Target agreement

In a target agreement, at least 2 people agree on the targets to be achieved within a certain period of time. These 2 people are usually a manager and an employee.

In most companies, target agreements are an integral part of employee management. In this way, individual tasks are aligned with the company’s goals and the team works in a focused manner.

Advantages and disadvantages of a target agreement

A target agreement is intended to motivate employees and give them a kind of guideline for their work. In addition, the manager can better assess the work of the team members. However, there are not always only positive aspects: we show the advantages and disadvantages of target agreements below.

Advantages:

Prioritization. Thanks to the target agreement, the team knows which targets have priority and can tackle these first accordingly.
Employee motivation: Setting goals can be very motivating for many people. Achieving a goal is particularly satisfying.
Responsibility: Employees can decide for themselves how they manage their tasks and thus assume responsibility.
Transparency: This point applies to both sides: Manager & team member.
Commitment: The objectives were developed and recorded by both parties. This creates commitment.

Disadvantages

Pressure to perform: This can lead to pressure to perform and, in the worst case, even slow down work.
Deterioration of the working atmosphere: If employees are stressed and fail to meet their targets, this can have a negative impact on the working atmosphere and even reduce productivity.
Target not achieved: This can be very demotivating for some colleagues and have a negative impact on other tasks.

What should goals be?

We ask ourselves the question: What should goals be? Target agreements are created using the SMART formula, among other things. This means the following: