1. Presentation done for – Tanzania Women Bank (TWB) @
2013
Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
2. Introduction
Welcome to the start of your learning process on the SMART PD
Training Session
In attending the course we assume you have a good level of knowledge
regarding the Performance Development process. This pre work is
designed to introduce you to the basics of writing SMART PD
Objectives and we recommend that you read and understand the
information in this document before attending the course.
At the end of this pre-course reading material there is a Skill Building
exercise; please complete the exercise and come along with it to the
course
I wish you all the best in your learning process
3. Performance Objectives
Most Companies have the vision of becoming the customers’ first
choice in services provision in Tanzania. To do this effectively, they
have to regularly do business planning. And to translate business plans
to actions, Team Leaders have to ensure that each team member has a
set of personal objectives that contribute to the team’s business plan
which in turn contributes to the overall organization plan
There is an old saying that reads:
“If you do not know where you are going, you are likely to end up
someplace else …”
This means that all of us need to know what it is that we are aiming to
achieve. Effective Performance Development (PD) planning and
measurement ensures that we know where we are going, and steers us
towards getting there.
4. What’s a PD Planning?
PD Planning is the first stage of the PD process (as close
to the start of the new business year as possible),
where we create certainty about what is required of
each one of us. This is done by Team Members
agreeing their PD Objectives with their Team Leaders
based on the main business priorities that their area
should concentrate on to achieve success for the year.
These should be recorded on the PD Plan/document.
The PD has to carry two types of objectives:
5. 1. Specific priorities/objectives for
the year:
These should be aligned to individual’s business area
and relevant to the particular role the team member is
undertaking. Agree indicators for each objective to
provide clarity around what the team member will
need to deliver. The indicators are measures and
standards that can be used to determine how
successfully a person has completed an objective.
Some of these Indicators may be quantitative (for
example, financial targets) or qualitative (for example,
completion of specific projects).
6. 2. Development objectives
It is critical to equip team members with the appropriate
tools, development opportunities, training and
support. Focused development objectives should be
agreed which will enable the team members to
increase their effectiveness in the current role and,
where appropriate, prepare for a future move. This
might include, for example, taking on a new activity,
developing an area of knowledge, receiving coaching,
or attending a relevant training session or programme.
7. The PD objectives
PD Objectives are statements that tell about something
specific that must be attained, OR that there is something
specific that needs to be delivered by individuals in their
current roles that will add value to the business.
Alternatively it is a description of what success will mean to
individuals and their business / functional area.
A PD Objective clarifies what needs to exist when the
objective is reached
A PD Objective must be clear about the time to be
completed
PD objectives are about business priorities
8. The origin of PD objectives
The objectives set in each of our PD plans are to be
linked to the overall company Goals/Strategy.
Company’s strategy gives rise to strategies for Business
Units. Each Business Unit (BU) prepares its own
business plan in line with the company strategy.
9. The origin of PD objectives cont…
Company - Overall company goal
Business Area-Each BU has its
own goal align to the company
Team Leader-Team Leader
objectives are aligned to business
Area Objectives
Individual-individual objectives
should support team Leader
objectives.
10. The origin of PD objectives
cont…
If one were to add up the business plans for all BUs, it
would cover all of the areas of the Company strategy.
BU’s in turn cascade their business plans to Areas and
Functions within that BU. Each Leader of an Area or
Function will use the Area or Function’s business plan
to set up a personal PD, which will be discussed and
agreed with the head of the BU. When this is finalised,
the leader will hand his PD to the Team Leaders in
that Area or Function to base their PD plans on. They
in turn will share the Area or Function’s business plan
to the individuals who report to them, until it reaches
the front line employees.
11. Focusing PD on Company’s strategy
The process for cascading the business strategy should
ensure that everyone has a clear line-of- sight to the
Organization strategic themes. To achieve this, Team
Leaders should discuss the themes with their teams
before new PD objectives have to be written. And
individuals should use the themes as a check of
whether they are doing the work required by the
business strategy when finalising their PD objectives.
12. S-SMART Objectives
S-SMART is a useful model for setting goals and objectives with individuals. Team
Leaders and Team Members should ensure that all team members’ objectives
are S-SMART before signing onto the PD plan document
The emphasis of SMART model is placed on accurately defining objectives in
such a way as to clearly translate performance into what success looks like for
an employee as a team member and his line manager as a Team Leader
S-SMART stands for:
S = Stretching is about the challenge in your objective.
