards is to personalise them. When someone feels personally connected to a goal they are working towards, they place a higher value on it and are therefore more likely to achieve it. 

In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at what personalised goals are and give you some ways you can implement a personalised goal-setting structure in your workplace.

What are personalised goals?

​​Personalised goals involve setting the same overarching goal for all employees, such as increasing the number of sales, but tailoring the specific target to each individual’s capabilities and current performance. 

For instance, the goal might be to increase sales by 5%, 10%, or 15% based on what each person believes is achievable for themselves. This is different from personal goals which are simply goals you set for yourself. 

Why should you set personalised goals?

Setting personalised goals makes the end goal achievable for individuals who may otherwise be disincentivised by unattainable targets or demotivated by easily achievable targets. By tailoring goals to fit each person’s abilities and circumstances, they are more likely to stay on track and remain motivated to achieve their target. 

This personalised approach fosters a greater sense of accomplishment, ensuring everyone stays motivated. For top performers, it ensures they stay challenged and motivated, for lower performers it avoids frustration with unattainable goals and for middle performers, it gives them the encouragement they need to progress.

How to set effective personalised goals

Before defining personalised goals for your team and employees, you should first look to define what success looks like for your team and how individual goals align with these objectives. Involving your team in the goal-setting stage can boost motivation and increase buy-in by ensuring that the goals set resonate with them. Furthermore, using data-driven insights by analysing past performance will enable you to set effective goals which will challenge your team to the right level.

Once the personalised goals have been set, it is important to provide regular feedback and keep communication open through regular check-ins and progress reviews. This will allow your employees to raise concerns but also give you the opportunity to recognise and reward achievements when needed.

Setting personalised goals with an incentive structure

One personalised goal-setting and incentive structure we use often with our clients is called GoalQuest. It relies on segmentation to make sure goals uniquely align with those working to achieve them. Without segmentation, one goal has to fit everyone, which leaves top performers without adequate motivation and lower-level performers feeling frustrated. 

A sales team incentive solution like GoalQuest eliminates both of those problems by allowing you to personalise the incentive programme, basing goals on the participating audience’s past performance. That means everyone’s motivated — the top, the bottom, and most importantly, the middle segment of your sales team.

Beyond segmentation, GoalQuest also uses self-selected goals and inspiring rewards to maximise commitment and the drive to succeed. Having the opportunity to choose their own goal — and reward if they reach it — creates a “set your own destiny” atmosphere for those participating.

While GoalQuest is often used to drive traditional sales metrics like product sales, add-on sales, new account creation, learning completion and more, it can also be used to impact other productivity behaviours where a historical baseline of performance may not exist.

Benefits of using an incentive structure like GoalQuest

You can drive results beyond sales targets

One client used GoalQuest to improve the number of deliveries made by a team of drivers. It was the first such programme this particular company had attempted for its drivers. Each driver had an assigned number of stops they were expected to make and each was given the option to select a goal of improving by 5%, 10% or 15% over the expected amount.

Drivers were also given the option not to select a goal but for those who did, the results were impressive:

• 68% of participating drivers selected the biggest stretch goal, which was 15% over their assigned workload.
• 77% of that group achieved their goal.
• Drivers who participated in the programme completed 31% more deliveries than assigned. 

You’ll motivate the middle performers

Motivation is rarely an issue for the top performers in any business construct. They are, by their very nature, predisposed to strive to achieve their goals and targets. However, the incentive to stay focused and motivated can often be somewhat problematic for the much larger group of “middle” performers.

One example of GoalQuest’s ability to “move the middle” involved a collection of global technical sales agents from 10 different countries. The programme was run when sales were at somewhat of a standstill. Instead of focusing on revenue, the programme measured Identifying Qualified Opportunities, essentially filling their funnel. Participants were offered very big stretch goals between 30% and 300% of their baseline.

• Even with huge goals set, 60% selected the highest goal to work towards.
• 94% of those who selected the highest goal went on to achieve it.
• Overall, the participating agents nearly tripled their year-over-year performance and the middle three groups had 5x results!

Discover the power of GoalQuest

Personalised goals are a simple concept with extraordinary impact. Leveraging individual goal choice promotes accountability and drives intrinsic motivation and a stronger personal commitment to succeed. The aspirational structure not only celebrates and acknowledges achievement but also encourages and incentivises future performance. As you look for ways to spur new growth in your business, consider the power of personalised goals.

At BI WORLDWIDE we understand that motivating your sales teams through standardised goals sometimes isn’t enough. With a sales incentive programme like BI WORLDWIDE’s GoalQuest, you can unlock the true potential of your sales team and inspire them to achieve new levels of success by setting their goals according to their personal capabilities and incentivising them with meaningful rewards.