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Performance Excellence: Setting Goals & Mid-Year Conversations

Setting performance goals for the performance year is part of the Performance Excellence process. Performance goals are strategic objectives that guide employees towards fulfilling the requirements of their role and contributing to team and organization’s success. You should review the strategic plan for McCormick School of Engineering. Individual performance goals are tailored to each employee, serving as a roadmap for what they're expected to accomplish within a specific timeframe. Setting and aligning goals is a powerful tool that will guide you to your destination of a successful performance year.

The Power of SIMple Goals: An Alternative Approach to Achieving Success provides tips on the advantages of creating SIMple goals and how to implement them. Managers and staff should collaborate to create two to four performance goals using the SIMple goal framework.

Specific or objectively measurable.
The measures are stated in terms of outcomes and impact.

 

 

 

Important or aligned with our school or unit goals.

 

 

 

Meaningful or motivating to you.

 

 

You can add goals at any time into myHR Learn. Step-by-step system guides are also available in myHR Learn.

Examples of Performance Goals

Examples of collaboration goals could include:

1. "Increase the number of joint projects between different departments by 20% over the next quarter to promote interdepartmental communication and cooperation."
2. "Implement bi-weekly collaborative problem-solving sessions to boost innovative thinking and strengthen team unity."
3. "Improve team satisfaction scores by 15% in the next employee survey by fostering a more cooperative and supportive team environment."

Examples of soft skills goals could include:

1. "Improve public speaking and presentation skills by attending a public speaking workshop and presenting at least once per month at team meetings."
2. "Enhance emotional intelligence by participating in an emotional intelligence training program and practicing active listening and empathy in daily interactions."
3. "Develop stronger problem-solving abilities by leading a project that involves complex planning and decision-making, aiming to deliver the project successfully and receive positive feedback from the team."

Examples of problem-solving goals could include:

1. "Enhance analytical problem-solving skills by completing a relevant online course and successfully applying the learned techniques to at least two significant work-related problems in the next three months."
2. "Reduce the average time to resolve customer complaints by 25% over the next quarter by developing and implementing a new customer service protocol."
3. "Improve creative problem-solving skills by leading a project that requires innovative solutions, aiming for a successful project completion and positive feedback from the project team within six months."

Examples of professional development goals could include:

1. "Complete an advanced certification course in data analytics within the next six months to enhance decision-making skills in the role."
2. "Attend at least two industry conferences in the next year to stay updated with the latest trends and practices."
3. "Seek and engage in a mentorship program with a senior leader in the organization over the next quarter to gain insights and guidance for career growth."

Examples of creativity goals could include:

1. "Generate at least three new ideas each month for improving the team's workflow or processes."
2. "Develop and implement an innovative solution to a longstanding departmental challenge within the next six months."
3. "Participate in a creative thinking workshop and apply learned techniques in daily work, aiming to contribute at least two innovative ideas for team projects in the next quarter."

Examples of self-management goals could include:

1. "Improve time management by breaking each workday into strategic time blocks for specific tasks, aiming to reduce overtime hours by 15% over the next two months."
2. "Enhance stress management by incorporating mindfulness techniques into daily routine, to decrease stress-related sick leaves by 20% in the next quarter."
3. "Boost productivity by developing a system for prioritizing tasks, targeting a 10% increase in completed projects within deadlines over the next six months."

Mid-Year Performance Conversations

A mid-year performance conversation should focus on reviewing accomplishments since the last review, identifying areas for improvement, discussing challenges faced, and setting clear goals for the remaining year.  These conversations should take place in mid-January.

 

Employee Guidelines	Manager Guidelines
Prepare a list of your accomplishments and progress to date: Provide your manager with current information on your accomplishments starting from when goals were set. Prepare for the discussion—what you have accomplished to date against your goals and what you would like to accomplish.	Schedule a meeting: Ask your employees to come prepared to discuss the major accomplishments achieved so far and their priorities for the rest of the year.
Meet and discuss performance to date: Ask for feedback from your manager on what you are doing particularly well, and what you might improve upon. Provide your manager with specific examples of what you’ve done particularly well and where you would like to improve. Make the discussion easier by asking questions like, “What else could I have done to improve X” or “Do you have any suggestions for me?”. Then listen carefully.	Prepare for the mid-cycle status review: Review your files of what has been accomplished to date. It helps to maintain an updated file for each of your direct reports.
Discuss what you plan to achieve by the end of the fiscal year and ask what your manager expects you to achieve in this period: Make sure you get all the information you need by making sure your goals are SIMple. If you walk away unsure of what is required, you have not gotten the clarity that you need. Make your manager aware of any issues or roadblocks you are facing and discuss how they might be overcome. Let your manager know what you need from him/her during the remainder of the fiscal year to be successful.	Meet and discuss performance to date: Share with the employee what goals you think they have achieved effectively so far this year. Also, tell the employee what goals you'd like them to focus on for the rest of the year. Provide specific, behavioral examples of what the employee is doing particularly well, and examples of anything that needs to change. Ask the employee how the job is going. Questions like "What's going well?" and "What needs to be improved?" can foster a productive conversation about the work and their performance.
Discuss your development activities for the year: Share progress you have made toward your own development plan with your manager. Find out how your manager can support you in accomplishing your development goals for the year.	Discuss your expectations — and the employee’s expectations — about what the employee should accomplish by the end of the year: Agree on how goals should be prioritized for the remainder of the fiscal year. Ensure a shared understanding of performance expectations to minimize unpleasant surprises at the year-end performance review. Find out what challenges or roadblocks are faced by the employee. Ask how you can help eliminate roadblocks, and then follow through.
Complete the discussion: Thank your supervisor for their feedback. Recommit yourself to a successful year.	Complete the discussion: Thank the employee for their hard work and encourage them in their work for the remainder of the year. Document the discussion and give a copy to the employee.

 

Remember to focus on constructive feedback, providing specific examples to support your points, and actively listen to the employee's perspective to ensure a productive mid-year review conversation.

Examples of Questions to ask During the Mid-Year Conversation

Employee:

• How have I met or exceeded your expectations since our last check-in?
• What specific feedback can you provide on a recent project or deliverable of mine?
• What training or new skills acquisition would make me more effective in my role?
• How does my performance contribute to our team’s success? 
• How could I improve?

Manager:

• How have you done since our last check-in?
• What specific accomplishments from the last six months are you most proud of?
• What was a miss, and what did you learn from it? 
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your performance?
• How can I better support you? 
• Is there another role you see yourself in at this company? What can we do to get you there?