I would agree that typically bottom-up is better. In addition to the procrastinators, you may have a group of employees who are simply not used to setting goals & so there may need to be a transition period where they are "trained." Obviously moving toward the goal of bottom-up.
Ryan
Jack,
Great point here. When we have those individuals who are motivated, experienced & capable of this type of bottom-up goal setting we need to try it. However, as you pointed out, before engaging in this we need to do all we can that we can make the connection with the goals of the organization. To fail to do this is, in my opinion, worse than forcing the goals from the top-down.
Ryan
I prefer Bottom-Up. I think most employees respond well to this type of goal setting but I could see where some management teams would not want to use this type of goal setting especially if they have employees that are self-directed and procrastnators.
Typically in education the faculty is comprised of highly educated individuls who have a high need for autonomy. So from my experience the process would be more "bottom-up" when it comes to goal setting. The difficulty may come in aligning factuly goals with those of the overall organization.
I think you make a great point for all of us to consider. At times it can seem as if the process is top-down, when in reality the "top" has done a good job of seeking input & thoughts from all levels. In this way it really is a "meshing" of the two forms.
Ryan
Being under the umbrella of a "corporation" I feel that both methods (bottom-up/top-down)are utilized. With our college it starts at the top, but if you don't feed it from the bottom up it falls apart. Input from both ends are needed and then with careful planning/consideration and implementation these two are meshed together.
I agree with this approach given the lack of experience represented on your team. The important thing is to make sure that you are gaining the team's buy in & then as they do gain more experience shifting the process to a more bottom up approach.
Ryan
I think that my goal-setting process would have to be top down since this is a new field for most of our staff. Setting up our process as top down will also allow me to supervise their process until our goal has been reached.
This is a great strategy when you have a mix of employees like this. As you said, a great way to help ensure that each team member is more fully committed.
Ryan
I think with my staff we would need to include some goals that use the top down and some that use the bottom up.
Some of my staff are new and do not fully grasp how to best support the vision of the school.
Others, want to formulate their goals/actions in a way that makes more personal contributions to the school, while still falling under the vision the school wants to move in.
By working in both directions, I think each team member will be more fully committed to their goals and the school will benefit more.
Makes sense & as those less experienced team members gain more experience hopefully you will find that they too will be able to join in the goal setting process.
Ryan
I prefer to set my own goals. When I get "top down" goals or "bottom up" goals, I often find that they have little to no reality to what I have to do and what I can/cannot do since the person setting them is not dealing with my schedule. In a position where I am part-time, I find that the understanding of a full-time educator of what I can/cannot do is not always realistic. Nevertheless, setting goals and following the goals of an agency is important.
For my staff that would be bottom up, I have a number of staff member at different skill level so I would have to assign their goals accordingly.
Great point Felicia. The best course of action, as you say, may need to adapt & change. However the worst course of action is always to stubbornly refuse to adapt & change & try & convince everyone that you are right. We don't know what a project or day may hold, so we must be ready to adapt.
Ryan
I find that it all depends on the situation on which method to implement. Even throughout the process the methods may change due to the situations that arise.
In order to have the best outcome I find that adaptability to the situation at hand is one of the key factors to its success. The obstacles that present themselves to motivate the staff in a positive direction may mean to regroup and adjust how the goal-setting process will be done.
It all depents on what goals are we setting. If a new employees to the organization or aren't familiar with organization a Top-Down goal. but for a employees that clearly understand the business strategy and custumer needs, as well as their own, Bottom-up goal should be set.
Great question. My opinion is that this will be a process over time. On smaller matters/projects I would start employing bottom-up & then slowly graduate to this for all.
I have found that people need to be prepared for this transition. While I believe that bottom-up is the best, some groups are not ready for this transition so we need to prepare them.
Ryan
It appears that the top-down method should be only viable for new hires, or junior managers that are still learning their role in the company system. Bottom up appears to be more efficient for experienced staff, and may even build more confidence for your team member since they will have more ownership over the goals that are set. The question is, when should the transition take place from top-down to bottom-up?
Theresa,
Great use of top-down, especially given that your collections person is new to her role & pursuing those delinquent payments can be somewhat sticky. As she develops more skill & time in the role, most likely you will be able to slowly move to a bottom-up approach.
Ryan
I would use the "Top-down goal setting, because my staff needs close supervision. My collection person needs coaching and training as to how to will approach students who are deliquent with their payments.She is relatively new to collections. She understands the company goals, but just needs some coaching as to how to approach the seriously deliquent students. I have set weekly specific,attainable goals and meetings to help her improve her collections skills.
