How to Align Employees with Company Goals in 14 Effective Steps

Aligning employees with company goals is essential for organizational success—it drives productivity, fosters a unified culture, and enhances employee satisfaction.

Follow this step-by-step guide to ensure employees understand and prioritize company objectives, fostering a united and focused workforce.

1. Set your main company priorities

Poorly defined goals can lead to confusion and misalignment, with employees struggling to stay focused. To begin, it’s crucial to identify a small set of critical objectives, typically three to five, that reflect the company’s vision and growth stage.

For instance, a startup might prioritize building brand awareness and driving customer acquisition.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in developing strategies for aligning employees with company goals. However, goal-setting should not be confined to top management. A collaborative approach is essential, as involving employees early on fosters a deeper connection to the company’s objectives. When employees feel they have a voice in setting goals, their engagement and commitment naturally increase.

Engaging employees in the goal-setting process can happen through several methods, such as surveys, focus groups, or direct conversations with leadership. This inclusion ensures that employees’ perspectives are considered, resulting in meaningful and attainable goals.

These goals must cascade down through the organization, from the executive level to divisions, departments, and, ultimately, individual teams. This ensures that each level of the company is aligned with the overall objectives.

Finally, provide clarity and purpose behind each goal. Without a clear understanding of “why” a goal is set, achieving it can be difficult.

For example, if a company targets a 30% increase in revenue, you should explain why that specific number was chosen. Once the goals are clearly defined and communicated, ensuring everyone is aligned and on board is essential to the company’s success.

2. Evaluate your organization’s culture

Ensure your organizational culture fosters unity among employees. Consider whether your workplace encourages collaboration, or if there is a competitive environment that undermines teamwork.

Understanding the communication style within your organization is equally important, as strong internal communication ensures that employees and teams are aligned with company objectives, strategies, and responsibilities.

To cultivate a company culture that promotes alignment, incorporate a values assessment into development discussions and performance evaluations. Additionally, reward employees and leaders who demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to the organization’s values.

Here are some questions to assess your communication culture:

• How transparent is your organization about its goals, strategies, and challenges?
• How do employees communicate with each other and with leadership?
• Are employees comfortable discussing their issues and challenges with your leadership?
• Are there regular opportunities for employees to share ideas?
• Are there clear lines of communication and channels for seeking help or support when needed?
• Do messages sent to team members correlate with those shared publicly?
• How are changes in company policies or practices communicated to employees?

3. Get buy-in from leadership

Leadership plays a critical role in aligning employees by setting clear visions, leading by example, and maintaining open communication. When leaders demonstrate full commitment and visibly endorse specific objectives, it sends a strong message to employees, reinforcing the importance of these goals and motivating staff to work toward achieving them.

Leadership buy-in is also instrumental in prioritizing and allocating resources to meet organizational objectives. This may include investing in employee development programs or other initiatives that support goal attainment. When leaders actively back such investments, it underscores the value of these initiatives and encourages broader organizational participation.

Leadership support is essential for aligning people processes throughout the organization.

For instance, if the goal is to enroll employees in training programs, clearly outline why the initiative is critical and how it aligns with broader organizational objectives. This ensures that leaders understand the importance of their role in facilitating these processes.

4. Communicate your mission and vision

An organization’s progress is driven by trust, and if leaders fail to embody the values articulated in the mission and vision statement, it can erode trust among employees. A lack of confidence in leadership inevitably leads to disengagement and decreased performance. Moreover, when employees do not trust the organization, it becomes increasingly difficult for the company to stand out in its industry.

To foster trust and alignment, leaders must convey a genuine message encouraging employees to embrace the organization’s vision. One way to achieve this is by making the vision statement highly visible and consistently communicating it across various platforms and touchpoints.

Incorporating the company’s mission and vision into onboarding programs is crucial to embedding these values from the outset. During onboarding, new hires should be introduced to the company’s vision, whether through meetings, presentations, or organization-wide events.

