Getting Started Guide to ObjectiveManager

This guide is designed to walk you through the basic features in ObjectiveManager. It is split into four chapters that can be revisited whenever you need.

What is ObjectiveManager?

ObjectiveManager is a performance improvement tool, that enhances & brings transparency to your business planning & objective setting process. You can learn more about ObjectiveManager using our online help guide.

You should have already received an e-mail from our support team which contains a link to ObjectiveManager, your username and password. If you have difficulty opening your account, here is an online help guide for resetting your password.

If your firm uses a single sign-on approach, then you will not need to enter your username or password (single sign-on automatically logs you in, based on your computer login details).

Once you have logged in to your ObjectiveManager account, you can start finding your way around ObjectiveManager and searching for other people or business plans.

There are three main areas of interest on your homepage:

Main Page Tabs - These three tabs contain your Homepage, your Objectives and the Search options on ObjectiveManager.

Shortcut Dropdown - Access to your Objectives, Competencies, Development Needs, all your Tasks and any Plans you belong to.

Quick Search - The quick search bar allows you to search for anything related to your chosen keyword/s on ObjectiveManager.

You will also find a set of 'Getting Started' links on your homepage. These shortcuts will help you to complete some of the key actions within ObjectiveManager, acting as a checklist as you complete certain activities. This guide is designed to show the minimum expectation, not a limit (for example - you may have more than 4 objectives, even though the image above indicates '4 objectives to add').

Advanced Searching on ObjectiveManager

On the Search tab you can search for a particular person, find a different client/sector/business plan, or look at the objectives of other fee earners, colleagues or partners around the firm.

Try navigating the application and search for at least one of your colleagues on ObjectiveManager. The next chapter will focus on adding and editing your objectives.

If you would like to learn more, please watch this video:  What is ObjectiveManager

Use ObjectiveManager to add your first objective - it is very intuitive. You can find a step-by-step guide to adding objectives in our online help directory. Add at least one of your objectives to ObjectiveManager today.

You will often hear or see references to SMART objectives on ObjectiveManager.The Quality Rating for objectives helps you to easily see if your objectives are SMART and transparent. You can find an explanation of the Quality Rating on our online help guide.

You can also use the 'Getting Started' guide to quickly access your objectives page. As you add your first set of objectives, you will notice this guide will change to reflect the objectives you have added. 

Editing your Objectives

Try to add at least one of your Objectives to ObjectiveManager today. You can edit an objective at any time, allowing for adjustments to be made without rewriting a whole new objective.

The next chapter will look at managing your objectives with Tasks and Progress Updates.

If you would like to learn more, please watch this video:  Adding your objectives

When you have objectives on ObjectiveManager, you can manage them throughout the year with Tasks and Progress Updates.

The steps that you plan to take, showing how you plan to achieve your objective, are known as Tasks. Here's some guidance for adding a task.

Progress Updates

As you work towards your objective throughout the year, you can add progress updates, showing the movement towards achieving objectives.

When you have made significant progress towards your objective, select the relevant objective and click Add Progress. Try selecting one of your own objectives and add a progress update.

A good progress update is not about day to day activities, but the key movement towards an objective. Adding progress updates once a month is a guideline frequency to follow.

For shared objectives, it is important to remember that other people will see the update on their homepage when they log in.

When you complete a task on ObjectiveManager, you have the choice to also add progress update. This can often prove useful as the tasks may have been written several weeks/months previously.

As you add progress updates to your objectives, you will see the Getting Started guide* automatically updates to reflect this. Once you have posted the minimum number of updates, your Getting Started guide will no longer show a reminder to post progress updates. 

That concludes this chapter. The next and final part of this article is about collaborating with others.

If you would like to learn more, please watch this video:  Managing your objectives

*The Getting Started guide is an optional feature on ObjectiveManager. Not all firms use this.

As you collaborate with others throughout the year, you can both give and receive feedback using ObjectiveManager. This feedback will be included in the recipient's end of year review forms.

To give feedback, search for the person you are providing feedback for on ObjectiveManager and click Give Feedback. Feedback is stored within the relevant objective. Feedback is always confidential. Only the recipient and their Lead Reviewer can see feedback that you give.

As well as giving feedback to others, you can get feedback from anyone on ObjectiveManager, which will contribute to your end of year review form. The only other people that can see your feedback are the person providing the feedback and your Lead Reviewer. You also have the option to provide general feedback, that is not directly linked to any objective.

Following Others

To make collaboration easier for you, ObjectiveManager gives you the ability to follow other objectives, people or plans.

When you find other people on ObjectiveManager that share common objectives or tasks with you, it is easy to follow either one of their objectives or the person. This will keep you notified of any progress that is made. You can either follow a specific objective or you can choose to follow every objective on a page.

The benefit of following other objectives, people or plans is that you are kept informed and it can lead to opportunities that support your own objectives.

As you have seen previously, the "Getting Started" guide will reflect your current progress with following others and providing feedback. Selecting either 'People' or 'Feedback' from the guide (as shown in the image above) will take you to the search tab. This allows you to find people that will be valuable to follow, or people you can share feedback with.

If you would like to learn more, please watch this video:  Searching and collaborating

That concludes your introduction to ObjectiveManager. You have now seen the core functions available to you, which will support you as you work to achieving your objectives.

You can contact our support team support@objectivemanager.com with any queries or suggestions.

Many Thanks

The ObjectiveManager Team