Applying specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound SMART goals will help us be more productive and achieve significantly higher results at work.
SMART goals help managers specifically orient the working path for the staff to optimize the results achieved for the business. However, not all managers accurately understand SMART goals and the principles of effective SMART goal setting. Therefore, Navigos Search will explain and give visual examples of this problem in the article below.
1. What are SMART goals?
SMART goals are a combination of five elements, namely Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
In the studying and working process, we all have to set goals for ourselves. This increases initiative and is also a measure to evaluate each person's progress. There are many principles of goal setting, with the SMART principle being the most prominent one.
Find out about the concept of smart goals
2. Elements of SMART goals
Specific
The bigger the goal is, the more specific it needs to be. Don't set vague or general goals. For example, if you want to get to the head of department position, set a specific target of "I will improve my expertise, gain experience, sharpen my skills", instead of "I will try". The more explicit the goal is, the higher the feasibility is. Once you determine what you want, you will know what you must do to achieve it quickly.
Measurable
The success of a job or project will depend a lot on the ability to measure. When setting your goals based on smart goals, you should include targets associated with specific numbers. For instance, if you want to get a CFA certificate, you must get a high score, so what is a high score? Is it 800? 900? or 990?? What is high for you? Giving specific numbers will increase your effort.
Attainable
You have to set goals that can be achieved according to your ability. Going back to setting a goal as a department head, you should not aim to accumulate how much professional knowledge and experience every day while the absorption is limited. Instead, break it down into many small targets, learn day by day, month by month, even year by year. You will achieve the big goal by completing the small goal over time.
Relevant
Practicality also needs to correspond to the ability to attain. Take into account the factors that increase the reality of your goals such as implementation costs, manpower, and time. For example, what are the SMART goals if you want to study abroad in Europe? They are personal finance, travel expenses, accommodation costs, and health.
Time-bound
Implementation time affects your likelihood of success and also leverages your efforts. For instance, when you desire to advance to the manager position, determine how long you will strive to achieve this position. Building a time frame for implementation and increasing discipline will help you adjust the time reasonably to accomplish your goals quickly.
5 key elements of SMART goals
3. SMART goal meaning
Meaning
As mentioned, SMART stands for 5 components, including Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Each goal setting principle has its own meaning, namely:
- Specific: What are you aiming for? What do you want to achieve after completing the goal? How do you implement that goal?
- Measurable: What level is your goal at? What level do you need to achieve?
- Achievable: Can you achieve your goal? Does the goal discourage you? Do you give up midway through the rollout?
- Realistic: Are you qualified to implement your goal? What about yourself doesn't fit the current situation?
- Time - bound: How long will the goal take? When is the end time? Is that time appropriate?
Examples of applying SMART goals in sales
- Specific: The product that Business A wants to sell is thermos bottles in stock. Business A's plan will be to live stream on social networking platforms such as Tiktok or Fan Page and apply the form of free shipping and additional gifts.
- Measurable: There are still about 2000 thermos bottles in stock including 1000ml and 1500ml, and the business decided to sell all within 2 weeks.
- Achievable: Users tend to use thermos bottles because of their outstanding features.
- Realistic: The business has carefully prepared resources, means, and distribution channels for online sales and has enough "health" to implement. With the current trend, if free shipping and additional gifts are applied, it's possible to achieve the goal.
- Time-Bound: Company A wants to sell out all 2000 thermos within 2 weeks. This is a reasonable time frame given the current resource situation and thorough preparation from the unit.
It’s critical to set clear SMART goals
4. How to set SMART goals effectively
There are heaps of ways to set and implement goals, requiring your efforts and thinking. As a manager, you can also refer to the following basic steps of setting SMART goals:
Define long-term goals
The long-term goal of an enterprise is often the vision and mission of that unit. Setting short and medium-term goals must be connected to each other, contributing to helping businesses achieve long-term goals.
Brainstorm and imagine when setting goals based on the SMART principle. It will be like a ladder helping your business gradually improve its position and reach the long-term goals as expected.
Make a priority choice
Businesses desire to achieve heaps of goals. However, the company's financial and human resources are limited. Therefore, you must base on the business's current situation to prioritize the most crucial goals and implement them first. Targets that are less important or not too urgent can be implemented later.
Make priorities SMART goals
Your business development priorities need to be concretized into SMART principles with 5 criteria, including Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Once you turn your priorities into SMART goals, you'll define and specify the tasks to be performed and the goals to be achieved. Your staff will directly implement those goals with a specific and practical plan.
Share SMART goals with the whole team
Once you set a clear SMART goal, share it with all team members to help them understand what to aim for and strive for. Proper effort helps improve concentration, motivates work, and enhances the performance of each member. Thus, you can collect input from members to adjust SMART goals more realistically.
Managers should not impose SMART principles in setting goals for the whole team as what they think is right and appropriate may not be completely accurate. Listen to everyone's opinions and views to set SMART goals most effectively.
Align goals with a responsible leader
It takes many hands to connect and mobilize resources to achieve goals, but it only needs a goal's owner who is responsible for it. If you let many people own and take responsibility for the target, it is easy to lead to the transfer of responsibility and ambiguity about the role of each member.
Setting effective goals to guide the work of your staff from the beginning will help your business save costs and optimize resources.
Principles of effective SMART goal setting
If you want to know more information, discuss the principles of SMART goal setting, or get advice on effective recruitment and human resource management, don't hesitate to contact us. Our experts are always willing to accompany you.
With over 20 years of experience in middle and high-level recruitment, we know what businesses want to achieve in their personnel. To choose the right person for the right job, businesses must pay attention right from the stage of recruitment. However, in the face of the fierce competition for talent in the current labor market, it's not easy to recruit potential candidates.
The appearance of recruitment service through headhunter as the golden solution for businesses that need to recruit high-level personnel. In particular, Navigos Search is currently Vietnam's leading headhunter brand in with many outstanding features:
- Possessing a massive data volume of 375,000+ senior candidates, 85,000+ senior management candidates is the biggest advantage that helps our headhunters assist companies in recruiting high-level candidates in all fields..
- Our consultants are experienced professionals who always accurately grasp the recruitment requirements of the business. Based on a methodical working process, they will conduct a thorough search, exchange, and interview and provide you with the most appropriate and potential candidates.
- We assign a dedicated team to support all your business requirements. Search results will be retained with a high rate of finding suitable candidates.
- Our consultants will accompany your businesses in interview rounds to select the most suitable and potential candidates.
- After the candidate is selected, we will continue to closely support businesses in other necessary stages to aim for "Success after joining" to achieve sustainable development.
- With more than 20 years of experience in "hunting for talent", we have helped hundreds of thousands of businesses and corporations get the best quality personnel.
Navigos Search- Vietnam's leading high-level personnel recruitment company
With outstanding features in the high-level recruitment market, Navigos Search always strives to help candidates and businesses reach their dreams through the number 1 professional recruitment service in Vietnam! Don't hesitate to contact us if your business is looking for talented staff for middle and senior positions.
Hopefully, with the above sharing and a cool head, setting smart goals will no longer be difficult for managers on the way to helping businesses reach the pinnacle of success. Thank you for always taking the time to follow us!
Navigos Search - Vietnam's leading middle and high-level talent hunting company