If you want to improve or progress any element of your organisation, is it fundamental that you set effective goals and targets.

‘SMART’, is a globally adopted technique that creates a criteria that aims to provide effective target setting.

SMART was outlined back in 1981 by George T. Doran, who noticed that many business goals were too diffuse to have a meaningful impact.

Described “A SMART Way to Write Management's Goals and Objectives.” SMART Targets or SMART Goals, provide modern professionals with unified way of driving improvement projects.

SMART targets are a powerful framework for setting clear, actionable, and achievable goals.

It does this by ensuring goals are well-defined, helping improve focus and accountability, to ultimately lead to better performance and results.

So how do SMART Targets work?

SMART stands for: Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Relevant - Time-bound.

Every goal you create should be dictated by these five parameters, by asking yourself five key questions.

What are we trying to achieve? (Specific)

How will we know when we’ve achieved it (Measurable)

Is it realistic and how will we accomplish it? (Achievable or Attainable)

Why do we need to achieve it? (Relevant)

What is the deadline for this goal? (Timely or Time-bound or Targetable)

Let’s break down the five criteria’s.

Specific

A goal must be clear and well-defined. The specifics within your goals, will be heavily linked to your KPI’s and determining strategies.

The more specific your goal, the easier it will be to understand exactly what needs to be done.

Setting specific targets is essential because they act as the cornerstone for all other criteria.

By setting clear goals, you lay the groundwork for tackling problem statements and aligning intentions. Defining your "why” provides focus and purpose.

This vision will guide your decisions and actions, allowing you to understand the problem you are solving with your improvement strategy.

Specificity ensures clarity, making it easier to measure progress and adjust strategies in the short and long-term.

With well-defined targets, you can stay on track, solve problems effectively, and achieve meaningful results.

Vague Goal: “Improve customer experience”

Specific Goal: "Improve customer experience by reducing the response time to customer support tickets”.

Why is this specific?

• What needs to be done: Reduce response time.

• Who is involved: Customer support team.

• Why: Receiving complaints due to slow response to customer support tickets.

• How it will be done: Reducing the times of customer support tickets.

How To Make Your Goals Specific

To make your goals specific, you need to ask yourself:

• What exactly do you want to accomplish?

• Who is involved?

• Where is it going to happen?

• Why is it important?

• What are the key actions or steps?

Measurable

A goal needs to be measurable in order to track progress and determine when it needs to be accomplished.

By identifying clear criteria, you can easily assess how close you are to achieving your goal. This allows for accountability throughout the process, as well as a definitive exiting success criteria.

A goal must be measurable to track progress and know when it has been achieved. This helps assess if you're on the right path and how successful you’ve been.

As Mr Deming’s quote suggests, “Without data you’re just another person with an opinion.”

Measuring goals is crucial because it allows you to track progress and determine whether you're on the right path.

Without exiting success criteria targets and goals are meaningless. As you will have no proof that the actions being put in place are effective.

With all projects and initiatives, being adaptable is crucial.

When testing new ideas in a dynamic environment, the ability to measure outcomes of your inputs is essential.

By setting measurable criteria and KPI’s, you can assess how close you are to achieving your goal, identify areas for improvement in order to adjust your strategy if needed.

It also helps maintain motivation, as seeing tangible progress reinforces your commitment. This is a core strategy when deploying projects through large cross-functional teams.

Ultimately, accurate and relevant data provides clear feedback, making it easier to stay focused and achieve the desired outcome.

Measurable Goal:

"Improve customer experience by reducing the response time to customer support tickets from 48 hours to 12 hours, tracked by monthly reports on response times."

Why is this measurable?

• The goal specifies a numeric target (reduce from 48 hours to 12 hours).

• Success can be tracked through monthly reports on response times.

• You'll know you've achieved the goal when the response time consistently meets the 12-hour target.

How To Make Your Goal Measurable

To make sure your goal is measurable, consider:

• How will you know if you've reached your goal?

• What metrics will you use?

• What will success look like?

• What data collection techniques and tools can be incorporated?

Achievable

A goal must be realistic and attainable. While it's important to set challenging goals, they should be within your capacity to achieve, given the resources available.

