How to Set SMART Goals for your Business
Many businesses regularly set clear goals and objectives that they’ll work toward attaining. The reasons for doing so are usually to gauge the company’s performance or to motivate employees. Surprisingly, many new start-ups do not practice this. Their justification being that for them, the only goal they have is to get new business.
Setting business goals should be an integral part of any enterprise no matter the size. By applying the principles of S.M.A.R.T goal setting, you can put your business on the fast-track to success.
S.M.A.R.T refers to the acronym that describes the key characteristics of meaningful objectives, which are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Specific
Goals must be specific and well-defined. With specific goals, your employees know exactly what results are expected of them. They also serve as a target for them to focus their energies into accomplishing. An example of this can be “to achieve 50% growth in revenue in the current financial year”.
Measurable
Establish precise criteria for measuring progress toward each goal. If your goals are not measurable, it’s difficult to know whether your employees are making progress toward their successful completion. Having a “goal whiteboard” in the office can help as a daily reminder to keep yourself and your employees focused on the company’s targets.
Attainable
Your goals must be realistic and attainable with the resources at your disposal. The best goals require employees to stretch a bit to achieve them. Goals set too high or too low become meaningless and will eventually be ignored.
Relevant
To know if your business goals are relevant, ask yourself if they will fill the gap between your company’s present situation and your desired one. If they do, then you and your employees’ efforts toward meeting your goals will steer the company in the right direction.
Time-Bound
This means setting deadlines for the achievement of each goal. Deadlines will instill an important sense of urgency in your employees. They also give employees the necessary focus and helps them to set priorities for their actions.
Once you’ve set your SMART business goals, be sure to break each one down into a specific set of tasks to accomplish them. It’s also important to review your goals regularly and make adjustments when necessary. With your goals in place, you now have the foundation to turn your business into a roaring success.