5 Tips for Writing Performance Goals & Discussing Them with Your Manager
To help you prepare for the Annual Performance Planning process in Cornerstone Conversations, please keep these five tips in mind:
- 1. Discuss goals/priorities with your manager.
- Before writing goals, speak with your manager about Department strategic goals and top priorities and potentially even School/College/Division and WSU areas of focus.
- Consider how the needs of those you serve may have changed in the past year.
- Request your manager's input about how your work can support those goals/priorities in any new or different ways.
- Offer improvement suggestions, as appropriate, to increase efficiency in your work processes or to be even more effective in meeting the needs of those you serve.
- 2. Reflect on how your work makes an impact.
- It can be helpful to begin by considering what you do and why you do it.
- What tasks or responsibilities do you typically complete? For example: Answer phone within 3 rings.
- Why do you complete these tasks/responsibilities? For example: Answer phone within 3 rings to improve customer service.
- Connect all your tasks/responsibilities to the goals/priorities discussed with your manager. For instance, if customer service is a department priority, there may be other activities you'll complete for it. If so:
- Consider making the Goal Title: Improve customer service by X%.
- Include all related tasks/responsibilities in the description.
- Tip: Highlight milestones you seek to achieve throughout the year and note how you'll measure success along the way!
- It can be helpful to begin by considering what you do and why you do it.
- 3. Use a checklist to confirm your goals are SMART.
- Specific Was the task, responsibility, project, or action succinctly and clearly stated?
- Measurable - Are the results you seek to achieve clear? How will you know if you're successful? Can you state this in quantifiable (numeric) terms?
- Actionable Do you have what you need to achieve this goal? Are there any resources required? Do you have clear spans of empowerment defined?
- Relevant Which University, SCD or department strategic goal/priority is your work addressing? Can you connect your performance goal to why it matters for those you serve?
- Timely By when will you achieve your goal? Strive to include dates in every goal.
SMART Example:
Less Than SMART Goal: SMART Goal: Complete administrative tasks in a timely and efficient manner. Improve customer service by completing the XYZ report by the first of each month with zero errors. - 4. Define success with your manager.
- When and how will you measure progress? And what will success look like exactly for you at the end of the performance year?
- Note: The annual review has a 5-point scale for rating performance at the end of the performance year (3=effective, 4=highly effective, 5=exceptional). Your definition of these terms and your manager's definition could differ. Identify which rating you hope to achieve and ask your manager about what it would take to achieve it. This can help to clarify your performance levels for the year and minimize surprises at the end of the year.
- Brainstorm potential obstacles that could arise and prevent your success. Create backup plans as appropriate.
- When and how will you measure progress? And what will success look like exactly for you at the end of the performance year?
- 5. Schedule time to discuss progress and update goals throughout the year.
- Schedule regular check in's and use Cornerstone Touch Points to document notes. It's a great place to refer to your approved goals in the system and to track your to-do list.
- Mark times on your calendar to input updates into your approved goals. A sliding scale is available to share percentage of progress made and notes about actions taken or obstacles encountered can be captured in the goal description. Files can also be uploaded to represent progress.
- Throughout the year, as priorities shift, goals can be changed, deleted, or added as needed. Be mindful about any changes to your total weightings. If these changes require more than 100% of your time/impact, negotiating priorities could be helpful.