How to help your employees set SMART goals

Improving performance and developing employees professionally requires a fair bit of planning. You may want to set goals with your employees so they have something to work towards, but sometimes we set goals that can be too broad or unattainable which can be discouraging to employees. To set goals that are created in a way that helps your employee achieve them and benefits your business, you should try to set these as SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

S: Specific – Be specific. Make sure it is clear what you want to achieve and why it is important.

M: Measured – Make sure you will be able to measure the progress towards achieving the goal. This will help you keep people on track to meet their goals.

A: Achievable – Set goals that are realistic and achievable. Consider if someone would be able to achieve that goal in their current personal situation or with their current skillset?

R: Relevant – Make sure the goals are relevant to the person and your business. How does this goal help you get where you want or achieve other goals?

T: Time-bound – Identify what time you want to have the goal achieved by, or what time frame you want it achieved in. This will create a sense of urgency and motivate them to achieve their goal.

SMART goals are great tools that may help aid with the development of your workforce. Here are some examples of how you could set out SMART goals to develop your staff:

Example goal 1: Mentoring for a new hire

You are a learning and development coordinator at an accountancy firm. Alex is a graduate accountant who joined your organisation a month ago. Alex is new to the industry and has not had much work experience. Alex’s supervisor has come to you with concerns about Alex’s productivity, with longer than average times taken to deliver outcomes for someone of their skill level. Alex’s supervisor believes that Alex’s work is hindered by their reserved nature, and Alex could be working more productively if they took the time to ask for help.

Alex’s supervisor has requested that you assist Alex with improving their performance. You decide to assign Alex a mentor that can help them grow their network within the organisation, so they are able to leverage the knowledge of those around them to improve their work. Your goal for Alex is for them to feel more confident and take more initiative to ask for help, thereby increasing their productivity to the level that would be expected.

Specific – The aim is for Alex will grow their skills by working with a mentor, an accountant at your organisation who has 2 years of experience. They will meet once a week to chat and guide them through being resourceful and identifying how to access the support they need.

Measurable – At the end of the mentoring period, you will collect feedback from Alex’s supervisor on their productivity, and measure the time taken to deliver outcomes. This is to determine if Alex is working at a productivity level that is expected of their skill level.

Achievable –Alex will be allowed 1 hour per week to meet with their mentor. The mentor will be an experienced accountant who will help Alex learn a few strategies for handling difficult work tasks and approaching people to seek help in the workplace.

Relevant – The aim is mentoring will help Alex become more independent and know who to seek help from when they encounter an issue. The aim is to boost Alex’s productivity and be an asset to the business. This may also put them in a position to mentor others in the future.

Time-bound – The mentoring period will be 6 months, after which you will evaluate Alex’s progress.

Example goal 2: Short course for professional development

You are the store manager of a retail store with 12 employees. Terry is the assistant manager who has been working in this role for two years. Terry was promoted after three years of being a supervisor because they were a fantastic problem solver who got things done.

Terry gets along exceptionally well with everyone but isn’t the best at managing people. You have noticed that Terry tends to avoid performance management of their team and leaves the difficult conversations to you. Your goal for Terry is to improve their workplace leadership skills and become an effective team manager and proactive leader.

Specific – Terry will improve their leadership and team management skills by attending a two-day course on managing difficult conversations and under performance of team members.

Measurable – Terry will need to finish the course with a satisfactory completion and will handle performance reviews for four of the 12 employees during the next quarterly review under your supervision. Terry will then increase this to eight in the next review period.

Achievable – Terry will be allowed two paid days off work to attend the training, and you will also be coaching them on the company process for handling performance reviews.

Relevant – The aim is that Terry will improve their leadership skills with improved team and performance management which will help elevate the standard of work at the store.

Time-bound - You have two days already scheduled for Terry to complete the training and the first round of performance reviews will occur within the next 3 months.

Example goal 3: Qualifications for professional development

You own a cleaning agency and see that Sam has potential to be an integral part of your business expansion plans. Sam has been working with you for four years and been hands-on with all aspects. They are great at their job, and you know that an investment in them is an investment in the business. You offer to help Sam pay for a business qualification so they can grow their skills and help your business develop and expand. Your goal for Sam is to complete this qualification over the next year.

Specific – Sam will upskill by completing a Diploma of Business. The aim is to give Sam skills and knowledge in budgeting, performance management, operational planning, and managing business risk that will aid the expansion of your business.

Measurable – Sam will need to complete at least one unit of the diploma every month.

Achievable – Sam is willing to commit their own spare time into studying and you will also allow them 3 hours paid professional development time every week that they can use to study and complete assessments.

Relevant – The aim is a Diploma of Business will allow Sam to identify gaps in the business operations, places for improvement and a strategy for expansion.

Time-bound - Sam has 12 months to finish the full qualification and must complete 1 unit every month.