goal setting: the anti-resolution revolution 🎯📈💡

no OKRs, KPIs or North Star Metrics allowed...

December 30, 2024

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Howdy HR friends!👋

Hope you’re all having a productive last couple of days of 2024

As we wrap up the year (and kick those brains into gear for 2025), today we’re pondering goal setting for 2025 (notice how we didn’t say resolutions?)🧠 

When our team hear goals they probably think KPIs, OKRs etc. 😰

But this year why don’t we help our teams make this process a little more human and a little less scary?

We hope you enjoy today’s edition and we’ll be back in touch on Monday Jan 6th to kick off your 2025 with some fresh ideas for your workplace!

In Today’s Edition

🎯 Goal Setting: The Anti-Resolution Revolution


🛋️ The Break Room: Goal-Setting Fails & Wins


📚 Human Readsources: AT&T mandates full-time office return in 2025., Holiday strikes at major corporations., H-1B visa rules updated for flexibility..


Let’s set some resolutions goals…

Drunk Episode 18 GIF by The Simpsons

Be more Homer in 2025…

Resolutions often fail. Instead, align personal goals with company values.


Build micro-habits, not massive life overhauls. Celebrate progress over perfection.


With focused guidance, help your teams be happier, more productive and ready to hit the ground running in 2025.


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🎯 Goal Setting: The Anti-Resolution Revolution

New Year's resolutions are notoriously ineffective, with a 92% failure rate. As HR leaders, it's our job to shift our teams away from vague resolutions and towards actionable, value-aligned goals.


Smart goal-setting is a strategic lever for improving engagement, performance, and retention. And bear in mind that employees who set goals are 6.5 times more likely to believe their jobs help them master other soft skills.


Aligning their personal goals with company values creates a powerful sense of purpose, reducing burnout risk and fostering a healthier culture.


To lead the anti-resolution charge, encourage teams to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals focused on sustainable micro-habits. Celebrate progress over perfection.


And small initiatives like providing resources for accountability buddies, and recognizing small wins to build momentum can be the difference in helping them progress professionally, and in their personal lives too.


🔗 Relevant links

👀 TLDR

🚀 TLDR: Ditch vague resolutions for actionable, value-aligned goals. Embrace the "anti-resolution revolution" by guiding teams to set SMART goals focused on sustainable habits. Celebrate progress, provide accountability, and recognize small wins to build unstoppable momentum in 2025.

⚡ Takeaway and Try

  1. 🧭 Facilitate a "values visioning" workshop to help teams identify their core motivations and align personal goals with company principles. Provide tools like vision boards or personal mission statements.

  2. 📋 Launch a "Micro-Habits Challenge" encouraging small, sustainable changes over radical overhauls. Offer templates for tracking progress and peer accountability groups.

  3. 🎯 Partner with managers on SMART goal-setting training. Guide teams to define specific, measurable objectives with clear deadlines and relevance to their roles, but also (where comfortable) that will benefit their personal lives too.

  4. 🏆 Implement a "Progress Over Perfection" recognition program celebrating small wins and effort, not just outcomes. Share success stories to inspire others. Make it an optional slack channel if you want to start small and test engagement.

  5. 📈 Track key engagement and productivity metrics before and after goal initiatives. Quantify ROI to leadership and evolve strategies based on results.


📚 Human Readsources

🏢 AT&T Mandates Full Return to Office in 2025 (HR Grapevine) - AT&T mandates full-time office return by January 2025.


⚖️ Amazon, Starbucks Face Holiday Strikes Amid Labor Unrest (HR Grapevine) - Major strikes hit Amazon, Starbucks during critical holiday season.


📊 H-1B Visa Rules Overhauled, Flexibility Increased (HR Dive) - DHS updated H-1B visa rules for skilled foreign workers.


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Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠

We know you’re super busy and really appreciate the little corner of your inbox you let us into 3 times a week. 😀

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