September 20, 2022
Setting SMART Goals During Performance Reviews
Fall is performance review season for local units. Each agent and local unit support staff should have an opportunity to receive feedback about the previous year’s performance and plan for the coming year. Goal setting is an important part of the performance planning process. As the old saying goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?
SMART goals can help an employee stay focused and motivated, capitalize on their strengths and improve areas of weakness. A SMART goal is:
S—Specific means it should contain as much information as possible, including the who, what, when, why and how.
M—Measurable means that it should be easy to objectively tell whether the goal has been achieved.
A—Achievable means there is a realistic chance of achieving the goal.
R—Realistic means the goal is reasonable and related to the employee’s skills, experience, role and ambition.
T—Timely means that a timeframe has been established for achieving the goal.
An example of a SMART goal written by an agent: I will meet with my Program Development Committee three times in the upcoming year. Meetings will be held in February, May and September. In February, we will discuss program parity. In May, we will look at summer programming plans. In September, we will review action plans.
An example of a SMART goal written by an office professional or program assistant: I will strive for zero errors when producing the monthly 4-H newsletter and will have it published by the 1st of each month.
For each goal, it is also helpful to write out specific action steps that will lead to achievement. In the first example action steps might be reserving dates on the PDC members' calendars and reserving the meeting spot by the end of January and discuss the agenda with the PDC chair two weeks prior to each meeting.
In the second example, action steps might be, starting to compile the newsletter by the 15th of the month, blocking time on the calendar each month to dedicate to the newsletter, and asking someone to proofread the newsletter before it is published.
Members of KSRE’s Board Leadership Basics team developed a SMART goals template that may be useful as you establish your performance goals for the coming year. You can locate it and other helpful resources on the Agent Performance Review website.