Be SMARTER

Objectives must support the overarching goals and vision of the business and be SMARTER (specific; measurable; achievable; realistic; time-bound; extending; rewarding).

Specific – is the objective clear and specific?

For example: “We will increase over-the-counter medicine sales by eight per cent within the next 12 months” is an example of a specific and measurable objective.

Check: Remember to challenge the specificity of your objective:

1. What exactly is the objective telling us?
2. Which goal/s will it help to achieve?
3. Is the objective clear?
4. Is it described with strong action verbs?
5. Who will need to be involved?
6. Is an outcome clearly defined?
7. Will the objective accomplish the desired results?

Make sure that what you set in place will deliver the results you intend. Some objectives can create destructive behaviour, perhaps if one objective is pursued at the expense of the rest of the business. This could be the case with targets that lead to a bonus or financial incentive, for example.

Measurable – is it measurable?

How will know you have achieved your objective? If improving the services you provide to patients is an objective, how will you track this? One measure could be the percentage of patient complaints, which would mean that the pharmacy needs a way to capture patient complaints.

Check:

1. Is the measure clear?
2. How will we all know when we have
achieved this?
3. Are we able to gather information/data about this measurement?
There is little point in selecting a measure that cannot be supported with data; the method needs to be relevant to the user, easy to understand and use and possible to trend over time.

This will allow you to set targets and review them regularly against actual performance.

For example:
Objective – Increase medicine sales income
Desired result – Income from OTC medicine sales
Measurement – OTC medicine sales
Target – Increase by £X by the end of 2017.

Thresholds can be created to check and communicate progress, i.e. Green = on target; Amber = 95 per cent target achieved: monitor closely; Red = 90 per cent target achieved: review and adapt.

Achievable – is this achievable within the time frame?

If an objective is too far in the future, employees will find it difficult to retain motivation to achieve it. Objectives should stretch employees but not so far that they become frustrated by the process.

Remember that the marketplace you assess today will have changed in six to 12 months. Your predictions may not always be right, so you need to be courageous enough to change or adapt your objectives. This means that your objectives must be flexible.

Check achievability:

a. Can this objective be accomplished in the proposed timelines?
b. Do we understand the limitations and constraints?
c. Can we accomplish this objective with the resources available?

Realistic – can it be accomplished?

Your planning must take into account what can realistically be achieved within a given time frame. If it takes 16 months to reach a 12-month objective, something is wrong.

If you get to your yearly goal by six months, then your objectives were probably too easy. If you feel your goals are real, yet you do not have the needed resources to achieve them, then they are not realistic.

Time bound – can it be achieved in a timely manner?

A timetable is essential. A timely objective means setting deadlines, and reasonable deadlines at that. If you do not include a deadline, the objective is no longer measurable.

If the deadlines are not realistic, then the objectives are not achievable.

Extending – does this stretch your capabilities?

Any objective should stretch your capabilities. The objective should be challenging and make a difference to established practices, processes and/or behaviours.

However, it must not be so extending as to be unrealistic.

Rewarding – does this reward individuals?

When deciding on an objective, it should be possible to motivate others to achieve it. Consider what employees will get out of achieving the objective. Are employees able to get passionate about the objective? Objectives should be put in writing to serve as a reference point and create accountability.