We want our scorecard targets to stretch our team, but setting them too high is causing our people to burn out and ignore the red metrics because they feel the goals are impossible. How do we establish weekly scorecard targets that are aggressive yet realistic?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Setting scorecard targets is a balancing act between driving growth and maintaining team morale. When targets are set arbitrarily high, they lose their power because the team stops taking them seriously, assuming they will fail anyway. To set targets that motivate rather than discourage, base them on historical performance and capacity, not on wishful thinking. Start by looking at your last thirteen weeks of data to find your baseline average. If your sales team average is five new bookings a week, do not set the weekly target at ten just because you want to grow. Set the target at six, which is a slight stretch but entirely achievable. The goal is to establish a level of performance that represents a good, healthy week for the business. A target should be hit about eighty to ninety percent of the time if the person in that seat is doing their job well. If a target is missed, it should trigger a constructive discussion, not a punishment. If a metric is consistently red because the target was set based on an unrealistic annual goal, bring the target back down to earth during your next quarterly meeting. Keep your targets grounded in operational reality so your team respects the numbers and stays focused on hitting them.