As the new year begins, companies across the country are planning for a great 2015. The planning includes setting operating budgets, preparing to fill open positions, writing job postings and setting goals for the New Year. These goals can be for the overall success of the business or for individual departments within the company. With 2015 right around the corner, businesses need to evaluate their annual goals and set the bar high in order to succeed.

Review Goals That Repeat Year-to-Year

One of the first things your company must do is review the goals that repeat from year-to-year as the calendar switches from 2014 to 2015. Take a look at which goals are met consistently each year and which ones are not. Your company should then determine if the goals that have not been met are worth keeping in 2015 and beyond. Do they hinder the company’s performance in other areas? Are they pointless goals when it comes to the overall success of the company? If you answered yes to either of these two questions, then it is time to remove these goals from the list.

Look at Successful Goals

Your company must now take a longer look at all of the goals that were met during 2014. Figure out how the company met those goals. Ask the following questions of the goals from 2014 that were met:

• Who took part in meeting the goals?
• Which department(s) played the biggest roles?
• Were the goals easily reached?
• Did it take all of 2014 to hit the milestone?

When you answer all of these questions, you will find it easier to create goals for 2015.

Set Better Goals for 2015

After taking care of the first two items in our post, your company can begin to set goals for 2015. Instead of setting the exact same goals, or milestones, make them a little bit more challenging in the New Year. If it was easy to meet the same goals each year for the past five years, it might be time to increase those goals and set new milestones. There is nothing wrong with setting the same goals year-to-year, but some new ones should be added each year.

Set the Bar High for 2015

As your management team sits down to set goals for 2015, try to convince everyone that the bar should be set very high. Companies that become complacent in their success will not move to the top of their industry. All companies should want to be leaders within their industry, and this can only be made possible when companies set the bar exceptionally high each year.

If your company wants to succeed in 2015, make it a point to set the bar as high as possible so the goals are more difficult to meet. If you cannot put trust in your employees to meet those goals, then it is time to recruit. Looking to hire? Contact our team of experienced recruiters for additional hiring support.