Goal Setting & Performance Planning
What's New and Changing for Goal Setting
What's New for FY26-27
Change #1: For FY26-27, there are a few updates to goal setting and performance planning. CU 抖阴传媒在线 is committed to fostering the success of all faculty, staff and students. To support this institutional priority, two campus-wide goals have been established for university staff employees.听
- Growth & Development goal:听 All university staff will be assigned a growth and development goal aligned with CU 抖阴传媒在线鈥檚 institutional priority of supporting the success of students, faculty, and staff. This goal may be used as written or tailored to reflect the skills, knowledge, and experiences that best support each employee鈥檚 professional growth.
- Supervisor goal: All university staff supervisors will have a leadership goal focused on regular check-ins, performance conversations, employee development, and supervisory growth (supervisors only). This goal may be used as written or tailored to reflect individual leadership development priorities for the year.
Change #2: In addition to campus-wide goals, employees will work with their supervisor to create 1-3 individual performance goals aligned with team, unit, and institutional priorities. These goals may focus on key job responsibilities, special projects or initiatives, stretch assignments, professional development, or other supervisor-defined priorities.
Change #3: Employees should create between 3-5 total goals with their supervisor. No more than 5!
Are we still using Core Competencies?
- The university will no longer use Core Competencies in performance evaluations and is developing new CU 抖阴传媒在线 values (expected in October) to replace them.
- Going forward, employees will be evaluated on both what they achieve and how they achieve it, with a single, comprehensive rating for each goal rather than separate ratings. The values will help define how employees performed their job responsibilities.听
- Additional guidance on assessing the 鈥渉ow鈥 will be provided once the new values are finalized and integrated.
- In the interim, colleges and units may continue using their own competencies or values to define and evaluate the 鈥渉ow,鈥 potentially as a goal.
- Once campus-wide values are in place, the university will shift toward aligning evaluations with those values and move away from division-specific competency goals.
Goal Setting Best Practices
College and unit priorities can change throughout the year, and goals should be flexible enough to adapt as priorities evolve. Well-crafted goals help you stay focused on what matters most while supporting your team's and the university's success.
When creating your goals, keep these best practices in mind:
- Focus on what matters most. Identify the one to three most important priorities you want to accomplish over the next year.
- Make goals specific and measurable. Clearly define the desired outcomes and the behaviors that will contribute to success.
- Align goals with organizational priorities. Connect your goals with team, unit, or institutional priorities.听
- Stay flexible. Revisit and adjust your goals throughout the year as priorities or business needs change.
- Focus on outcomes, not tasks. Goals should describe meaningful accomplishments rather than serve as a job description or list of day-to-day activities.
- Keep goals current. Maintain one to five active goals at a time. As goals are completed, add new ones as appropriate to reflect evolving priorities and responsibilities.
Goal Setting Process
Goals are created through a collaborative partnership between employees and supervisors to ensure shared expectations and alignment.听
- Built through open dialogue
- Finalized during the goal-setting conversation
- Connected to team and institutional priorities
All employees should have up to 5 goals, including:
Growth & Development Goal (required)
- Focus on building skills, knowledge, and career growth
Supervisor Goal (supervisors only)
- Focus on leadership, team development, and performance conversations
1 to 3 Individual Performance Goals that are aligned to:听
- Job responsibilities
- Team/unit priorities
- Projects, initiatives, or stretch work
Effective goals are clear, actionable, and measurable using the S.M.A.R.T. framework. ( See Resources for S.M.A.R.T. template)
- Specific: clearly defined outcome
- Measurable: track progress and success
- Achievable: realistic and attainable
- Relevant: 听aligned to priorities
- Time-bound: defined timeline
- Set goals at the start of the performance cycle (ideally July 1)
- Finalize the goals by September 30
- Review goals: One growth and development goal, one supervisor goal ( for supervisors only), and one to three individual goals aligned with team, unit, and institutional priorities. No more than five total.听
- Be sure to have regular 1:1s between the supervisor and the employee; update goals as needed.听
A goal-setting conversation should be a collaborative discussion to align priorities, reflect on performance, and finalize goals between both the supervisor and employee.听
- Reflect on past performance
- Discuss priorities and expectations
- Co-create and finalize goals听
- Confirm next steps and documentation
The goal-setting conversation should be collaborative between the employee and the supervisor. During the conversation, priorities should be aligned, employees should reflect on performance, and goals should be finalized.听
- Reflect on past performance
- Discuss priorities and expectations
- Co-create and finalize goals
- Confirm next steps and documentation
- Goals can be entered into Cornerstone or on the performance planning form
- Campus-wide goals are pre-populated (feel free to edit!)
- Employees tailor goals and add their own individual goals
Goal setting isn't a one-time task; goals should evolve and change as work and priorities change throughout the year.听
- Discuss goals throughout the year in 1:1s between supervisors and employees
- Update goals as needed if priorities change
- Track progress and adjust expectations
These are a few examples of goals. Please reference the University Staff Goal Setting Instructions and Guidelines and CU 抖阴传媒在线 Campus-wide University Staff Goals documents for a comprehensive list.听
Supervisor Expectation:All University Staff supervisors will have a leadership goal focused on regular check-ins, performance conversations, employee development, and supervisory growth.听听
Supervisor Goal: Demonstrate leadership by fostering an inclusive and empowering team culture that enables team members to contribute, grow, and reach their full potential by participating in at least one supervisory-focused training or workshop and applying at least one key takeaway.听
Individual Performance Goal Expectation: Individual goals should be specific, measurable, and focused on achieving the key responsibilities, performance outcomes, and organizational priorities that contribute to success throughout the performance year.听
Project goal example: Lead the redesign of the student onboarding process by mapping current steps, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing an improved workflow that reduces processing time by 25% by the end of the academic year.听
Growth and Development Goal Expectation: This goal focuses on building skills, knowledge, or experiences that support professional growth and improve effectiveness in the role. This may include training, mentoring, job shadowing, new responsibilities, or other development opportunities that strengthen performance and support long-term career growth.听听
Growth and Development Examples: Take responsibility for the growth and development of myself and others by actively seeking guidance, feedback, and training. Specifically,听听
- I will complete at least two training courses this year to strengthen my knowledge and build connections with CU colleagues and professionals in my field.听
- I will cross-train with a colleague to learn their key responsibilities and serve as a backup, working with them and my supervisor through hands-on practice.听
Goal setting in 5 steps:
- Reflect on past performance
- Supervisor and employee align on priorities
- Create S.M.A.R.T. goals (max 5) in collaboration with supervisor
- Enter and finalize goals
