Employee Performance Goals Examples for Development

The employee performance goals examples you need for employee development include SMART goals, performance goals, process goals, soft skills goals and self-management goals, each designed to build accountability, motivation and productivity.

Goal setting provides a multitude of benefits to both organisations and employees. It can build engagement, success and productivity through accountability, motivation, accomplishment, purpose and ownership. Done effectively, the right goals may also decrease turnover and allow your people to work at their potential.

But how do you ensure that goals are effectively set and managed? Below is an outline of the employee goal-setting examples that lead to ongoing success.

Make Them SMART

SMART Goals aren't just management speak for a new fad in employee development. It's a framework that ensures goals are:

Specific – the more detail, the better. If you want someone to achieve something, be as clear as possible so they know exactly what they're working toward.

Measurable – if you can't measure a goal, how can you tell if progress is being made? For instance, telling someone to "improve communication" isn't specific enough, and there are many ways to measure communication. Agree on the metric together, and use tools to track progress and keep motivation high.

Achievable – goals should stretch someone and be aspirational, but if they border on impossible, employees may feel demotivated and stop trying.

Relevant – even the best goals are null and void if they're irrelevant to the business and the individual's role. Align them with personal aspirations, but keep them relevant to the organisation and team.

Timely – progress and goal attainment take time, so each goal needs a realistic timeline: not too short, but not so long that the individual loses motivation.

Performance Goals

Performance goals relate specifically to what's required to succeed in a role. They tend to be short-term and linked to team and business objectives. If individuals fail to achieve them, performance management interventions may be required.

Employee Performance Goals Examples

If someone works in sales, you might set a performance goal for business development, such as gaining three new clients by the end of the quarter. The target number depends on past results and the individual's experience, and as a manager, you're responsible for making the goal SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to the team and timely, since new business is always relevant in sales.

Process Goals

Many aspects of individual and team roles involve processes that are difficult to avoid. Old and new processes can slow productivity and cause bottlenecks. Process goals ensure processes are understood and carried out correctly to enhance output and streamline performance.

Processes may be linked to software, form part of a project, or be a daily part of someone's role. They're often essential to get right, yet employees may avoid them while juggling other tasks.

Employee Performance Goals Examples for Process or Workflow

Imagine HR introduces a flexible benefits system with new processes for managing and recording employee benefits. After training, employees are expected to use it daily and encourage others to do the same.

A specific process goal could be:

"I will learn how employees can log into the new system, view existing benefits and add new ones. I will be able to advise them on process issues and walk them through it from log-in to selection." (Set a date to achieve and review this goal.)

Soft Skills Goals

Soft skills help your workforce get the job done well. They're interpersonal, non-technical behaviours such as communication, time management, problem-solving and conflict management. The challenge with soft skills is that they can be difficult to learn, since improving them means changing personal attributes to work better with others — but progress is possible, especially with well-set goals.

According to a survey by Indeed, the main soft skills managers believe their top performers possess are:

• Problem-solving
• Communication skills
• Self-direction
• Drive
• Adaptability/flexibility

If your people lack these skills, it's hard for your team or business to thrive. That's where soft skills goals come in.

Employee Performance Goals Examples for Soft Skills

As with other examples, these goals need to be SMART, including a time frame for improvement and review.

Example – Improving Leadership Skills:

"At least once a week for the next month, I will organise and carry out a one-to-one meeting with each of my direct reports to review their progress and catch up on their workload and projects."

To measure this: check if the meetings happen as planned, gather feedback from direct reports on how the meetings went, and discuss with the person how they think the changes have impacted them and their skills.

Self-Management Goals

Self-management goals are goals you set and manage yourself, without requiring a manager's input or progress tracking. They give you control and ownership over your development, providing motivation and accountability.

Choose these goals carefully — don't make them too easy, but ensure they remain achievable. They might focus on time management or productivity and can help you become more successful in your role.

Employee Performance Goals Examples for Self-Management

If you want to improve your time management, it may not be about arriving late to work — it could be about managing your workload within the time available. Example goals include:

• Keeping a daily check of your weekly schedule of tasks and deadlines, using online tools or trackers.
• Arriving early and prepared for every meeting, with questions or concerns ready in advance.
• Thoroughly analysing projects when you run or join a project team, understanding your responsibilities, deadlines, potential challenges and collaborators.

Using Feedback to Measure Goal Success

Awareness of the different types of goals needs to be put into action. You then need to measure how well goal setting is actually happening in your organisation and what your employees think about it.

You could gather feedback in several ways: ask individuals during team meetings or one-to-ones, set up goal-setting focus groups, or include a question in your employee satisfaction survey or pulse survey to understand employees' goal-setting experience and gather honest feedback for improvement.

You and your people need a mix of goal types to ensure optimal performance and development. In some areas, soft skills development will be key; in others, a process goal may be essential. There are many ways to assess how your people feel about goal setting, and plenty of apps to track goals and review progress.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the employee performance goals examples you need for employee development?

They include SMART goals, performance goals, process goals, soft skills goals and self-management goals, each targeting a different aspect of growth.

Why should employee goals follow the SMART framework?

SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely, which makes progress trackable and keeps employees motivated toward a clear outcome.

How do process goals help employee development?

Process goals ensure employees understand and correctly follow workflows or systems, reducing bottlenecks and improving overall output.

What soft skills goals should managers prioritise?

Communication, problem-solving, self-direction, drive and adaptability are the soft skills managers most often value in top performers.

How can organisations measure whether goal setting is working?

Feedback through one-to-ones, focus groups, or questions embedded in an employee satisfaction survey can reveal how well goal setting is being received.