Step 3: Develop Written and Measurable Guidelines and Goals

SMART Goals Each company and organization sets goals in ways that make most sense for its competitive strategy. A common goal setting technique is to develop SMART Goals: • Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal •

Measurable - Establish concrete ways to measure progress toward the goal you set

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Attainable - When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true

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Realistic - To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work

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Timely - A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency.

SMART Goals Examples of SMART Goals within Supplier Diversity • Increase the number of minority-, women-, LGBT, veteran-owned and/or small businesses who submit bids to 5% (from 4%) by the end of the next fiscal year • Increase the dollars spent with diverse businesses by 3% (from $1 million to $1,030,00) within the next 12 months and by 10% (to $1.1 million) within the next two years. • Have 100% of buyers in the purchasing department pass the test to become a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity® (CPSD™) from the Institute of Supply Management within the next year.

SMART Goals: Specific To set a specific goal answer three questions • WHAT are you going to do? •

Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.

• WHY is this important to do at this time? •

What do you want to ultimately accomplish?

• HOW are you going to do it?

SMART Goals: Measurable In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, the is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal. • Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific!

• Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.

SMART Goals: Attainable A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. •

When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.

•

Goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won't commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it's too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact and will stop you from even giving it your best.

SMART Goals: Realistic Realistic

Easy

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Realistic means do-able. It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available; that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them.

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Devise a plan or a way of getting there. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment.

Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!

SMART Goals: Timely • Set a timeframe for the goal •

for next week, in three months, by the end of the year

• Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. • • •

If you don't set a time, the commitment is too vague It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now

Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.

SMART Goals: Tangible Some organizations switch T to mean Tangible rather than Timely or add in Tangible to develop SMARTT goals. • A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. • When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable. .

Align Goals With Corporate Strategy As discussed in Step 1 (the Case for Supplier Diversity) the supplier diversity strategy must connect individual goals, operating unit goals with the goals of the organization as a whole. Strategic Goal

Enterprise Level

Operating Unit Level

Individual Level

Unit Goal

Unit Goal

Developing Supplier Diversity Goals • • • •

•

Key Questions To Address In Goal Setting What initiatives need to be accomplished to ensure success? What sequence do these initiatives need to be accomplished in to reach the strategic goal? What standards are we striving for? Where can performance be improved by 10 percent or more? What are our internal customers expecting from us?

Developing Supplier Diversity Goals: Prioritizing Some goals are critical to future success, others are not •

Key Task: Differentiate between critical and “nice to have” goals.

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First Step: Identify criteria that will help you distinguish high-priority goals from low-priority ones. For example: • Which goals does your organization value most? • Which will have the greatest impact on performance? • Which are the most challenging? • Which goals are your team best suited to reach?

Common Goal Setting Errors • They fail to create performance metrics. Performance metrics provide objective evidence of goal achievement—or progress toward it. •

Output per machine, errors per thousand units produced, and time-to-market for new products are all examples of performance metrics.

• They fail to align goals and rewards. Many companies change their goals but do not follow up with a realignment of rewards. Even when they try, they often get it wrong, and end up rewarding the wrong things. Misaligned rewards encourage employees to put their energy into the wrong activities.

Success Measures For Securing C-Level Support1 In Step 2 we discussed how securing C-Level Support and Goal Setting were often worked on simultaneously. There are three “success measures” that we presented in Step 2 that particularly relate to this third step. They are: 1. All levels of management are accountable for minority supplier development 2. There is a written supplier diversity corporate policy that clearly defines executive management commitment and measures successes 3. Minority business utilization metrics are included in annual performance goals for the corporation and for each business unit/division the firm National Minority Supplier Development Council: of Best Practices in Minority Supplier Development 1

Success Measures For Goal 1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

1 Setting

There is an established supplier tracking system to enable results reporting (ability to track MBE, WBE or other spend by business unit/department, buyer, commodity, geographical area, ethnicity, gender, cost-reduction dollars, etc. There are clearly stated minority-, women-supplier development performance goals. For example, year-over-year % increase, $ or % spend and utilization. Performance results are measured against these established goals. Minority supplier development performance goals are reviewed and recalibrated on a regular basis. There is a person responsible for reporting minority supplier development results. Supplier diversity key metrics are reviewed regularly by senior corporate management team. Scorecards are created to measure performance Achievement of goal is tied to performance reviews 1Adapted

and modified from the National Minority Supplier Development Council: Best Practices in Minority Supplier Development

Supplier Diversity Goals: Xerox Program Commitment: Xerox is committed to building a strong Program Commitment. The foundation of our program consists of internal and external deliverables to help ensure program success for all Xerox stakeholders. Our program focuses on: Objective Measurements – establishing and meeting company and departmental goals and objectives that support our overall diversity strategy. • •

• • •

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Tracking and Reporting – monitoring and reporting our progress toward achieving our supplier diversity goals and objectives with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement. Training and Education – helping to ensure that associates in decision-making positions throughout our organization understand Xerox’s supplier diversity principles and commitment. External Outreach Activities – seeking diverse suppliers through active involvement with small business and minority development organizations, and participation in various trade shows and procurement events. Communications – educating employees, management, diverse suppliers, and the community-at-large on our supplier diversity program, policies, and achievements. Second Tier Program – working with Xerox prime suppliers to achieve supplier diversity at multi-tiered levels within our value chain. Awards Program and Recognition – highlighting and rewarding the hard work and outstanding efforts of our employees and recommending suppliers for external awards.

Supplier Diversity Goals: AT&T • Supplier Diversity by the Numbers • We’ve set one of the most aggress supplier diversity goals in the industry – to reach 21.5% of our total spend with certified diverse businesses: • Minority Business Enterprises 15% • Women Business Enterprises 5% • Service Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises 1.5% • In 2011, AT&T spent $12 billion – 23% of our total spend with certified diverse suppliers