Continuous training programs should also reinforce the vision, encouraging employees to reflect on how their roles align with the broader organizational goals. Additionally, during performance appraisals, employees can be asked to consider how their contributions advance the company’s vision.

Hiring individuals who are already aligned with the company’s purpose is equally important. Successful organizations prioritize hiring motivated individuals and engaging them early in their career paths.

5. Choose motivational strategies

Employees might feel that goals are unattainable and too vague. Hence, it’s vital to encourage and motivate them to achieve success toward organizational and developmental goals.

To achieve this:

• Create a collaborative environment where employees can share their input and feel part of the organization—employees perform their best work when they feel valued
• Lead by example and encourage personal development
• Recognize employee contributions and encourage them to constantly reflect on how their contributions relate to the bigger picture
• Integrate learning opportunities into performance management to make sure employees can get feedback on their progress

6. Ensure role clarity

All employees should have a clear understanding of their role within the organization. This includes not only knowing their specific responsibilities and tasks but also how their contributions impact the broader objectives of the company.

Employees must also know what’s expected of them to ensure their work aligns with the organization’s goals and strategic vision. This clarity fosters accountability, enhances performance, and supports overall alignment with organizational objectives.

To ensure role clarity:

1. Provide unambiguous role descriptions that include responsibilities and expectations
2. Create role cards that detail what skills are needed to achieve specified tasks and grow in the company
3. Communicate regularly with employees about their roles and responsibilities even if you have clear role and performance documentation—one-on-one meetings are a great format for this
4. Consider the company’s overall goals when setting individual employee goals. This will help your people understand how their work fits into the larger picture
5. Share feedback regularly on their performance to keep employees on track with meeting the expectations of their role
6. Be proactive about role clarity by sending a simple role clarity questionnaire to departments and teams across the organization. Identify areas for improvement if needed

7. Clarify employee personal and performance goals

Supporting employees in achieving their developmental goals not only enhances their satisfaction but also elevates their motivation and productivity. That’s why 94% of employees stay longer in companies that invest in their professional development.

To assist employees in reaching their personal and performance goals, offer ongoing coaching. The constructive feedback that follows emphasizes how their individual achievements contribute to the organization’s overall success.

Regular meetings with employees are crucial for monitoring their progress and ensuring these interactions are focused, positive, and inspiring. It’s equally important to identify any challenges they may encounter and provide the necessary support to address these issues. Clear milestones and continuous feedback help you maintain accountability and drive sustained progress.

8. Implement a goal-setting framework

Select a goal-setting framework that suits your organization’s needs, such as OKRs for ambitious, measurable outcomes or SMART goals for clear, actionable objectives.

When choosing the best framework for your company, consider your team’s structure. With hierarchical teams, cascade goals from top management to individual contributors so each level supports higher-level objectives. In contrast, flat teams benefit from collaborative goal-setting, fostering ownership and accountability.

Involve managers by providing training on setting and tracking goals and equipping them with the necessary tools and resources. Managers should conduct regular check-ins and adjustments to ensure alignment with broader company objectives.

9. Track and measure performance

Use performance reviews to monitor progress toward specific goals and ensure alignment with company values. Regular one-on-one meetings can help keep employees informed and aligned with organizational developments.

For example, you can instruct managers in key people management skills, such as active listening or providing constructive feedback. Besides individual performance, measure team metrics to ensure seamless collaboration and cohesion, fostering a high-performing, unified team.

10. Maintain an ongoing feedback loop

Incorporate both positive and negative feedback loops to enhance performance. Negative feedback loops, such as customer complaints, can be valuable in identifying gaps in your support team’s skills or knowledge.

On the other hand, positive feedback loops, like public recognition from employees and leaders, foster greater cooperation among team members. To gather further insights, consider using surveys to collect valuable information about products and services.

11. Ensure transparency with regular company updates and foster a knowledge-sharing culture

A transparent culture within the workplace increases trust with both employees and clients. Discuss growth plans, new milestones, and pitfalls. Share weekly reports and updates about revenues and performance.

