Priorities and Objectives can both be used to set goals in 15Five. Priorities are short-term goals or tasks that follow the cadence of 15Five reporting. The Objectives feature in 15Five uses the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) Methodology which is a framework for defining and tracking business objectives and their outcomes. Objectives are long term goals. In 15Five you can have company-wide, department, individual, and self-development objectives. For more information on the Objectives and Key Results methodology see the OKR Methodology write up from our Science pages.
Utilize Objectives with your team
Create team objectives
Collaborative objectives in 15Five enable teams to align and work together to drive company initiatives forward. Your team might be working together on a single objective. You can create department objectives for your team for which multiple team members contribute. Collaborative objectives still have a single owner. Though there is one owner, the person who is accountable for that objective's progress, key results within that objective can be owned by multiple individuals. Align department objectives with company-wide objectives to see how department goals drive company goals forward.
You can also align your direct reports' individual objectives with department objectives, so each person can see how their work drives the team goals forward. Keep your teams' objectives flexible. They can be easily adjusted and revised as your direct reports' work evolves and priorities change. In 15Five, you can easily edit objectives and key results after initial entry. OKRs are most effective when they can be adjusted during the quarter to match business needs.
Set self-development objectives
You can create self-development objectives in 15Five as well! Encourage all of your direct reports to set quarterly self-development goals. As they identify gaps in skill, they can create learning goals to keep their growth and development front and center. Self-development objectives allow your direct reports to prioritize these skill gaps that prohibit them from doing their best work. We recommend setting short-term and general “do your best” goals for self-development objectives. Specific and challenging goals have a negative effect on performance. More general learning goals increase the growth mindset, a belief that abilities are not fixed— people shouldn't worry about failure and should instead see goals setting as a chance to learn.
Report on Objectives
For longer-term goal tracking, report on Objectives to see the progress your team is making on their larger goals. It's also useful to check the Objectives dashboard on a regular basis to see what your company is working on allowing you to follow updates that may impact your individual work.
Utilize priorities with your team: Best Practices
Set priorities with your direct reports
Gallup research also shows employee productivity increases by 56% on average when managers are involved in helping employees align their goals with the needs of the organization or overall company purpose. When individuals work with their managers to both create Objectives and then align them with the company's mission and top priorities, productivity and engagement soar. As a manager, you should meet with your direct reports a few weeks before the upcoming quarter to help them set their quarterly objectives in 15Five. Keep in mind that the objective should be personally meaningful to them.
Follow up on priorities
Your direct report's objectives are at the top of their Check-in so that you'll always know what they're working on and to provide context for your 1-on-1s. As a manager, when you keep track of your team's goals and key performance projects and milestones, your feedback will become more effective. Read your direct reports' Priorities as you review their Check-in, and provide feedback via comments on the priorities. During 1-on-1s you should obtain deeper insight into your direct reports’ work and the factors that influence or hinder progress. To increase performance and motivation, focus on goal progress over results.
Report on priorities
Check out the Priorities dashboard to get clear on tasks that your direct reports are working on. Priorities are employee-driven to-do lists, and you can run a report on them to see what tasks are getting completed, perhaps giving you an indicator to step in or a reason to celebrate.