S = Specific is about knowing what to do when you work towards the objective.
M = Measurable is about answering the question “how much?” or “show me
what you have done”
A = Achievable is about the scope of the objective and the resources available.
R = Realistic is about your ability to do the work within specification.
T = Time bound is about the due date and schedule of the deliverables
13. Writing SMART PD Objectives
According to the PD Management Standards, “The manager and employee are
equally responsible to ensure that the employee has a new PD plan for the
current year, in line with the annual PD calendar published by HR. Employees
and Managers must agree who will draft the first version of the PD plan, and
submit it for review and input to the other party. Where standard PD plans for
bulk roles are used, the manager must provide the latest version to the
employee so the employee can prepare to discuss their objectives with the
manager”.
Before drafting your PD objectives, the team member must discuss with his team
leader and understand about the following: (Next slide)
NOTE:
Team Leader must address these questions appropriately and may check some
of the answers with his leader to ensure that his team members PD integrate
sufficiently with the business plan and strategy.
14. .
Checklist for discussion Reason for
Discussion
Clarify why your job exists. Find out what is your job
purpose as stated in your role profile.
This will help in
establishing what
to be included in
the PD objectives
Given your team leader’s objectives and the business plan,
what does the team leader expect of you (in the light of
your job purpose)?
What deliverables in the business plan falls within your scope
of work?
What will you be held accountable for when performance is
reviewed? Establish which major deliverables (quantity and
quality) that must exist as part of the output. What will be
used to measure your success?
This will help make
the objectives
measurable and
time boundWhat must he do to be considered a good performer? How
must he approach the task?
What must be achieved by when? This will help you
determine the milestones and their dates.
This will help you
determine the
milestones and
their dates
15. PD Objectives can be grouped into Uncomplicated (Simple) and
Complicated (Advanced) objectives.
Uncomplicated objectives are objectives that can be performed
directly by an individual with minimal involvement from others and
can easily be expressed in numeric, quantitative terms
Complicated (Advanced) objectives are objectives that their
deliverables are not immediately clear or where the deliverables cannot
be expressed in numeric, quantitative terms, and/or cannot be
completed in simple steps, and/or may require coordination of input
and work by several colleagues
16. Writing uncomplicated objectives
Writing uncomplicated individual PD objectives is not
difficult to do. To do it, you must understand how an
objective is constructed. Let us look at the following
simple statement as example:
To sell fifty new Group loans by 30 November 2013
Let us analyse this to understand what an objective
consists of:
17. Task
(What is the work involved?)
Output
(What, and how many?)
Time
What is to be achieved? What is the desired result? (By when?)
To sell fifty fifty new Group loans by 30 Nov 2013
The objective starts with “To”
followed by a verb (a doing
word). This is the task
component of the objective,
as it tells what task must be
done (“to sell”). It does not
tell what the activities are
that you will undertake to do
the selling. It only states the
task.
This is the subject
component of the
objective and it qualifies
the previous part. This
objective tells you that you
are expected to sell new
group loans, not home
loans. It further contains a
quantity: fifty, not less. It is
therefore a quantity that is
measurable.
The by 30
November 2013 is
the due date, in this
example 30
November 2013,
and not the 30th
June or 31st
December 2013.
18. Although the approach for writing uncomplicated objectives can also be used for
Complicated (advanced) objectives, a different approach to writing them helps to bring
clarity and avoid disputes. Let us look at the following advanced objective as an example:
To implement Mobile Banking Training Programme to targeted audience as per
Project Business Requirement Document by 31st August 2014
Signed-off of Training Approach available by 30th April 2014
Draft of the Training Materials available by 31st May 2014
Signed off Training Materials available by 30th June 2014
Implementation of the training completed by 15th August 2014
Attendance registers and post-course evaluation forms completed by all participants
90% of the target audience trained
Above average general rating by training participants
Training report ready within seven working days after the training
Let us analyse this to understand what an objective consists of:
19. Planning
Question
Objective
What To implement Mobile Banking Training Programme to targeted
audience
When 31st August 2012, with milestone checks on 30th April, 31st May and
30th June 2012.
