Tips For Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Two people meeting at desk Dear HR: I’m in the process of developing 2024 performance goals with several of my employees but am unsure how to make them into S.M.A.R.T. goals. They don’t have easily defined metrics like number of calls answered or customers served. Do you have suggestions on writing S.M.A.R.T. goals?

S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely and by creating S.M.A.R.T. goals you help set clear expectations and priorities for your employees. You also ensure that their progress can be assessed with proper Success Measures. Below are some example scenarios to give you an idea of how to create a S.M.A.R.T. goal and a plan of action.

Scenario 1:

Priya is a construction project manager. She frequently works on similar projects but feels like she gets bogged down with the paperwork and planning required for her projects. She also frequently has to extend deadlines because members of her team don’t update her on delays she could potentially expedite.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: Priya will reduce her team’s average time spent in the planning phase by at least 15% across all repeated projects by the start of Q4.
Plan of action: Priya will work with her team to create budget and timeline templates for their two most frequently repeated project categories by April.
Why is this goal relevant? Priya’s team can free up time for more projects or other essential tasks by streamlining their planning process.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: Priya will reduce average project delay times for her team by 10% by the end of Q2.
Plan of action: Priya will ensure that 90% of supervisees have completed knowledge checks for proper channels of communication regarding project delays by the end of Q1.
Why is this goal relevant? Priya’s team can produce better outcomes for their stakeholders by communicating more effectively and reducing delays.

Scenario 2:

Person sitting in front of computer Matt is a software engineer who does coding on a regular basis. He’s excellent with JavaScript, but his coding abilities with Python are more basic. He also excels at utilizing data management programs and coworkers frequently turn to him as a resource. His work is thorough, but he sometimes struggles to complete it on timelines set forth by his supervisors because he’s frequently interrupted with questions throughout the day.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: Matt will score 80% or higher on the Python skills assessment that he and his manager have chosen by September of this year.
Plan of action: Matt will research Python certificate programs, choose one by February, and enroll by April.
Why is this goal relevant? Matt will be able to complete a wider scope of projects more efficiently by improving his Python coding skills.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: By the end of Q3, Matt will complete 90% of major projects on deadline (unless there is a reasonable extension based on a change in scope of work).
Plan of action: Matt will block focus time on his calendar and set milestones with actionable dates throughout the project within the first 48 hours of being assigned.
Why is this goal relevant? By focusing on his time management skills, Matt will be able to complete projects more efficiently to ensure that his team stays on track.

Scenario 3:

Lee is a correctional officer that would eventually like to become a correctional captain. They’re passionate about educational and vocational programs and have received good feedback on their de-escalation skills. However, they sometimes struggle with stress management related to their workload.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: Lee will increase participation in educational or vocational programs by 15% for the inmates they supervise by December.
Plan of action: Lee will post additional promotional materials on these programs and create talking points on the benefits of participation by March 1.
Why is this goal relevant? Educational and vocational programs are tied to better outcomes for the population that Lee supervises.

S.M.A.R.T. goal: Lee will use a stress tracking tool and target to have their high-level stress days down to two or fewer per week by the end of the year.
Plan of action: Lee will attend a seminar or take a LinkedIn Learning course to gain new skills and strategies related to stress management by April 1.
Why is this goal relevant? Better managing stress can help prevent burnout and increase job satisfaction and productivity.

As you create S.M.A.R.T. goals with your employees, there are some questions you can ask to help you develop performance metrics:

person taking notes at a desk

Can the metric be measured objectively?
Does the metric include a clear statement of the results expected?
Does the metric focus on the effectiveness, quality and/or efficiency of the system being measured?
Does the metric include milestones and/or indicators to express any qualitative criteria?
Are the metrics challenging but at the same time attainable?
Have those who are responsible for the performance being measured been fully involved in the development of this metric?

Here are some additional tips on defining Success Measures for S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Success Measures should be created at the time the goal is set rather than waiting until evaluation to ensure each measure is as objective as possible.
The Success Measure should address the direct outcome expected of a goal and not just what is easy to measure or is already being measured.
Keep success measured limited to the most critical indicators.
A Success Measure should focus on what is within your control, directly or indirectly. The more direct the control, the more accurately you will be able to assess your impact.
Consider multiple measures to assess an outcome.
“Nice to know” data is nice to know but is probably not worth the effort to collect.
Don’t treat metric development as a one-time event. As conditions change so should the metrics, if appropriate.

For more support with creating S.M.A.R.T. goals, refer to the resources below or visit the performance management webpage: