When setting annual goals, managers, especially those in the restaurant industry can feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of their overall goals and lose sight of the small steps that bring them to those goals every day. Meeting annual achievement goals for a restaurant's annual performance means that employees must be engaged with meeting the same goals. In order to get their engagement, you will need to share the goals, ask for help in establishing a game plan, and then break down the steps to get there together.

For example, what is easier to get employees to focus on: selling 100 more desserts per week or 5200 more per year? If you have a team of six, each staff member only has to sell three more desserts per day to reach the goal. Inch-long steps can make the miles of the journey seem less stressful and more pleasant.

When you are supportive of your team, they will be supportive of you in return. Ask your employees to share their goals for the year with you. Help them to celebrate successes when they reach their milestones. You can also make reaching goals more fun by having a sales contest in which the winning staff member gets their choice of shifts and doesn't have to roll silverware for a week. Or, you could wash the winner's car yourself.

Put some color and creativity into your goals, and make them visible for employees, to increase daily motivation. Most importantly, don't forget that your good employees are better for your business than gold and should be treated as such.