Is there a difference between setting goals for your on-site employees and your remote workforce? While the fundamentals of goal-setting apply to both, there are key differences that managers and business leaders should keep in mind—especially in a post-pandemic world where hybrid and fully remote teams are more common than ever.
Whether employees are working from the office or from their home offices across the globe, goal alignment with the company’s vision and mission is non-negotiable. In both scenarios, employees are more motivated and productive when they understand how their individual contributions connect to broader business objectives.
However, remote work presents its own set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to employee goal-setting. From varying time zones to feelings of isolation, remote employees often need a more nuanced, flexible approach.
Here’s how to optimize your goal-setting process for a remote workforce, while keeping best practices in place for your on-site team.
First and foremost, whether your team is remote, hybrid, or on-site, it’s essential that their goals align with the company’s long-term strategy. When employees understand how their individual and team goals support the company’s broader mission, they are more likely to feel purpose-driven and engaged.
For example, goals like “reduce churn by 10% this quarter” or “expand market reach in Q3” are easier to contextualize when employees can see the strategic bigger picture.
For remote workers especially, this alignment combats the disconnect that can occur when day-to-day tasks feel disjointed from organizational goals. It’s the leader’s job to bridge that gap.
Remote teams are often more diverse and geographically dispersed, with varying work styles, cultural norms, and personal routines. As LinkedIn points out, a “one-size-fits-all” approach rarely works for remote teams.
Customizing the goal-setting process ensures everyone feels seen and supported.
Understand each employee’s personality and preferred communication style.
Be sensitive to regional or time zone constraints.
Tailor expectations and check-ins based on the employee’s strengths and work environment.
The result? Stronger engagement and more buy-in from your remote workforce.
Whether your team is remote or in-office, vague goals like “increase sales” or “improve team collaboration” are unlikely to drive results. Instead, apply the SMART framework to goal-setting:
Specific: What exactly needs to be done?
Measurable: How will success be quantified?
Achievable: Is this realistic based on available resources?
Relevant: Does this goal align with team and company objectives?
Time-Bound: When is the deadline?
For remote employees, this added structure eliminates ambiguity and creates clear performance expectations, which is especially important when managers can’t observe day-to-day activities directly.
Consistent, multi-channel communication is the lifeblood of remote goal-setting. Unlike on-site employees who benefit from spontaneous hallway chats or impromptu meetings, remote employees rely entirely on digital communication.
Managers should use a mix of tools—email, video calls, chat apps, project management platforms—to ensure alignment and accountability.
Host weekly or biweekly check-ins
Use shared dashboards or OKR tracking software
Celebrate progress and call out wins in team channels
The result? Improved clarity, stronger relationships, and a culture of accountability across the remote workforce.
While individual performance goals are vital, shared or team-based goals can help remote employees feel more connected to one another—even when they’re physically apart.
According to Culture Amp, this kind of goal-setting creates a sense of interdependence, improving team cohesion and productivity. However, it’s important to avoid creating unnecessary friction in distributed environments.
Pro Tip:
Ensure that any shared goals allow for individual autonomy. Avoid assigning tasks that require coordination outside of someone’s standard working hours or that rely too heavily on synchronous collaboration.
One of the top challenges facing remote managers is keeping employees engaged and emotionally connected to the company. Without regular touchpoints, remote workers can quickly feel isolated or adrift.
Establish a cadence for check-ins, whether weekly, biweekly, or monthly, and use these moments to:
Track progress toward goals
Offer coaching or resources
Identify obstacles
Reconnect to long-term objectives
Don’t treat these check-ins like performance reviews. Think of them as touchpoints for motivation, reflection, and alignment.
Just like their in-office peers, remote workers are ambitious and driven by opportunities to grow. According to research, employees are most engaged when they feel their work contributes to both the company’s success and their personal development.
Take the time to align employee goals with their career aspirations:
Ask where they see themselves in one year, three years, or five years
Identify skills they want to develop
Look for stretch goals or mentorship opportunities
By linking individual goals to a longer-term career plan, you create stronger employee buy-in and improve retention—especially important when managing a remote or hybrid workforce.
Effective goal-setting requires more than copying and pasting objectives across departments or teams. Especially with remote workers, it demands empathy, personalization, and clarity. The more you treat your employees like individuals—with unique work styles, motivations, and challenges—the more likely they are to thrive.
At the end of the day, remote goal-setting best practices are still rooted in clarity, communication, and connection. The method may change—but the mission remains the same.
Join a peer advisory group with The Alternative Board (TAB) to gain insights from fellow business leaders navigating the same challenges. Get expert coaching, proven goal-setting strategies, and real-world advice to help your team—and your business—reach its highest potential.
As we have noted before, “Employees want to improve performance and feel more valued by the organization.” They are also motivated by the belief “that career advancement within the company is a genuine possibility.” This can help boost greater engagement and retention for both on-site and remotely based employees.
Want to learn more about improving employee performance in 2024 and beyond? Download our free TAB Boss webinar, “Employee Motivation that Works.”