For many people, the beginning of the year is like a blank canvas on which to paint the image they want to see at the end. That picture represents goals achieved, personal and professional objectives attained.
Setting goals at the beginning of the year has several benefits. It motivates us to start the year with enthusiasm, drives our personal and professional development, sets our direction, allows us to focus on what matters to us, and helps relieve stress and anxiety about the future because we know what we want and how to achieve it.
SMART Objectives: What Are They and What Are They For?
SMART is a methodology used to set goals, both personal, professional, and corporate, that are clear and relevant. It sets the path to reach the goals set. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
The SMART Method in Action
Specific objectives answer the questions: who, what, where, when, why, and what the obstacles are. They are concrete and specific objectives that leave no room for doubt or ambiguity.
When an objective is measurable, it allows the project’s success or failure to be evaluated. Measurable means achievable. There are many types of measurements, including a deadline or a percentage to be achieved. Another way to measure objectives is to calculate KPIs, or key performance indicators. For this, the indicators must be quantifiable.
Objectives should be challenging but within the realm of possibility to be achievable, neither too easy nor impossible.
A realistic objective is aligned with the other goals of the project, it does not exist in limbo.
Time-bound means that an objective has a clear start and end date. Otherwise, it could drag on indefinitely and never be achieved. That deadline also helps the realization of that goal because it begs the question, what do I need to do today, next week, in three months to achieve my goal?
The Benefits of the SMART Method
- It helps to organize systems and processes.
- It improves communication because you know what you want to achieve and how.
- It optimizes time management.
- The global vision allows you to establish improvement processes.
OKR Objectives
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a method that encourages the participation of employees in defining the important objectives of the business and of each team, in addition to measuring and improving the company’s performance.
The pattern for defining objectives with the OKR method is flexible and easily adaptable to changing situations. The objective consists of the goal to be achieved, for example, to increase sales. The key result is the metric used to measure progress, e.g., sell 15% more. Furthermore, they can be broken down into concrete actions.
The OKR method is used to define and achieve objectives, and allows for a comprehensive analysis of the objectives and their relationship to the business.
On the other hand, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) allow the progress of specific aspects of the project to be measured. The combination of OKRs and KPIs helps to align objectives and enhance performance.
Personal Development and Language Learning Objectives
One can set learning objectives using the SMART method. For example, learn English. This is a very general goal. What you can do is set a more specific and achievable one, such as what level to reach by the end of the year (B1, B2, C1, etc.) and how to do it: by taking weekly classes, listening to a podcast in English every day, learning 5 new words per week, and so on. That way, you can quantify and measure your goals.
At English Services we can help your team reach their business English learning goals with our programs and monthly progress reports. Email us at info@englishservices.com.ar or fill out this form for more information.
