Performance Achievement a quick reference guide to SETTING SMART OBJECTIVES Performance Achievement is a process that has benefits for staff and their managers as well as to the organisation as a whole in terms of our healthcare provision to our patients and the users of our services. This short presentation will consider these benefits

What are SMART Objectives? I have already spoken to you about setting objectives. I now want to speak a little about setting objectives that are SMART SMART is a mnemonic for Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic and Timely. Applying each of these criteria to your objectives makes them SMART Further support to developing SMART objectives is available here-

SMART Objectives - SPECIFIC Useful questions to use when setting a SPECIFIC objective – Who: Who is involved? What: What do I want to accomplish? Where: Identify a location. When: Establish a time frame. Which: Identify requirements and constraints Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the objective. A SPECIFIC objective has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general objective. To set a specific objective you must answer these questions Who: Who is involved? What: What do I want to accomplish? Where: Identify a location. When: Establish a time frame. Which: Identify requirements and constraints Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal. EXAMPLE: A general objective would be “Learn how to access a PICC line” but a specific objective would say, “Patient X has a PICC line, with my mentors help I will learn how to access this line following hospital policy and procedure”.

SMART Objectives - MEASUREABLE MEASURABLE – Meaning and motivational Know if the goal is obtainable How long to complete Know when it has will be achieved A Measurable objective is one that has meaning and is motivational. You should know if the objective is obtainable and how long it will take you to achieve it Consider concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the achievement of each of the objectives you set. When you have set a measure of your progress, you will be able to stay on track, reach your target dates, and feel positive about what you have achieved. To determine if your objective is measurable; ask questions such as, How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

SMART Objectives - ACHIEVABLE An objective is Achievable if it is attainable, acceptable and action-oriented and based on agreement between you and your the team leader / line manager of what the objective should be When you identify objectives that are most important to you, you can begin to figure out ways you can make them achievable. You will start to develop the attitudes, abilities, and skills to reach them. You will begin to identify previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your objectives. You can successfully achieve your objectives when you consider how you will achieve them and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Objectives that may have seem far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become achievable.

SMART Objectives - REALISTIC A Realistic objective is one that is relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented and is within the availability of your resources, knowledge and time To be realistic, an objective must represent an objective towards which you and your team leader / line manager are willing and able to work. An objective can be both high level and realistic; but you are the only one who can decide just how high your objective should be. A high level objective is frequently easier to reach than a low level one because a low level objective exerts low motivational force. Your objective is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. EXAMPLE: Even if I do accept responsibility to pursue a objective that is specific and measurable, the objective won’t be useful to me or others if the objective is simply to “know how to work the desk during my first week”.

SMART Objectives - TIMELY An objective is timely if it is time bound and time-related with a enough time to achieve the objective and a date by which it will be achieved. A SMART objective must be set within a time frame. Without a time frame there would be no sense of urgency. EXAMPLE: I want to learn to use the intravenous infusion pump on my unit. When do you want to have this skill mastered? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, 1 week, 2 weeks, set a specific date, and then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to being working on the goal.

Examples of SMART Objectives “Improve my IT skills by gaining certified accreditation in the use of MS Office by March 2018” “Develop my team through engaging, coaching and mentoring so my individual team members can achieve at least 3 of their 4 Performance Achievement objectives by March 2018” Examples of SMART Objectives for a nurse might include – “To be able to identify ten common heart medications and be able to list side effects, nursing considerations, and action of medications by March 2018” “To be able to identify and demonstrate the five areas of cardiac auscultation and be able to list various diseases that may cause abnormal heart sounds by March 2018 “ For a manager a SMART objective examples include – “Reduce the number of days lost through sick leave by 3.5% by March 2018” Develop my team through coaching and mentoring to individual Team members achieve 3 of their 4 objectives by March 2018

Performance Achievement a quick reference guide to SETTING SMART OBJECTIVES