Investing in a new (or updating an old) intranet is a huge endeavour and can be likened to a journey. What is your current position? Where do you want to go? How do you plan to get there and how will you know that you have reached your destination? Using SMART goals will enable you to set a clear plan for what you seek to achieve. For more guidance, download our free guide to managing your intranet project.
SMART goals are defined as follows:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Realistic
T - Timebound
Specific
What do you want to achieve with your intranet? Be as specific as possible with this and always ensure your plans are in line with overall business objectives. For example, you may want to improve the efficiency of paper processes by replacing them with automated ones.
Without a specific aim, your project will lack direction. This means the problem may take longer to be resolved or not dealt with at all.
Measurable
How do you know that you have achieved what you wanted to do? Goals will need to be set. Be specific about how you will know you have reached them. For example, “we want all of our staff using the intranet to post all news stories within 3 months.”
Having set a timeframe, you can then add in shorter term goals during this 3 month period. Perhaps you could monitor what has been achieved every 2 weeks. You can then make changes if necessary to achieve your goal.
If you don’t measure your achievements, how will you know you have achieved your goals?
Achievable
You may have some very exciting ideas for your intranet but are they workable? Take small steps rather than trying to achieve too much at once. It’s a good idea to engage with intranet suppliers and see whether your goals can be achieved using existing standard applications. There may be more that you can achieve than you initially realised.
Realistic
Do you have the staff resources for this project? Does the organisation have staff with the skill set to achieve your goals? Do your staff believe that project goals are ‘doable’ and therefore realistic?
Timebound
Finally, by measuring a start and a finish to your project you have a timeline to work to. Without a deadline, the project could stretch out indefinitely. There will be no priorities given to actions that need to be taken.
I hope this blog has helped you to think about some goals you can set for your own intranet project. For more guidance download our free guide or get in touch.