Setting SMART goals for your employees

Setting new goals and objectives for your employees is stage one of the performance management cycle.

Getting this right can have a huge impact on the performance of individual employees and the success of your business. SMART goals have become a universally applicable, and popular method for setting goals that works for almost all types of roles and responsibilities.

To make this even more useful, you can use performance management software to track the progress of your employee goals and review performance metrics.

What are SMART goals?

SMART is an acronym that stands for:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Time-Bound

Providing parameters in which goals and objectives should be set against. This acronym makes it easy for employers to remember the different factors to consider when setting employee goals.

Writing SMART goals

If you are in the planning stages of the performance management cycle, you will be looking for new goals and objectives to set your employees. When doing so, consider if these goals are:

1.     Specific

A goal is specific when it can be clearly understood by all relevant stakeholders. Your employee should not only be informed of their goal but know what this means and how it will be applied within their role.

2.     Measurable

A measurable goal provides quantifiable objectives to work towards. Making it easy for both you and your employee to track progress and review performance.

3.     Achievable

What is considered achievable will differ depending on who you are setting goals for. However, no matter who the goal is for, you should aim to avoid putting too much pressure on employees, potentially damaging team morale and causing burnout.

With the resources, training and opportunities available to them, SMART goals should set to challenge your employees but place them in a position to succeed.

4.     Relevant

Goals should not only be relevant to the job role of your employee but to the wider business. If this is considered, not only will this goal support the professional development of your employee but also the success of your business too.

5.     Time-bound

SMART goals should be set according to a timeframe. This gives your employee a goal post to work towards. Allowing them the time to make a difference to their performance and achievements.

Examples of SMART goals

These examples provide a clear demonstration of how SMART goals should be applied to different roles. Offering a template for which you should follow when setting your own employee goals and objectives:

• Increase customer sales by 20% over the next six months with training and investment into recruitment for new sales team members.

• Increase social media followers by 10% across all channels over the next year by posting more frequently and engaging with relevant audiences at least once per day.

• Improve customer satisfaction rates by 25% by handling customer complaints within a maximum timeframe of 3 days.

By following the framework, it’s possible to create different types of goals, with time-based targets and measurable objectives for a range of employees.

How to support your employees to achieve their goals

Communicate regularly

While your performance appraisals occur once or twice a year, nothing is stopping you from having more frequent one-to-one meetings. These can be more informal discussions to engage with your employees and to ensure that they are still comfortable working towards their current goals.

Prioritise feedback

Feedback from both employee to manager and vice versa is an essential part of the entire performance management process. If an employee is not happy with their goals, they should be encouraged to speak up. Meanwhile, managers should provide feedback to support employees on their journey to achieving their goals.

Provide resources

In order to give your employees, the best possible chance of achieving their SMART goals and objectives, resources and tools may be required. This could include training programmes, courses, or access to new digital solutions.

Encourage collaboration

For employees working within smaller departments or teams, collaboration can be an excellent tool for driving development. By encouraging team members to support one another, you can promote and foster a positive workplace culture that prioritises personal and professional growth.

Reasons to use goals and objectives for performance management

Setting goals in the workplace helps to drive and motivate employees. With the intention of improving performance and achieving success across your business.

Goals, no matter how big or small, give employees a sense of belonging and ownership of their work. They provide greater clarity of their expectations and the importance of their position within your business. A team that is working towards both individual and shared goals is more likely to succeed.

Set and track goals with BrightHR’S performance management software

Performance management software helps to digitalise and centralise the goal setting and tracking process. Providing features that offer a clear view of employee progress.

BrightHR’s performance management tool places performance management at your fingertips. Available online both on desktop and available through our app, it’s easier than ever to create clear SMART goals and objectives, track employee performance and so much more!

Book a free demo with our team today to discover the many incredible features our award-winning HR software can offer your business.