Set SMART Goals for Your Staff

by | Dec 6, 2013 | Employers Tips

When it comes to setting goals, only around 7% of employees understand how to achieve organizational goals. Your business probably needs to train employees on how goals are set. A popular technique is to set SMART goals, where SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely goals.

Getting SMART with your goal-setting!Goal

1st Part: Specific

Organisational goals need to be specific. Identify what needs to be done and communicate it clearly. It should answer the what? why? who? at a minimum. For example, an ordinary and less specific goal may be “To increase productivity”. Make the goal clearer, such as “To increase productivity by designing, launching and monitoring a 2-way performance feedback system, designed to involve the whole team with organisational goals”

2nd Part: Measurable

Make your goals measurable and you can then evaluate how effectively your employees achieve these goals. Be precise, such as “Increase the percentage of performance reviews being completed and documented by the target date from 40% to 70% on year 1 and 90% at year 2.  You may need to have several of these, but make sure the outcome can be measured.

3rd Part: Attainable

Since pigs rarely fly, keep your goals realistic.  Can your team reach the target? “To be among the top ten companies of the world” is more of a wish than a goal because the element of “how” is missing. Perhaps “To be among the world’s top ten companies by hiring the best talent and providing world-class training for them” nails the project’s mission better.

SMART Goals4th Part: Relevant

Keep it real!  Achievable goals will depend on various factors such as the size of the organisation, human resources, the nature of your business, etc. Don’t end up struggling to achieve goals that does not match. A relevant goal may be “to recruit a diverse workforce to meet the needs of the organisation”

5th Part: Time Bound

Organisational goals need a specific deadline. Communicate this deadline to your employees. “Increase the percentage of employees who indicate that they and the majority of our team understand and live the values of our organisation, as measured by survey to 70%  by 1st April this year”

 

How We Can Help!

If you would like assistance in developing your strategic plan contact us today!

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