How Training Approach Document available by 30th April 2012
Draft of the Training Materials available by 31st May 2012
Final Training Materials available by 30th June 2012
Implementation of the training completed by 15th August 2012
Attendance registers and post-course evaluation forms
completed by all participants
90% of the target audience trained
Training report ready within seven working days after the
training
Measurements Sign-off of Training Approach by stakeholders.
Sign-off of Training Materials by stakeholders
% of the target audience trained
Above average general rating by training participants
20. .
The example above shows how in a complicated (advanced) objective
the deliverables are made clearer by answering the “planning
questions”: What, When, How, and by specifying the Measurements
that will be used to determine if success is achieved.
The example also shows that an objective needs not be contained in a
single sentence, as long as it is clear from the format used what must be
achieved by when. Team Leader makes the addition of the “how” in the
example above helps to highlight the expected deliverables, and the
“measurements” make it clear how success will be determined.
See more notes about the format in the table below
21. Planning
Question
Objective of the Questions
What
In the example above, there is still an active verb in the
sentence ‘To implement’
When
The date by which the result is expected is clearly
indicated
How
Where smaller deliverables add up to the achievement of
the overall objective, these are added, with their
respective due dates. Where greater clarity is needed,
each of the deliverables may look like an uncomplicated
objective in its own right
Measurements
This area contains the aspects to measure to determine if
the overall objective – the “what” – was achieved.
22. All PD objectives must be measurable. For uncomplicated
objectives, the “output” part of the objective gives an
indication of the objective’s measurability. For a
Complicated (advanced) objective, the measures may have
to be specified separately as a line item. For any objective
(uncomplicated or Complicated) the foundation of the
objective’s measurability is laid in the active verb used to
express the work that must be done. If the verb used to
describe the work is passive (or “weak”) then it will be
difficult make the objective measurable
23. Making outputs measurable (Defining
what success looks like) cont..
The key question here is:
How will I know that this objective was reached or exceeded? Or what
evidence will I present to demonstrate that this objective was reached or
exceeded?
Sensible evidence that an objective was achieved is produced by
two things:
Some form of measurement or measurement instrument. To know
what measurement is needed, ask how will you know that I (or you)
have been successful?
The criteria for success, sometimes expressed as a quantity. To discover
the criteria you need, ask “what, and in what quantity, will I see / hear /
touch / find that will show me (and stakeholders) that I have achieved
the objective?”
24. Testing if your PD objectives are
S-SMART
To test if the PD objectives are SMART, ask yourself the
following questions about the objectives: Refer next
slide diagram…
NOTE:
Using the S-SMART test is a quick check – it need not
take much time to complete. If used well, it may
provide additional insight into the work that must be
done to execute the objective
25. General tips about writing PD
objectives
Start with the bigger goal – first the company strategy, then the
business plan – in mind
Write the objective first in general but measurable terms. (You will
make it specific when you rewrite it)
Think about all the work you have to do, not only the single objective
you are working on
Think about the evidence (measurement instrument and the criteria)
you want to measure it
Rewrite to make the objective more specific and check it for
measurable verb and meaningful criteria
Rewrite to further clarify
DO’s
Use action verbs that can be observed and measured when writing
objectives
26. Some of action verbs that can be observed and measured
Achieve Complete Name
Adjust Conduct Prepare
Agree Construct Remit
Analyse Control Remove
Answer Distribute Replace
Apply Drive Report
Appraise Establish Review
Assemble Explain Select
Assign Express Sell
Build Identify State
Calculate Implement Test
Choose Match Write
27. .
DONT’S:
Some of the words that CANNOT be observed nor measured
Appreciate
Comprehend
Cover
Familiarise
Know
Learn
Realise
Study
Understand
28. .
AVOID Some of the phrases that CANNOT be observed nor measured
Actively contribute towards … Look to take courses in …
Be aware of … Keep abreast of …
Become familiar with … To assist with …
Continue to learn … Try and complete …
Enhance business knowledge of … Understanding and adhere to …
Gain knowledge of … Work effectively with …
29. Skills building: Uncomplicated Objectives: To build your
competence with writing objectives, try to write four SMART objectives,
two Uncomplicated and two Complicated Objectives, Verify that you’re
objectives are SMART by ticking against each element of SMART
Objective: S S M A R T
30. Objective: S S M A R T
•Complicated
(Advanced) Objectives
