Start Earning Your End of Year Bonus Now:

How to Prepare your 2015 Goals and Target Achievements

Last month we talked about how to increase your chances of receiving both your bonus and a sizable raise—even if you weren’t prepared for your negotiation. In sum, we offered a process that:

• Defined which of your 2014 outcomes really mattered to the business.
• Detailed how you personally contributed to those outcomes.
• Demonstrated how you grew as an employee to make those contributions.

(In case you missed the piece, read it here.)

While this process works, we doubt you want to scramble every November to put together a last-minute case for increased compensation. That’s why we promised you a system for setting your 2015 Target Achievements well ahead of time, so—come December—you can arrive at your 2015 end-of-year negotiation with a thick stack of leverage in hand.

Today, we’re going to outline that system.

But before we dive in, we want to make one point clear—setting Target Achievements isn’t just about the money. Compensation matters, but the afterglow from a bonus or salary increase won’t satisfy for long, and IT folks tend to not be primarily money-driven people. As an IT pro, you look for a deeper sense of achievement and contribution from your career.

The Non-Financial Benefits of Setting Target Achievements

A crisp set of Target Achievements will help:

• Individual Contributors
  -Set clear goals and outcomes to measure your performance against.
  -Prevent you from spending all your time on projects you think are valuable, but which the rest of the organization doesn’t care as much about.
• IT Leaders
  -Evaluate your team members systematically—both throughout the year, and for year-end reviews.
  -Create an effective calendar of projects and prioritization to prevent resource, time and staff conflicts.
• Everyone
  -Utilize an agreed-upon process for tracking effort, managing risk, and prioritizing projects.
  -Change the conversation with business peers and stakeholders to one of shared focus and accountability instead of accusation and disagreement.

Even the least money-focused IT pro will find something to gain from adopting a system of Target Achievements.

Here’s How You Set Your 2015 Target Achievements

Before we begin, a quick note—this process assumes you have a direct manager, and that you have a formal end-of-year review with that direct manager.

• If you don’t have a direct manager (for example, if you work for a smaller company) there will be someone in charge of making compensation decisions at the end of the year. Work with them during this process.
• If you do have a direct manager, but you don’t have a formal end-of-year review, just ask for one. Most managers are open to the idea, even if they haven’t implemented the forum themselves.

Assuming you have a formal end of year review in place, here’s how you set down the achievements you will be reviewed against:

1. Take out your list of priorities for 2015.

If you and your manager didn’t set down formal priorities at the end of last year, then you will have to make this list yourself. Don’t worry—creating this list isn’t as intimidating as it sounds. Just write down each project and each element of operations you will contribute to in 2015.

2. Identify your broad-strokes contribution to each priority.

Are you responsible for maintaining server uptime? Will you help program the new sales software? Break down your list of priorities for 2015 into the actions and outcomes you will contribute to them.

3. Make note of your current level of achievement for each action and outcome.

Look at your operational priorities for 2015. Chances are, you are already responsible for most—if not all—of them. What were your performance metrics for these responsibilities in 2014? Now look at projects you will contribute to in 2015. Chances are you have contributed to similar projects—in similar ways—in previous years. What were your measurable outcomes within those projects? Use these past metrics and outcomes as a performance baseline for each of your 2015 priorities.

4. Determine how you will improve on each action and outcome.

If you want to receive increased compensation, you need to improve your performance. To demonstrate how you will tangibly improve this year, take your performance baseline and raise each metric and outcome for 2015. Don’t worry too much about the exact numbers you set here. They will likely change when you sit down and review them with your manager. But, for now, just set new targets that are ambitious, but achievable, for your 2015 growth and contribution.

5. Set a clear timeline around each item of contribution.

When will you achieve your improved operational metrics? When will you start and complete your project-based contributions?

You now have a list of what you will contribute, what your outcomes will look like, and when you will deliver on them. This is your 2015 Operating Plan—a clear document that you can bring to your manager.

6. Set a 1-hour meeting with your manager to review your Operating Plan.

In your meeting invitation, explain how you want to review a set of defined targets and timelines you created for 2015. Also, make it clear you would like to set your 2015 bonus and raise opportunities against this plan.

7. During your meeting, reach agreement on your targets for 2015.

Your manager might accept the Operating Plan you provide. More likely, your manager will tweak the plan to their satisfaction.

8. Now, and only now, start talking compensation.

If you have an existing bonus opportunity for 2015, then divide that amount among your Target Achievements. This allows you to earn part of your bonus even if you don’t meet all of your targets.

If you don’t have an existing bonus opportunity, use this meeting to discuss receiving a raise at the end of 2015 if you achieve your targets.

In both cases, get your manager’s commitment to increase your compensation in writing.

9. Finally, schedule quarterly meetings to review your targets.

Schedule a 30-minute Target Achievement Review with your manager at the end of each quarter. These meetings give you the opportunity to update your manager on your progress for each Target Achievement, to make sure each target remains a priority, and to remind your manager of the commitments they made regarding achievement and compensation.

And that’s it!

If you’re an IT pro with experience setting long-term goals, this process offers an easy-to-implement framework for 2015 success.

But for everyone else, this process may feel like a lot to take in all at once.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed right now, take heart: you don’t have to do this whole process today! Instead, just commit to performing one step a day…

Today you read this article—that’s great, and enough for now… 

Tomorrow, produce your list of 2015 priorities…

Two days from now, identify your broad-strokes contribution to each priority…

Perform just one small action a day, and the process will feel much more manageable.

And whenever you start to feel overwhelmed by the process, ask yourself: “Am I willing to feel a little uncomfortable for just one week to establish a whole new level of clarity and shared expectation surrounding an entire year of work?”

For the ambitious IT pro, the answer is clear.