Ask HN: Why do companies ask employees to set goals?
14 by wonderingdev | 7 comments on Hacker News.
Several companies I've worked for ask their employees to set annual/quarterly goals. In theory they should be measurable, they should be relevant for the growth of the company and the employee. Sometimes the SMART acronym is used to describe them, some others use a FAST approach, but the essence doesn't change: you have to come up with some tasks (on top of your "normal" duties), discuss them with your manager and execute them. In my current company, your bonus depends on the execution of such goals (which is measured in percentage). If you fail to execute them, you may be subject to disciplinary actions. As a developer, I find the definition and execution of these goals very distracting, worthless and sometimes even stressful. (I work for a quite famous company in engineering.) My question is: what's the ultimate purpose of these goals? Is there a scientific (or even psedo-scientific) proof that they work for both parties? Do people really believe that they help in some way? EDIT: typos