UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As Penn State enters the 2025-26 goal-setting cycle, employees will begin the work of developing goals to work toward over the next year.
As you develop those goals, it’s important to remember that they are more than just an assignment. Annual goals can help you to advance your career, develop new skills and work alongside your peers to support the University’s mission.
“There are two primary reasons we ask employees to set goals each year," said Christy Helms, senior director for talent management. “The first is the chance for units, colleges, campuses, and teams to review their priorities for the coming year and identify activities that must take place to achieve these priorities. The second is the opportunity for individuals to set professional development goals in support of their career objectives. “
As individuals, the goals you set may be specific to the work you do or focus on personal skill development that will ultimately benefit the work and support your personal career development. As a team, the performance review period provides a chance to assess accomplishments over the past year and ensure everyone understands priorities for the next year.
Having a defined, shared set of objectives allows individuals to set more meaningful goals and make decisions about how they can be most effective in supporting the team. These tips from Penn State Human Resources provide additional insight on how to set the best goals for you and your team.
Q: What makes a goal different from my everyday responsibilities?
Goals are activities that will improve or enhance the work you already do. They may represent an action you will take to improve a process, enhance the customer or student experience, or establish a new program or incorporate a new responsibility in your work area.
Goals have a defined start and end date, and once completed, the deliverable may become part of your everyday responsibilities moving forward. A goal is an opportunity to advance, improve or grow in your area of expertise — and while it is separate from the work you’re already doing each day, it can help to improve or develop that work in new ways.
Q: In my job, I don’t do the kind of work that allows me to set a goal. What do I do?
Goal setting is about identifying something you want to accomplish, no matter how big or small, and making it a priority. Goals do not have to be complicated, and they need to be relevant to your work. Some goals may not require tremendous effort and can be completed with just a few days or weeks of effort. Others may be more complex and require the support of other individuals or teams over the course of months, a year or longer. Focus on identifying tangible and meaningful things you can do to improve the work you do for your unit, college, or campus.
Q: I don’t have time in my day to take on more work. Why should I commit to accomplishing goals?
Setting a goal is a way to prioritize an activity and does not necessarily equate to additional work. A goal may be focused on improving an existing activity or process — work you already do — or it may focus on implementation or mastery of a new responsibility. Defining these types of activities as goals can help you meet your objectives.
Q: How many goals should I have?
The number of goals you can have may vary from year to year based on complexity, but a single employee should not have more than five in total. If your goals are simple and can be accomplished without outside input or team collaboration, you may be able to go up to five — but this isn’t required, and it may not suit your needs. If your goal is complex, you may decide to limit yourself to a single goal. There is no required number of goals. Goal setting is about committing to an objective that will improve or enhance the work you and your team are already doing.
Q: What if I can’t complete my goal in the current performance year?
It is possible to have goals that stretch across multiple years. Not every goal can be accomplished quickly, and some will require more dedication or involvement than others. You can use the description section of the template to outline your milestones and include deliverable dates. At the end of the year, provide a rating and comments based on work accomplished in the current year and leave the goal status as “in progress.” Leaving the status “in progress” will allow the goal to automatically populate your goal template for the next performance year.
Q: What is the benefit for me if I accomplish my goals? Why should I work toward them?
As a member of a team, when your goals are aligned with team priorities, accomplishing your objectives contributes to the overall effectiveness of the team and may directly or indirectly improve the experience of our students or other customers. As an individual, a goal can be an opportunity to focus on your professional development. In both cases, they are opportunities for employees to positively contribute to their team and highlight their accomplishments.