By Pam Gruszka and Norah Blackaller, Human Resource Services
Setting goals is a good way not only to help accomplish the task at hand, but also to chart a course for future accomplishments.
Beginning this month, managers will receive a Workday notification asking them to review their employees’ goals and have a conversation with employees about the status of those goals, as well as the steps necessary to achieve them.
While doing this is optional, the Human Resource Services team highly encourages all managers to take this opportunity to check in with their employees, discuss progress toward goal completion and find out what they can do as a manager to support their employees’ success.
It is clear from the recent climate survey that better communication between managers and employees is critical to improving the lab’s culture, creating a safe work environment and engaging in scientific and technical research that changes the world. A goals check-in is one opportunity available to all managers to open a line of communication.
Goals serve to identify top priorities for an employee’s job performance. Periodic conversations between managers and employees can focus on expectations and progress but also on whether the set goals are still appropriate. Projects and priorities can change which may mean goals should be adjusted.
Managers are able to request feedback at any time — not just during performance appraisals. Doing so may result in more valuable feedback. For example, asking for feedback on a recently completed project while an employee’s contribution is fresh in people’s minds should make it easier for them to provide more useful details.
Completing the Goal Check-In action in Workday also gives managers the opportunity to document notes on employee performance, and making notes now may make it easier to complete the appraisal process in October.
As employees, we want our supervisors to help us be effective. Taking the time to speak with your employees about goals and expectations outside of the performance appraisal process is one way to ensure employees are focused on priority work and can be optimally effective.
Job aids for completing the Goal Check-In action on Workday are available on Box via the Workday Help icon on your Workday home page or the Workday page on Inside Argonne:
- In the folder “Workday How To for Performance Appraisals,” subfolder “Goals,”:
- Setting Effective Goals.docx: Guidance on goal writing for managers and employees
- Goals-Add View and Edit.docx: How to navigate Goals in Workday for managers and employees
- Goals A Closer Look session video Apr2018.url: A link to a recording of the town hall session
- Goals A Closer Look session slides Apr2018.pdf: Slides from the town hall session
- The job aid Request Feedback.docx is available in the folder “Workday How To for Others”: How to request feedback in Workday for managers.