This document provides guidance on writing SMART performance objectives for performance development plans. It discusses establishing objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Objectives should be linked to an individual's role and contribute to team and organizational goals. Both simple and complex objectives are addressed, with complex objectives broken into smaller deliverables. Measuring success is key and objectives should specify how completion will be evaluated. Overall the document aims to help individuals set clear and actionable performance objectives.

1. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
Performance Development workshop
Pre Workshop Reading Material
1. 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
We wish you all the best in your learning process
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 teammember 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.

2. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
1. 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:
 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).
 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.
2. 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
2.1. 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.

3. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
If one were to add up the business plans for all BUs, it would cover all of the areas of the NBC 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.
2.2. 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, TeamLeaders 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.
3. SMART Objectives
SMART is a useful model for setting goals and objectives with individuals. Team Leaders and Team Members
should ensure that all teammembers’ objectives are 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
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.
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
supportteam Leader objectives.

4. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
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
3.1. 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:
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
bound
What 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
NOTE:
Team Leader must address these questions appropriately and may check some of the answers with his leader to
ensure that his teammembers PD integrate sufficiently with the business plan and strategy.

5. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
3.2. Distinguishing between uncomplicated and advanced objectives
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
3.3. 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:
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.
3.4. Writing Complicated (advanced) objectives
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:

6. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
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
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
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

7. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
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.
3.5. Making outputs measurable (Defining what success looks like)
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
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?”
3.6. Testing if your PD objectives are SMART
To test if the PD objectives are SMART, ask yourself the following questions about the objectives:
SMART objectives
Questions to ask
Stretching is about the
challenge for the team
member.
 Are the objectives the same as the previous year?
 Are we raising the performance bar?
 Will this challenge the individual to reach new performance heights?
Note: Objectives should be set to a standard that drives higher levels of
performance over the next period than previously.
Specific is about ensuring
the team member will
know what to do.
 Is this objective precise and well-defined?
 Is it concrete and clear?
 Can everyone understand it?
 Have you used ‘action’ words?

8. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
SMART objectives
Questions to ask
Measurable is about the
answer to the question
“how much?”
 How will you know when the task is completed?
 What evidence is needed to confirm it?
 Have you stated how you will judge whether it has been completed or
not?
 Is it numeric (quantity) or descriptive (quality)?
Achievable is about the
scope of the objective and
the resources available.
 Is it within the individual’s capabilities?
 Are there sufficient resources available to enable this to happen?
 Can it be done at all?
 Is it appropriately limited in scope?
Realistic is about the team
member’s ability to do the
work within specification.
 Is it possible for the individual to perform the objective?
 How sensible is the objective in the current business context?
 Does it fit into the overall pattern of this individual’s work?
Time bound is about the
due date and schedule of
the deliverables in the
objective.
 Is there a deadline?
 Is it feasible to meet this deadline?
 Is it appropriate to do this work now?
 Are there review dates?
NOTE:
Using the 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
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
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

9. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879
DONT’S
Avoid words that CANNOT be observed and measured when writing objectives:
Some of the words that CANNOT be observed nor measured
Appreciate
Comprehend
Cover
Familiarise
Know
Learn
Realise
Study
Understand
Avoid phrases that CANNOT be observed and measured when writing objectives
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 …
Skills building:
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
Uncomplicated Objectives
Complicated (Advanced) Objectives
Objective: S S M A R T
Objective: S S M A R T

10. Abias A Mayalu
Email: mayalu.as@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: +255 767 210 879