Creating SMART objectives should be a collaborative process which will ensure the objective is well understood and the team member is more likely to take ownership of them
Specific
It is clear what the objective is and why it matters to the company, team or individual or all three. There should be a sense of urgency created and if you can’t do this and you have to ask yourself if it is a real meaningful objective. If you want the team member to take a specific approach then spell this out. It is critical to take the time to make sure the objective does not get lost in translation and that the scope is mutually understood.
Measurable
How will you measure success? Include milestones for the longer term objectives and be clear about what the expected outcomes are. Also think about qualitative and quantitative measures. For example:
- Objective: Recruit 5 new team members by the end of September 2020.
Quality Measures: You can demonstrate that you used a fair and objective selection process. You involved team members and relevant peers in the process. The new team members had a satisfactory candidate experience based on direct feedback.
Quantity Measures: All 5 new team members have accepted their offer and agreed start dates.
All recruitment costs are within the authorised recruitment budget.
Achievable
This does not mean that they should be easy and cannot be a challenge, but they have to be achievable with a reasonable amount of effort. As managers you need to discuss potential obstacles and help to remove these barriers e.g. training, technical support,
Relevant
This is actually 2 R’s: Relevant and resonates – this is really important. All individuals tend to do their best if they really understand why the objective matters. As a manager, you should be able to create a sense of urgency around the objective, if you can’t, you have to ask yourself if the objective is relevant. You also need to make sure that the objective resonates with the team member. For example, does it definitely fit into their role and responsibilities, will it enhance their own experience and help to achieve their ambitions whilst making a contribution to the business’s success?
At review time, the main reason why people don’t achieve their objectives is that they did not truly understand why it was important or more important than their ‘day job’.
Time-bound
Very long term objectives without milestones tend to get lost in the process. Short to medium term goals ensure focus and drive a sense of achievement which in turn will cause excitement and motivation to achieve the next objective. This is not because team members don’t understand the long term objective but it is much harder to keep updated on progress and measure success for long term objectives that may change or become irrelevant. So, try to keep the objectives to one to three months which will fit in nicely to quarterly review conversation.