Recognizing Goal Attainment

Posted :September 21, 2018

Updated :September 21, 2018

Rewarding Accomplishments: Recognizing Goal Attainment

Learn how to think about what you want to achieve by highlighting success, and how to go about doing it.

WHAT KINDS OF GOAL ATTAINMENT SHOULD YOU RECOGNIZE?
WHY RECOGNIZE GOAL ATTAINMENT?
WHOM SHOULD YOU INCLUDE IN THE RECOGNITION OF GOAL ATTAINMENT?
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO RECOGNIZE GOAL ATTAINMENT?
HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE GOAL ATTAINMENT?

As the end of its first year approached, the North Quabbin Community Coalition had become a going concern, with over 60 people having attended meetings and served on task forces. Funding for an Information and Referral service - one of the area's greatest needs - had been proposed and obtained, and planning for new initiatives was underway. Now it was time for the Coalition to mark the occasion, and to tell the community of its success at achieving its first-year goals.

After some debate, the Steering Committee decided on a year-end luncheon and put together a subcommittee to organize it. The subcommittee found a local caterer whose prices were reasonable, set a modest ticket price for the luncheon that would pay most of the costs, and worked out a method by which people who couldn't afford the charge could nonetheless attend without embarrassment. In addition to invitations to everyone on the Coalition's mailing list, it sent out press releases and invitations to the media.

The luncheon featured a keynote speaker, short addresses by state and local politicians, awards for exceptional community service and for contributions to the Coalition's first-year successes, and, most important, a celebration of the fact that the Coalition had reached its initial goals.

When an organization or initiative achieves a goal it has set for itself, it should call attention to the fact. It's important for the community to know that it's home to an effective organization, one that can do what it sets out to do. And it's important for the organization to recognize and congratulate itself for its accomplishment, so that it can prepare to move on to the next one. This section, part of a chapter about the celebration of work well done, focuses specifically on marking goal attainment. It will help you think about what you want to achieve by highlighting success, and how to go about doing it.

WHAT KINDS OF GOAL ATTAINMENT SHOULD YOU RECOGNIZE?

There are a number of different types of goal attainment that are worthy of recognition. They include organizational time milestones; organizational accomplishments; specific events; and goal attainment by individuals or teams in the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL TIME MILESTONES

A major goal, especially of community -based and grassroots organizations and initiatives, is survival. For such organizations, getting through the first year is a big hurdle. Only about 15% make it through their first five years, and only about 2% are still around after ten years. Reaching an anniversary, particularly a significant one, is a goal in itself, and should be acknowledged.

For example, one adult literacy organization held an open house on its first anniversary, and invited both the press and all the learners, staff, and volunteers who had participated. In subsequent years, there was always a party to celebrate the anniversary, and a news item in the local paper outlining the program's successes and growth over the years.

On its tenth anniversary, the organization staged a party, inviting everyone who'd been involved over the course of its history, as well as the media. In addition to pure celebration, a scrapbook of the organization's history - press clippings, snapshots, fliers, brochures, copies of grants, etc. - was displayed and ultimately given to the founders, and key people in the organization's development were recognized and formally thanked.

The celebration served several purposes: it provided great publicity for the organization; it alerted the community to the fact that the program had survived for ten years and had achieved wide respect; it honored those who had been responsible; it made even new learners and staff members feel that they were part of something special; and it allowed those with a longer organizational connection to celebrate their work, and feel that their efforts had been worthwhile.

ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Some examples of goal attainment that are worth making a fuss over:

Reaching service goals. These goals are usually stated in terms of specific results that the organization had aimed at (teen pregnancy down 15%, e.g.), but may also encompass the number of people served, or the provision of a new type of service.
Reaching membership goals. This is usually expressed as a number, but it could also involve qualitative measures, such as including more youth or residents of a certain neighborhood.
Reaching fundraising goals. Local United Ways often erect a sign (usually an image of a thermometer) in a prominent place - in front of City Hall, for example - on which they can record the level of contributions as they come in, with the goal clearly marked at the top. When contributions reach the goal, it's obvious to everyone, and some acknowledgment is placed on the sign.
Receipt of a particular grant or other funds. A new state appropriation for the field or for a particular organization, a foundation grant, a large individual donation, or a corporate or other donation from the community may all be goals whose realization should be celebrated.

In Massachusetts, when the state begins a new grant program, it often stages ceremonies for the awarding of the first grants. State officials - sometimes even the Governor - go to organizational sites with oversized checks for the amount of the grant, and present them to organizational representatives amid the popping of newspaper photographers ' flashbulbs and the lights of TV cameras.

Awards or other recognition of the organization from outside sources. While these may not have been specific organizational goals, they often mark important milestones in organizational acceptance and development and can be seen as goals that any organization strives toward.

IMPORTANT EVENTS

These events themselves often mark the attainment of an organizational goal. The signing of a treaty among rival street gangs, an adult literacy or job training graduation, or the opening of a local clinic or mental health center may all represent the fruit of years of work with that goal in mind. It's time to tell the world that the goal has been reached.