Strategic commercial interventions: SMART objectives and objective bank

5. How to write SMART Objectives

Intervention Objectives should be worded in a way that facilitates effective, unbiased, appraisal of the available options for intervention, including ‘do nothing’. Objectives should also be designed in such a way as to not exclude options.

1. S: Specific

In order for a goal or objective to be effective, it needs to be specific. A specific goal answers questions like:

• What needs to be accomplished?
• Who’s responsible for it?
• What steps need to be taken to achieve it?

Thinking through these questions helps get to the heart of what you’re aiming for.

2. M: Measurable

Being specific is important, but quantifying the objectives (that is, making sure they’re measurable) makes it easier to track progress and know when we have reached the finish line. To make a SMART objective more impactful, we should incorporate measurable, trackable benchmarks.

3. A: Achievable

At this stage we should reflect on the objective set and consider whether it is achievable, relevant and realistic. Is the objective something that can reasonably be accomplished?

4. R: Realistic

At this stage we need to think about the big picture to consider why we are setting the objective in the first place and whether that can be achieved in the context of the business and market performance.

5. T: Time-limited

To properly measure success, consideration has to be given to when an objective can be achieved. What is the time horizon for completion? SMART goals should have time-related parameters built in, so that everybody knows how to stay on track within a designated time frame.

When the five steps above have been incorporated the SMART objective is complete.