Having monthly goals and milestones is a great way to keep on track with your virtual assistant. It helps your business propel forward and it gives your virtual assistant a way to track how they can help your business accomplish its goals.
You’ve probably heard of the famous SMART goals criteria, which states that goals should be:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant). You want your goal to be clear and straightforward. It should dictate exactly what you want to accomplish, who you need to help you accomplish that goal, and how you’re going to get it done.
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating). Measuring the progress of your goal shows that your team is on the right track and moving forward. You should have a way to figure out if the goal has been achieved.
- Achievable (agreed, attainable). Great goals are realistic. Consider if there are any factors holding you back from achieving the goal. For example, are you outsourcing part of this goal to someone who doesn’t have the skillset? Are you financially held back from moving forward? Ensure that you are setting goals that are not only realistic but physically possible for your business.
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based). In a time where every guru has a new marketing strategy or technique, you might be bombarded with ideas that have nothing to do with the vision of your business. Make sure the goal your team is working towards is something sustainable and relevant to your business. It would be a shame to spend so many resources working towards a goal that ends up being irrelevant to your long-term success.
- Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive). Your goals should run with deadlines. Deadlines are not only crucial for setting a date where your goal should be met, but they also help set boundaries for your team. Your team members are human beings who are juggling other tasks. Letting them know your deadlines helps your virtual assistants rearrange their schedules to meet your needs.
How to set milestones
When you’re working on a new project or a launch, you want to split that project up into smaller milestones. That way, you can see where you’re at with the project and what step needs to come next.
Setting these milestones also helps your virtual assistant prioritize tasks and work towards accomplishing the bigger goal.
Let your virtual assistant know, at the beginning of the week, what the goal is. For example, if you’re launching a new course, you might want your virtual assistant to have all of the videos completed by the end of the week. This could entail getting captions, editing the videos, uploading the videos, and making sure the sound quality is perfect. By the end of the week, all of the editing for the videos should be finished and uploaded to the course. That is one milestone for the course completed.
Setting weekly goals is also great for the team because everyone is working together towards a common goal. Each team member has a role and place in ensuring the success of the common goal.
Setting Monthly Goals
Weekly milestones are a great way to work towards a monthly goal. What you can do is break up your monthly goal into weekly milestones for your team to meet. All of those milestones should contribute to the greater monthly goal.
It’s worth getting on a call at least once a month with your team members to discuss all the parts of the monthly goal. They can ask questions about the goal. If certain team members need to work together, the discussion can show them where they need to collaborate and combine their skills.
Monthly goals alone are great because they allow you as the business owner to take the next step in growing your business. Letting your team know what the goal is can help them support you in reaching the next goal.
Use a Task Manager
When working with a team, your task manager is an incredibly important tool. You might use something like Trello or Asana, but be sure to find something that works for your team’s dynamic. Trello is great for tasks that require an overview look at a glance. Asana is perfect for dividing up goals into smaller, daily tasks.
Setting goals, milestones, and tasks up for your virtual assistant and your team is a great way to get the most out of working with your team. You’ll accomplish your goals faster and have a team that works cohesively towards a common mission.
What’s the most difficult part about goal setting when it comes to your business? Let us know in the comments below.
