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How to Set Goals for Your Design Team

Jason Dydynski
how to set design team goals
How can you set clear goals with your design team?

Are you having the members of your design team set goals on a regular basis? Are you taking steps to help them accomplish those goals and progress in their careers? If not, you’re likely not going to see the kinds of results you or your supervisors want to see.

Not sure where to begin when it comes to setting design team goals? Read on for some great tips that will help you and your team members set clear goals and accomplish them.

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The Importance of Setting Design Team Goals

Regular goal-setting does a lot of great things for businesses and employees. Working with the members of your design team to set clear and actionable goals will help them, you, and the business as a whole to thrive long-term.

The following are some specific benefits you might notice:

Improved Productivity

When your design team has clear goals that they’re working toward, their productivity and ability to focus will almost always improve. As creative individuals, it can sometimes be difficult for designers to stay on task and get things done in a timely manner. However, having a goal identified, as well as a path to accomplishing that goal, can make a big difference.

More Motivation

The members of your design team are also likely to be more motivated when they’ve set goals for themselves and for the team as a whole. They’ll know that they’re working on something bigger than themselves and will have something to look forward to as they go through their workday.

More Collaboration

Setting goals for your entire design team can encourage more collaboration. This, in turn, helps to make the workplace more enjoyable for everyone and allows all of your individual team members to grow and learn from each other.

Instead of isolating themselves while working on their own projects, they can come together for the good of the team (and the business).

The OKR Methodology for Goal Setting

There are lots of ways you can go about setting goals for your design team. One of the most effective strategies to use, though, is known as the OKR (short for Objectives and Key Results) methodology.

The OKR methodology is a critical thinking framework and a unique way of setting goals. It helps to ensure that everyone on the team is working together to accomplish the things that matter most.

This framework involves setting goals (or objectives) and then determining the key results by which you’ll measure your progress toward achieving those goals.

You and the members of your design team can use the OKR approach to set individual goals and to set goals for the entire team. It’s highly versatile and easy for all kinds of teams, including creative teams, to start implementing into their workflows.

How to Implement the OKR Methodology

How to Set Good OKRs With Examples

One of the many great things about OKRs is that it’s easy to implement. It doesn’t involve a lot of complicated steps or rules, and just about anyone can benefit from it. Follow these guidelines to start enjoying the benefits of goal setting using the OKR framework:

Identify Objectives

The first step in utilizing the OKR methodology with your design team is to have everyone identify the specific goals, or objectives, that they want to accomplish. The objectives should be qualitative, aspirational, and time-based.

Identify Key Results

The great thing about the OKR approach is that it combines both qualitative and quantitative goals. This makes it a great option for creatives, analytical and data-driven types, and everyone in between.

Once you’ve set a qualitative objective, the next step is to figure out ways to quantify it by identifying your key results. Key results measure the progress of your qualitative objective based on a 0-100% scale.

Create Plans to Meet Your Objectives

At this point, you know what you want to accomplish and how you’re going to measure your progress. Now, you need to come up with plans to help you keep the needle moving forward and work toward meeting your objectives by the deadline you’ve set for yourself.

Monitor Progress with Weekly Reviews

Weekly reviews are essential when you’re using the OKR methodology (or really any kind of goal-setting technique). They allow you to check-in with your team, see how they’re progressing, and help them with any problems they may be facing when it comes to making progress toward a particular objective.

Use the Right Tools

Implementing the OKR methodology is a lot easier when you use the right tools. For example, an online tool like Weekdone makes it easy for team members to check-in with one another, either by conducting group meetings for weekly reviews or by connecting one-on-one.

Weekdone also makes it easy for you and your team members to monitor progress, see visual interpretations of how they’re doing, and give and receive feedback.

Try These Goal-Setting Techniques Today

Clearly, setting design team goals on a regular basis is essential if you want your team members to continuously improve and strive to be better. By using the OKR methodology, you can work with the members of your design team to help them set realistic goals and make sure they’re on track to accomplish those goals.

Keep these tips in mind moving forward, and don’t forget to check out Weekdone. This effective online tool makes it easy for you and your team members to set goals, check-in on a weekly basis, and provide recognition and positive feedback when goals are met.

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Example Design Team OKRs

If you are interested in looking at OKRs and need some examples to get inspire below is a list of example OKRs.

Redesign and launch our new landing page

Support marketing and sales with design deliverables

Promote our design team as the best place to work

Become a strongly design driven company

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