12 helpful objectives examples: Business, project and performance goals

Running a business without objectives is like building a house without a foundation — likely to collapse and inadvisable. Objectives define what you’re trying to accomplish on a business, project or personal performance level. They’re the very reason you’re doing what you’re doing, so it’s crucial your objectives serve you well. In this article, we’ve compiled a dozen examples of effective work objectives to get you started on the right foot.

What are measurable business objectives?

Business objectives are statements that describe where you want your business to go. They establish a direction for the organisation, guiding operations and projects. Business objectives also help in evaluating the company’s position and performance.

Successful businesses often employ the SMART framework when developing objectives — where objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound — which frames goals as approachable. 

Business objective examples

Looking for real-world business objectives examples? See four common company objectives examples below.

1. Boost revenue

For a business to thrive or remain financially stable, it is essential to establish profit-oriented objectives. There are many ways to increase revenue — the most common being through marketing efforts and sales initiatives.

• SMART example — Increase profits in the new financial year by 20%.

2. Improve efficiency

Efficiency is another word for value — it’s the quality of the output compared to the input. Companies should strive for better efficiency to reduce operating costs and improve profits. Many things impact workplace efficiency, but it’s most often associated with the productivity of teams.

• SMART example — Implement a project management system company-wide by the end of the year.

3. Increase market share 

Market share is the percentage of revenue in a market your business makes up. Increasing market share relies on more customers using your products or services. Setting goals to improve market share is important to both benchmarking and sales.

• SMART example — Grow market share by 25% or more in the next two years.

4. Reduce costs

Cost reduction objectives give you oversight and control over your business's financial performance. Increasing revenue and profitability is the primary goal of reducing costs. 

• SMART example — Reduce costs by $5,000 in the next quarter by encouraging remote working.

What are project objectives?

What’s in a name? A lot in this case — project objectives are goals and performance indicators for projects. Where a business objective keeps things high-level, a project objective is typically quite specific and focused on a particular end goal. 

Since projects are usually time-bound, with an intended output and scope, objectives are fundamental to keep all parties on track. Good project objectives should support company objectives and allow teams to innovate from the ground up.‍

Project objectives examples

Here are four examples of project objectives you may come across at work.

1. Design a new product

A common project objective is designing and releasing new products. KPIs or Key Results  may look like sales expectations, prospect goals or marketing objectives. 

• SMART example — Improve user experience of new product and achieve >90% satisfaction in usability testing by EOFY.

2. Launch an app

Mobile apps provide your customers with around-the-clock access to products, information and services. Define your app development objectives by deciding the app's purpose and the project's potential value. 

• SMART example — Achieve 1,000 downloads within the first month of app launch.

3. Kick off a marketing campaign

Objectives in marketing campaigns are rewarding in many ways — they optimise brand positioning, grow email lists and improve social media presence to ultimately increase market share and profits. 

• SMART example — Launch social media marketing campaign to achieve 5,000 new followers on Instagram by June 30.

4. Implement a content plan

A successful content plan relies on setting and achieving objectives. You can generate good leads by identifying and answering the questions your target audience searches for.

• SMART example — Increase organic search traffic by 5% in the next month.

What are performance objectives?

Employee performance objectives, or performance goals, are indicators of individual performance success. They’re objectives that work on an individual-employee basis to provide workers with a clear understanding of their responsibilities. 

Performance objectives can either be short-term, with clearly defined deliverables and deadlines, or long-term, with a broad vision of personal development. They’re an effective, measurable way for organisations to keep note of employee performance.

Performance objectives examples

To help you get started on writing personal performance or development objectives, we’ve provided four examples below.

1. Develop new skills

No matter where you’re at in your career, new skills will propel you forward. Pursuing a new certification will help you excel in your current position and/or give you an edge when applying for a new role.

• SMART example — Complete an online SEO training course and implement learnings by the end of the year.

2. Strengthen communication

Effective professional communication is more complicated than it seems — but setting objectives to master written communication, conflict resolution and interpersonal skills will help you succeed in your career. 

• SMART example — Attend one Women in STEM conference by the end of the year and share a full deck of business cards.

3. Improve collaboration

The ability to understand and appreciate multiple perspectives and how teams work together is essential in business. Drive innovation by setting teamwork-related goals.

• SMART example — By the end of the week, establish a company-wide monthly lunch where teams can update each other on work progress and socialise.

4. Organise and manage your time

Learn how to manage your workload and prioritise tasks more effectively by creating personal performance objectives. Focus and productivity go hand-in-hand with effective time management and organisation. 

• SMART example — Reduce time spent on Excel by 20% by spending two hours this week learning shortcuts from the MS Excel Guide.

Take the next step with Tability

Writing objectives is just the first step in the goal-setting process — not the only one. Without a plan to track and measure the success of your goals, you’re more likely to fall off course. Now that you’ve seen a slew of measurable objective examples, it’s time to think about implementing them with the help of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) software like Tability. 

Tability keeps you on top of your objectives by pairing them with measures of achievement, known as Key Results. These quantifiable statements define how you’ll know you’ve achieved your objectives. Assign tasks to your team and Tability will encourage accountability by promoting regular check-ins and reporting.

So, what are you waiting for? Try Tability for free today.