Guideline
Leadership & Broad Strategy

Setting SMART Goals

Setting SMART Goals

These guidelines are designed to help organisations develop SMART goals in their diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts – whether you are just starting out on your D&I journey or looking to enhance your strategies and programs.

SMART goals are ones that are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time-specific

 

What change do you want to create?

Goals can sometimes sound vague and lofty, such as “Support women to advance into leadership” or “Make the workplace more welcoming for First Nations People’.

You can use the SMART goal framework to ensure your diversity and inclusion goals are practical and feasible, and that they provide a realistic description of the change that you want to create. Setting SMART goals makes you more likely to achieve them.

  • Specific: Use specific language to describe what you want to achieve. An example of a non-specific goal is “To promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace”, whereas a specific goal would be “To increase the number of women represented within the company”.
  • Measurable: Define what will change and by how much. For example, “Increase the percentage of women in technical and leadership roles by 15% over the next three years,” or “Increase the percentage of First Nations People in the company by 15%.”
  • Achievable: Be realistic about what you can achieve with the time and resources available. Regularly review and adapt strategies based on your company’s evolving needs and challenges.
  • Relevant: Align your goals to the problems they address. Your company might consider a D&I assessment to help identify areas for improvement and tailor goals in line with its current situation.
  • Time-specific: Create a timeline with key milestones and deadlines leading up to the completion of the goal. Break complex or long-term goals down into smaller, more manageable milestones. For example, “Increase the participation of women in the company by 15% within three years, with bi-annual progress checks”.