Setting achievable goals ensures they are realistic and within your capabilities.

The main reason projects and initiatives fall through flat is because an overwhelming scope cripples an organisations ability to progress.

By making goals attainable, you can create a clear plan of action with the right resources and effort needed.

This boosts confidence and motivation, as you’re more likely to succeed when the goal is challenging but possible.

Achievable goals also encourage steady progress, focusing on quick wins will help you build momentum and stay focused on long-term success.

Achievable Goal:

"Improve customer experience by reducing the response time to customer support tickets from 48 hours to 12 hours, with the implementation of a new ticketing system and additional team training."

Why is this achievable?

• The goal considers necessary resources (new ticketing system and additional training).

• It outlines strategies (ticketing system upgrade and training) to overcome any potential challenges.

• The target is realistic, given the resources and time available. (In concept).

How To Make Your Goals Achievable

To make your goals achievable , you need to ask yourself:

• Do you have the resources to achieve this goal?

• Can the team realistically reach this target given the constraints?

• What obstacles might you face, and how can they be overcome?

• Adopt SWOT

Relevant

Make goals align with broader business objectives.

This means setting relevant goals that align with your values, priorities, and long-term objectives.

When goals are relevant, they motivate you to stay focused, as they directly contribute to what truly matters to you and your organisation.

This alignment helps you use your time and energy efficiently, avoiding distractions and efforts that don’t support your main aspirations.

Relevant goals also ensure that your actions are meaningful, leading to a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment as you work towards achieving them.

When goals are appropriately relevant and target the specific pain points of your organization, inputted efforts will result in successful, meaningful improvements.

Relevant Goal:

"Improve customer experience by reducing the response time to customer support tickets from 48 hours to 12 hours, as faster response times directly correlate with higher customer satisfaction and retention rates."

Why is this relevant?

• This goal aligns with the company's broader objectives of improving customer satisfaction and increasing retention.

• Reducing response time is directly connected to enhancing the customer experience, a core business priority.

How To Make Your Goals Relevant

To make your goals relevant, you need to ask yourself:

• Is this goal aligned with your broader business objectives?

• Why is this goal worth pursuing?

• Will this goal benefit our organisation/shareholders?

• Should we focus on short-term fixes or long-term development?

• Adopt Balanced Scorecards

Time-bound

The Time-Bound criterion in SMART goals ensures that tasks have a clear deadline, preventing procrastination and unnecessary expansion of work.

By setting a specific timeframe, you create urgency and focus, forcing efficiency and productivity.

When planning your goals, align timelines with the nature of your project.

Ensure short-term projects drive fast action, but allow long-term projects the time to evolve and develop.

Having a defined time frame allows you to track progress and make adjustments if necessary, ensuring you stay on course to meet your objectives.

Ever heard of ‘Parkinson’s Law’?

Parkinson’s Law and the Time-Bound aspect of SMART goals both emphasize the importance of deadlines in driving efficiency.

Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion, meaning that without a strict deadline, tasks can take longer than necessary.

Combining the two helps ensure that work is completed within a set period, avoiding wasted time and effort.

Ultimately, time-bound goals help maintain momentum and increase your chances of success.

Time-bound Goal:

"Improve customer experience by reducing the response time to customer support tickets from 48 hours to 12 hours by the end of the quarter, tracked by monthly reports."

Why is this time-bound?

• The goal has a clear deadline (end of the quarter).

• The time frame (3 months) creates a sense of urgency and helps focus efforts.

• Monthly reports will track progress toward the goal, keeping the team on track

How To Make Your Goals Time-bound

A goal must have a clear deadline or time frame to create a sense of urgency and help keep the team focused.

To make your goals time-bound, you need to ask yourself:

• What is the deadline?

• When do you want to achieve the goal?

• Is there a critical pathway that this goal will affect?

• Is this project a short term solution or a long term goal?

Summary

Implementing SMART in your organization ensures clear and actionable goals, which are essential for driving success.

By making objectives Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, you enhance focus and accountability.

This framework enables teams to track progress more efficiently, stay motivated, and make adjustments when necessary.

As a result, SMART helps improve decision-making, boost productivity, and significantly increases the chances of meeting organizational goals.