Small wins can yield big outcomes

Goal-setting has long been enshrined in management doctrine as a useful way to measure progress and improve motivation, but recent PwC research reveals that it can directly affect performance as well. The yearlong study focused on the habits, performance and well-being of 12,000 employees in various industries and discovered that workers who regularly set modest short-term goals—generating a certain number of sales leads in a week, say, or even just completing a slide deck before lunch—were more likely than other employees to achieve broader company performance targets. What’s more, as the second chart above shows, they reported being happier at work. 

That kind of daily goal setting, extended across an entire workforce, can deliver meaningful company-wide impacts. Adopting four key principles can help management teams foster a goal-setting culture and leverage the power of small wins: 

1. There’s strength in numbers. At a software company studied for the research, a tech support team faced a backlog of customer service tickets, so employees began meeting each morning to discuss the day’s KPIs and set goals. Employees shared with the group the barriers that prevented them from achieving a goal, along with solutions for overcoming those barriers. In the span of 16 months, employees who set regular goals cleared their tickets at a higher rate than those who didn’t. Employees who completed at least one goal a day reduced the time it took to clear tickets by 10% compared with colleagues who didn’t set a goal. The upshot: reviewing goals in a group setting helps teams clarify objectives and identify barriers to achieving them. 

2. Recognition matters. At a separate, UK-based software company, the management wanted to test which daily behaviours would boost the mood in the customer contact centre. Employees who completed goals were 28% more likely to record a positive mood, and, significantly, those who posted publicly about their successes—or even a colleague’s success—were 59% more likely to record a positive mood. Ultimately, these actions led to a meaningful increase in customer leads. Celebrating small wins improves morale at an individual level (when employees log their successes) and at a team level (when the group recognises the achievement). 

3. Language matters, too. The more specifically worded the goal, the better. When teams at that UK software company mentioned terms such as sales or leads in their goal descriptions, employees generated 12% more customer leads overall. Managers should consider experimenting with generative AI to more accurately articulate employees’ individual needs and preferences, and to provide workers with personalised guidance and support. 

4. Goal-setting starts at the top. Data from the study shows that team leader behaviours are mirrored by employees. This means that executives and managers not only need to understand the importance of setting goals, they need to encourage their teams by doing it themselves. They also need to create a workplace environment in which employees feel empowered to share both their goals and their achievements freely without fear of judgement.