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How to Set SMART Goals for Employee Training (Part One)

You know that SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. And you also know that you should set SMART goals for your employee training. But that’s not the problem.

For many employers, the problem is to define a SMART training goal. So, before you book classroom rental or training room rental for your next employee training program, let’s understand the concept of a SMART goal with an example. Are you ready for it? So, let’s dive right in.

1. Importance of setting SMART goals
Probably, you are already convinced that setting SMART goals is important. If, however, you have an iota of doubt, let’s clear that first. Every business sets goals. But the more specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound your goals are the higher are your chances of success. Likewise, the success of your employee training program depends on how SMART your goals are.

2. Setting specific goals
So, as the SMART method suggests, the first step is to make your goal specific. Let’s take an example to understand this. Let’s say you said, “I want my employee training program to be more impact.” The problem with that statement is it doesn’t specifically say what impact really means for you. You need to be specific. For instance, you can say, “I want more employees to enroll in our XYZ advanced class after the training.”

3. Setting measurable goals
The next step is to set measurable goals. Without a measurable goal, how can you determine the outcomes of your training program? An example of a measurable goal could look like this. “I want 70% of the attendees (employees who will attend the program) to enroll in our XYZ advanced class after the training.”

In the next and final part of this article, we’ll discuss the three other components of SMART goal setting. So, stay tuned.