12. Embrace agility and continuous improvement

If your goals aren’t aligned with current market realities and needs, adjust them to ensure they remain relevant. Adhering to a static plan without considering present trends can lead to disengagement among employees.

Incorporate questions into yearly surveys about the organization’s agility and how well it adapts to market demands, with a focus on continuous improvement. Build an environment that encourages flexibility and openness to new ideas from employees without creating fear.

13. Recognize goal achievement

Celebrating achievements is one of the fundamental techniques for boosting employee morale and alignment. When specific goals are met, recognize and celebrate the teams that played a key role in the success.

Rewarding employees and teams is crucial—consider hosting in-person or virtual celebrations for remote teams. Acknowledge key contributors with special mentions and shout-outs on social media. To further motivate employees, implement incentives such as bonuses, promotions, and recognition programs.

14. Work closely with employees who fall short

Implement performance improvement plans to highlight specific areas that require development. However, don’t just stop at outlining the plan—offer guidance or mentorship to help employees overcome their performance challenges.

Ensure the plan includes a clear set of expectations and deadlines. For example, if communication needs improvement, clearly define what effective communication looks like and the standards they should aim to meet.

Aligned goals examples

When organizations are trying to keep goals aligned between the company and its employees, it’s important that all departments, teams, and individuals set aligned goals that directly contribute to the overall objective. Let’s go through a couple of common scenarios and aligned goals examples:

Organizational goal: Expanding to a new market

When expanding into a new market, keeping employees aligned with the company’s overarching goals ensures everyone is working toward the same objectives. You’ll need both development and performance goals to prepare your employees and keep them motivated throughout the entire expansion effort.

Here’s what the development and performance goals look like for some key departments:

Sales

Development goal: Provide sales teams with training on cross-cultural communication and selling techniques adapted to the new market’s consumer behavior and regulatory environment.

Performance goal: Set clear sales targets for the new market, such as achieving $5 million in new sales within the first year and acquiring 30 new key clients by the end of Q3.

Marketing

Development goal: Train on conducting comprehensive market research and adapting strategies to local consumer behaviors, preferences, and cultural nuances.

Performance goal: Implement a localized digital and traditional marketing campaign within 90 days of market entry to reach a 20% increase in brand awareness in the new region within eight months.

Product

Development goal: Learn how to adapt existing products to meet local regulations, consumer needs, and cultural preferences in the new market.

Performance goal: Modify and launch a localized product within six months of entry, ensuring it meets local customer expectations and legal standards.

Organizational goal: Launching a new product

To align employees with company goals during a product launch, begin by clearly communicating the product vision with all departments, explaining the “why” behind the launch and how it aligns with broader company objectives. Set specific goals for each department and encourage collaboration between teams.

Here’s what the development and performance goals look like for key departments:

Marketing

Development goal: Gain knowledge and skills in product positioning, value proposition development, and targeting the right customer segments for the new product.

Performance goal: Develop and execute an omnichannel marketing campaign that drives awareness and interest in the new product, achieving specific KPIs such as a 30% increase in website traffic and 5,000 pre-orders within the first month of launch.

Sales

Development goal: Learn new strategies for improving customer engagement and retention, focusing on post-launch support for the new product.

Performance goal: Set clear sales targets for the new product, such as generating $1 million in sales in the first quarter post-launch and acquiring 50 new customers by the end of the first month.

Web development

Development goal: Train on creating a seamless user experience for the new product, including how to design user-friendly web interfaces and ensure smooth integration with the company’s existing digital ecosystem.

Performance goal: Build and launch a fully optimized landing page for the new product that supports mobile traffic, reduces bounce rates and improves conversions by 10%.

Organizational goal: Organizational change management

When an organization embarks on change management focused on a company structure redesign, it’s essential to align goals across departments to ensure a smooth transition. Change management training for senior leaders and cascading training for employees at different levels is crucial to ensure adoption. Additionally, performance goals help track progress and ensure that everyone is moving toward the same objective.

