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Hey y'all,

Please forgive the long post...

The Coaching podcasts do an excellent job of explaining how to create SMART short-term, developmental goals for coaching. My org supposedly uses the SMART criteria to set individual annual objectives—it’s on the Quarterly and Annual Review form we use, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an objective that fits this criteria. I’ve re-reviewed the Performance Review podcasts, and I haven’t found anything that specifically addresses how to set annual objectives (at the management level as opposed to service/ops/specialist level positions).

Does anyone have insight on the setting of SMART annual objectives?

At the risk of including too much info, I’ve listed my ‘objectives’ from last year below. As vague as they are, they still don’t match those priorities identified by my VP during 1-on-1’s. I feel like I do whatever’s asked of me and then my results are shoe-horned into the Objectives on my review.

I don’t want to ask for better objectives, I want to suggest specific objectives. But I don’t (yet) know how to do it.

Your input would be much appreciated.

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OBJECTIVE 1: Coordinate the efforts of [creative agency] & [programmers] to launch the redesigned [login website] on time and under budget.

OBJECTIVE 2: Work with [web development firm] to keep the public website updated with the latest information, positioning, and services/tools to entice prospects.

OBJECTIVE 3: Identify and pursue low-cost possibilities for highly targeted web-based advertising.

OBJECTIVE 4: Work with [external creative agency] to produce a high-end presentation binder for use in sales presentations.

OBJECTIVE 5: Support the organizational culture by keeping co-workers informed of key marketing initiatives that may impact their work, by providing constructive feedback as appropriate and by maintaining open communication.

OBJECTIVE 6: Support [the organization]’s overall commitment to excellence in service by delivering quality service responsiveness to internal and external parties.

OBJECTIVE 7: Support [the organization]’s goal of employee development by seeking and engaging in educational and volunteer opportunities on a regular basis.

robroyston's picture

My guess is this has to do with goal setting. When you talk about goal setting you will typically hear about SMART goals. If you want to be word police (something I've heard Mark talk about from time to time) many people confuse Objectives and Goals. Thinking they are interchangable. I know they are not, but don't have enough knowledge on the subject to explain them clearly.

Any annual review will involve goal/objective setting and I'm guessing that's what you are talking about. Your examples (Objectives) look like Goals.

Here's a link to the first site returned from a Google Search on SMART goals if you're interrested.

[url]http://www.topachievement.com/smart.html[/url]

Hope that helps.

Mark's picture
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OBJECTIVE 1: Coordinate the efforts of [creative agency] & [programmers] to launch the redesigned [login website] on time and under budget.

This one seems fine to me...

OBJECTIVE 2: Work with [web development firm] to keep the public website updated with the latest information, positioning, and services/tools to entice prospects.

Come up with a couple of measures for how long it takes you to turn input from other departments into those items going onto the site, and for how much info you GET from other departments (you may have to be good at "pulling"); either do a survey on your own or hire someone to tell you what the "latest positioning and services/tools" ARE in the market, and then a timeline for implementing those.

OBJECTIVE 3: Identify and pursue low-cost possibilities for highly targeted web-based advertising.

Define a project for analyzing the cost structures of various web-based advertising, and then turn this objective into a project to make one of those avenues happen on time and budget.

OBJECTIVE 4: Work with [external creative agency] to produce a high-end presentation binder for use in sales presentations.

Do a survey of competitive sales pitches (ask your clients, for a start) and determine 2-3 measures of what makes something "high end", and then turn THIS obj into a project with a budget and deadline for delivering it.

OBJECTIVE 5: Support the organizational culture by keeping co-workers informed of key marketing initiatives that may impact their work, by providing constructive feedback as appropriate and by maintaining open communication.

This is one that I think is bad, but you can turn it into a win if it's YOUR objective by simply defining this work as a monthly report on marketing initiatives to key players, and asking for feedback and maybe hosting a quarterly feedback meeting with key departments, etc.

OBJECTIVE 6: Support [the organization]’s overall commitment to excellence in service by delivering quality service responsiveness to internal and external parties.

Create a string of projects: 1 is asking those whom you serve what they define as service responsiveness. 2. is developing a plan to deliver that. 3. is getting their feedback on the plan and modifying it. 4. is actually delivering to the plan, whatever it is.

OBJECTIVE 7: Support [the organization]’s goal of employee development by seeking and engaging in educational and volunteer opportunities on a regular basis.

Make this one 1 or 2 days a quarter engaging in professional development. If you have some budget, go to some classes you think might help, either for your managerial side or your professional/industrial side. If not, commit to 2 days a quarter of volunteering, and then write a one pager about what you did and how it helped you at work.

And... you made this really hard by not telling us more about what you do and how you do it. If you have heartburn with my answers, I reserve the right to tell you I made a tolerable pie from two stones and some dirt. :wink: If it doesn't taste good, give me some flour and fruit next time.

Mark