SMART Goals |Leila’s House of Corrections

As a manager, do you spend a lot of time telling an employee what to do again and again? If so, you probably haven t written SMART goals for that person.

You re being judged by how well your team performs, so have you actually told them what to do? If not . . . Come on managers, it s time to write SMART goals.

Employees often complain that their managers never tell them exactly what to do: that their managers don t communicate goals. To avoid your employees saying this about you, write and communicate SMART goals.

Here s how to do it.

Tip #1: Describe the task using SMART language.

SMART stands for specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and time bound, and you should use these descriptions when writing and communicating a goal. For example, Joan, I need you to complete your weekly sales report by Monday 12 noon. In that report, include client calls and progress you have made against your quarterly targets.

Tip #2: Make the connection between the big company goals and individual SMART goals.

Don t assume an employee knows how her tasks roll up to the big picture: connect the dots for her. Tell the employee how her work is going to affect the whole company. Doing so will motivate her. Joan, when you accomplish this task, you help the company meet its quarterly revenue goals.

Tip #3: Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

This isn t a onetime thing. To help your team know what to do and how to do it, you need to repeat the message often. Reinforce SMART goals by repeating them and checking in with employees during weekly 1:1 and group meetings. Never assume you re over-communicating about goals no one will accuse you of spending too much time talking about what they need to get done.

Remember managers are evaluated by the work of their teams.

If you don t explain to your employees in SMART language what needs to be accomplished, they aren t going to figure it out on their own. It s as simple as that.