Here’s what the development and performance goals look like for key departments:

Marketing/Branding

Development goal: Marketing managers will complete training on internal communication strategies, focusing on crafting clear and effective messages that help employees and external stakeholders understand the structural changes.

Performance goal: Develop a communication campaign to announce the changes across four distribution channels, ensuring 100+ media mentions to enhance awareness and support for the organizational restructuring.

Customer support

Development goal: Customer support managers complete training on managing team restructuring, adapting to new reporting lines, and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction during periods of organizational change.

Performance goal: Maintain a 95%+ customer satisfaction score and response times within 24 hours during the structural transition phase.

Tools for measuring employee alignment with business goals

To measure employee alignment with business goals, turn to performance metrics, surveys, and feedback tools.

Performance metrics & OKRs

OKRs help set clear, measurable goals that align individual and team efforts with broader business objectives. Each employee will work toward key results that tie to the company goals.
This method makes alignment transparent, showing how daily tasks and projects contribute to the larger mission. You can assess whether employees are achieving key results and, by extension, aligning with business objectives.

Tip: Regularly review OKR progress at individual and team levels. This helps identify misalignment early and allows managers to offer course correction or additional support.

Goal-tracking dashboards

Dashboards provide a visual representation of how employees or teams are tracking against business goals. This enables real-time monitoring of alignment and progress.
Dashboards make it easy for managers and employees to spot discrepancies and course-correct them before misalignment becomes a bigger issue.
Tip: Integrate dashboards into regular team meetings or one-on-ones, using them as a basis for discussing alignment and progress.

360-degree feedback

360-degree feedback involves collecting input from an employee’s peers, managers, and direct reports. This offers a well-rounded view of how the employee’s performance aligns with company goals.
This approach highlights any discrepancies between how the employee sees their alignment and how others perceive it. It also fosters continuous development and goal adjustment.

Tip: After each round of feedback, work with employees to set personal development goals that align with the company’s strategic objectives.

Balanced scorecards

Balanced scorecards track performance across multiple dimensions (financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth) to ensure employees are working toward holistic business objectives.

By tracking multiple facets of performance, balanced scorecards provide a well-rounded view of how employees’ actions align with both short-term KPIs and long-term strategic goals.

Tip: Use balanced scorecards to evaluate how individual and team efforts impact all areas of the business, not just isolated performance metrics.

Employee engagement and pulse surveys

These surveys gather feedback on how employees perceive their work in relation to the company’s goals. Questions can focus on understanding, commitment, and motivation regarding business objectives.

Surveys provide quantitative and qualitative data on how well employees understand and feel connected to business goals. High engagement often correlates with strong alignment.

Tip: Use pulse surveys regularly (quarterly or monthly) to track engagement over time. Ensure that the questions are specific to goal alignment, such as, “Do you understand how your role contributes to the company’s strategic objectives?”

Open forums and suggestion boxes

Encourage employees to contribute ideas on how to better align their roles or team efforts with business goals. This can be done through open forums, town halls, or digital suggestion boxes.
Open communication helps employees feel heard and fosters a culture of transparency. It also gives leadership direct insight into potential misalignments and new opportunities for improvement.

Tip: Actively engage with employee suggestions and regularly revisit and refine business goals based on feedback received.

Align employees with organizational goals with Deel Engage

Regardless of the methods you choose to keep your team aligned with your company’s goals, Deel Engage’s talent management suite simplifies goal setting and tracking by:

• Adapting the platform to align with your specific goal-setting structure
• Establishing parent goals and sub-goals to ensure accountability across individuals and departments
• Assigning clear timeframes to each goal
• Customizing feedback systems based on competencies, company culture, and goals
• Leveraging performance and development goals to provide in-depth context during 1:1 meetings and performance reviews
• Managing all goals in your organization from one place for easy oversight

Our training management and career growth modules further support your workforce in developing the skills needed to achieve their goals each cycle. Plus, Deel HR, our global HRIS solution, is always included at no additional cost.

Book a demo today to see how our solutions will help you build a high-performance workforce.