1. Goals Should Focus on Financials, Client Experience and Professional Development

Employers should set goals for everyone in the organization around financial objectives, client experience and professional development, Russell said, since execution in those three key areas will carry everything else. Each category should contain no more than five bullet points, Russell said.

Also, goals should go beyond an employee's individual silo, Cuthbert said, and tie what the worker is doing to both his or her personal development as well as the broader company goals.

Goals that are established for employees must be clear and measurable, Russell said, and should also be both realistic and address issues of time balance.