Determining the Optimal Goal Cadence – Reflektive

Goal setting is a great way to maintain alignment across your organization, but selecting the right goal cadence is critical in ensuring successful outcomes with goals. Would your employees benefit from more structure today, or do they need to be nimble? Are goals linked to compensation, or simply a guiding framework for career development? Considering questions like these as you design your goal program can guide you to the optimal frequency.

Ad Hoc Goal Setting

Pros	Agile - allows managers and employees to define their own approach to goal setting. Easy to implement - removes the need to educate employees on a specific methodology.
Cons	Minimized accountability - without enforceable goal policies, employees lack accountability in their day to day work. Diminished alignment across organization - disparate goal practices prevent individual efforts from aligning to company or department priorities. Difficult to benchmark performance - inconsistencies in goal setting across teams create challenges in performance evaluations.

Quarterly Goal Setting

Pros	Gives focus - employees have achievable milestones for each quarter. Predictable timing - a quarterly cadence typically aligns with other practices within the business. Increased accountability - 90 days is a substantive time frame for goal attainment.
Cons	Time commitment - managers and employees are required to identify impactful goals every three months. Demands agility - organizations must be nimble and have the ability to move quickly on goal setting processes.

Annual Goal Setting

Pros	Easy to complete - annual goal setting provides the largest time window for goal completion Maintained accountability - employees are still held accountable for their day to day work.
Cons	Less agility - employees are limited in their ability to respond to shifts in organizational priorities throughout the year. Decreased focus - providing such a large window for goal completion can diminish urgency, causing employees to lose track of their goals or procrastinate on completion.

If you want to learn about more options for goal setting cadences, reach out to your Customer Success Manager for recommendations.

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