Situation: A company recently established a weekly objectives program. Weekly objectives are set on Monday, with reminders to complete objectives for the week sent by email on Thursday. However, some team members are failing to meet goals for the previous week and want to roll over previous week’s unmet objectives to the new week. Should there be consequences for failing to meet stated objectives? If so, what is the best method to phase these in? What are the consequences of not meeting goals?

Advice from the CEOs:

• Track which objectives are being met and which are not. Measure the impact of not meeting objectives on original timelines. Assess the depth of the problem.
• Watch the process for four weeks. At the weekly meeting following the end of the four weeks, discuss the process as a team.
  • What’s working and what is not?
  • Are realistic objectives being set?
  • If objectives are not being met, is there something that regularly interferes with objective completion?
  • Are monthly or quarterly objectives at risk as a result?
  • Reset and reestablish expectations for the following four weeks as a team. Raise the bar for compliance, as a team, as you mature the process.
• If any team member shows signs of chronic difficulty meeting weekly objectives, meet 1-on-1 to assess the situation and reset expectations.
• Discussion builds team support of the process and adds a layer of peer-pressure to prompt individuals to improve their consistency in meeting weekly objectives.

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