How to Set Realistic Goals for Your Election

When it comes to expectations for your election, it can be difficult to keep them realistic. For every member organization that optimistically overestimates their numbers, another organization underestimates everything from resources needed to voter turnout.

But if you keep it SMART, your organization can more realistically set goals to achieve a successful election. Make sure your election goals are:

Specific:

In which areas would your organization like to see success? Nearly every member organization would like to see a more engaging election. A more specific way to frame your goal could involve raising response rates in web voting.

Measurable:

If your goals are vague, it won’t be easy to determine whether or not your organization has achieved them. Come up with a stated number to reach, especially when you’re measuring response and satisfaction rates or budgets.

Attainable:

Stating you’d like to reach a 100 percent voter satisfaction rate for all future elections is a laudable goal, but not realistically achievable. Your organization gains nothing from pushing for unattainable results.

Keep your goals achievable to make it easier for staff, volunteers and members to see the contributions they can provide to the success of the organization.

Relevant:

If your goal isn’t directly related to the election, lose the goal – keep the goals relevant to the voting and election process. This helps ensure you’re measuring the success of the election and not unrelated factors.

Time-Bound:

Choose a date when the execution of the goal will begin, an end date and when the success of the goal will be evaluated.

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Not sure where to start? Some types of goals set by other member organizations include:

• Response Rates

  Your organization may be required to meet a certain quorum, or you may choose to measure response rates as a marker of the success of the election.

• Satisfaction Rates

  A simple way to measure satisfaction rates is to include a survey at the end of your ballot to gather member input about your election and voting process.

• Timeline

  Is your election starting and ending on time? Is your timeline in accordance with your bylaws?

• Compliance

  Avoiding all specified conflicts of interest and meeting all bylaw specifications, without error, for your election are easy ways to increase and measure compliance.

If the goals you’ve set are large and seem overwhelming, break the down into smaller, “bite sized” goals. And once your organization has achieved a goal, celebrate!

If you have questions about setting goals for your election and how to achieve them, contact us any time. We’re here to help.