Using Smart Objectives

Train | Using SMART Objectives

As businesses continue to struggle to combat the current skills gap in construction, development and upskilling of staff has never been so important. With this, businesses must ensure that Continuous Personal Development Plans (CPD) include a clear strategy and structure so that both the employee and employer have a clear pathway for training and end goals. This can be achieved by adopting SMART objectives.

What does SMART mean?

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Using this acronym when setting goals or objectives for staff creates an environment of accountability for both the employee and employer as well as ensuring that there is clear understanding of development plans.

SPECIFIC

Specific objectives create a clear aim for employees. Vague goals or objectives can hinder any real progress or development as an employee will be unclear of what is expected of them.

A question to ask yourself when setting an objective: Is the objective clear and precise?

MEASURABLE

Ensuring that objectives are measurable means both the employee and employer can track progress and determine whether the objective has been achieved.

A question to ask yourself when setting an objective: Does the objective say what success will look like and how it will be measured?

ACHIEVABLE

Objectives that can’t be seen as achievable set employees up for a fall. Unrealistic objectives will never be successful and risk having a direct impact on employee morale and productivity

A question to ask yourself when setting an objective: Is the objective realistically achievable (but not too easily) taking into account timeframe, resources and support that is available?

RELEVANT

Objectives must be relevant both to the employee’s development journey as well as the overall business objectives.

A question to ask yourself when setting an objective: Is the objective relevant to what the business and/or team need to achieve?

TIMEBOUND

By setting clear deadlines within objectives it is possible to give employees a clear timeframe and expectation of achievement.

A question to ask yourself when setting an objective: Has a specific date been agreed for when the objective should be completed?