Setting Objectives and Identifing Development Needs

Online performance appraisal questionnaires can include both personal and role specific objectives.

Typically organisations cascade organisational and departmental targets down to an individual role. Such objectives help to define role specific performance standards that need to be attained in order for an individual to be successful in their role and which have a direct impact on the attainment of role, departmental and organisational targets.

Personal goals and targets are also beneficial as they can outline to an individual how they need to personally improve, grow and develop in their role.

Similarly, training and development can also reflect company-wide training initiatives and personal developmental needs.

Goal and Objective Setting

Setting goals and objectives for an individual are key to many performance appraisal schemes.

Many organisations also adopt the approach of setting SMART objectives (e.g. Specific, Attainable, Results-focused, and Timely), linking performance and behaviour within a role and across the organisation.

Typically goals, objectives and targets are reviewed every time a performance appraisal is undertaken to ensure that role and personal objectives are up-to-date or require changing and reflect both the current and future needs of the business.

Setting performance targets and goals also has the benefit of helping a business define behaviours required and performance standards that need to be reached at an individual, role, departmental and organisational level.

Our appraisal system provides the facility to record individual goals, objectives and targets, giving an organisation the ability to set a framework within which an individual can reach high performance levels and also stretch them within their role.

(Using our core competency and key bahaviour framework can also help you and your line managers to define realistic goals, objectives and developmental needs.)

Training and Development

Whether you provide employees with on-the-job training, offsite training courses,  e-learning opportunities, or access to professional or vocational qualifications, it is important to record such training activities.

Ideally appraisees should also be encouraged to log developmental activities they have undertaken, including what they learnt from the activity, what support they might need (and from whom), a development action plan and what additional developmental activities they plan to undertake.

Performance appraisal questionnaires can include a record of training undertaken and future training and development activities required. Typically such data is stored as free text, allowing line managers and employees to record their comments and thoughts. This data in turn can also form a development plan, which an appraisee can take ownership of and complete during the next performance appraisal period.