Use of SMART Objectives in Setting Projects

All organizations practically need to set objectives because they are vital in the ongoing of the company’s productions and they focus the organization. Businesses that have specific aims are usually more successful than those that don't; because a business with objectives knows what exactly it is trying to achieve. Objectives can be set in all areas of the business like in the sales department, production, finance and marketing areas.

An effective way to set objectives is to follow the well known acronym called SMART. This objective stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time, but we can also add Evaluation and Relevance further on calling it the effective SMARTER objectives.

An objective that follows SMART is very well likely to succeed because it is clear and very well specific so the organization knows exactly what needs to be achieved. You can tell when it has been achieved, in terms of being measurable because you have a way to measure completion. A SMART objective is likely to happen because it is an event that is achievable. Before setting a SMART objective, relevant factors such as resources and time have to be taken into account to ensure that it is realistic. Finally the timescale provides a deadline which helps people focus on the tasks required to achieve the objective. The timescale element stops people postponing task completion.

The meaning of the SMART objectives are:                                                                     
 Specific – the public relations department has to clearly define the organization objective so that everybody will know exactly what the company is trying to accomplish, rather than just flowing with the production without having a set plan on what exactly needs to be  achieved. Lack of a set plan will result in an unfavorable production outcome.

Measurable – the organization has to be able to measure their progress against the objective with relative ease. The company has to be more specific and report on activity specific to the objectives they want to achieve like the activity that is directly tied to that objective. If a company does not know how it will measure its objectives, the company can suffer some loses in its production.

Attainable – the organization should be able to complete their objectives within a reasonable amount of time. If its objectives are too far in the future, or too complex, they should break them down into a shorter-term objective. The company should not be too over ambitious; they should check that they are able to satisfy their objectives. One attainable step is to create and share a press release calendar with their team. Another step is to conduct interviews or press conferences.

Realistic – the organization should be honest with their objective setting. They need to be realistic about what they can achieve by their project deadline. If the organization has historically sent out one press release a quarter, they should notice if it is realistic to believe that they can do more or less a month. They should be realistic in measuring how much they can achieve. They should have enough news to maintain that pace and have accurate sources which are able to provide information quickly.

Time- The organization’s objective should be tied to a date or time. The more specific they can be with this deadline, the better. This has always been the biggest wake-up call for most companies. There is often a big gap between when they can possibly complete a task and when it actually gets done. The company has to use any task or project management system that encourages them to set deadlines for tasks and show them overdue tasks.  They should thoroughly be time framed with specific deadlines to be met.

Evaluation- they should evaluate their objectives before implementation, which is feed forward control during the operation of the company which is concurrent control, and after event action which is feedback control.

 Relevant- the organizations objectives should be time framed with specific deadlines to be met.
The first step in developing an effective business communications strategy is defining their goals and objectives. Organizations, businesses and people set objectives everyday often without realizing it. If they test their objectives against the SMART principle, they will increase their chances of success. Once a SMART objective has been set, the next step is to write a plan detailing how the objective will be achieved.

Objectives are strategic steps along the way to reaching a goal, and can be expressed in concrete terms where goals express end-points and ultimate outcomes. Objectives therefore lay out the plan for achieving a desired goal, and can be used to measure the progress or determine the efficiency of the organization’s public relations strategy. When formulating objectives, the organization should be sure to distinguish between output and impact objectives.  Output objectives relate to production output, while impact objectives relate to the effect of their public relations activities on the target audience.

If an organization really wants to improve their performance of public relations programs, they should implement the SMART objectives and work harder to attain them for they are very effective. SMART is used in project management for setting objectives for the project. It’s more than relevant and applicable to public relations strategy and planning.