UNIVERSITY PARK – The 2026-27 annual goal setting and performance review period for Penn State staff and technical service employees began July 1. The new performance review cycle includes enhanced features for staff participants designed to support meaningful, consistent and balanced evaluations for both employees and managers.
These enhancements to the staff/executive/administrator process are based on feedback HR received from surveys administered last fall to employees and managers, seeking their input on the annual performance management process. When the results of the 2025 Staff Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey revealed room for improvement in how staff employees view the performance review process, Human Resources sent out the surveys to better understand what could be improved. Staff focus groups were held to analyze and share the results of the HR survey, which informed the technical enhancements.
“Thank you to our staff and managers for taking the time to fill out the surveys and meet with us in the focus groups to share your ideas and feedback and help improve the performance management experience for all of our staff colleagues across Penn State,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer. “These changes are part of a broader ongoing effort to improve the work experience for our valued employees and to promote their professional growth and development.”
The following features have been incorporated into Workday to enhance the performance review process in response to employee feedback:
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My Work: During the focus group conversations, both employees and managers voiced support for rating core job duties in addition to goals. The new “My Work” capability will help focus reviews on employees’ primary work activities.
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Milestones: The Milestones capability gives employees the option to document their progress on goals throughout the year. Similarly, employees can also add comments to their goals to document progress and check in with their managers.
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Get Feedback: This capability gives employees – both managers and non-managers – the option to seek feedback from their colleagues, peers, and direct reports, and incorporate this input during goal setting and end of year conversations.
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Workday Journeys: Focus group conversations also revealed a general lack of awareness of resources available to help with the Performance Review process. Workday Journeys – a new communication and training tool – will tie Workday tasks with the relevant job aids together in the same platform. The Journey to introduce the new performance management features will be available for staff employees to view in Workday on July 6.
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Manager Insights Hub: This new centralized area in Workday gives managers the ability to quickly access manager-related tasks, reports and resources, streamlining how they manage, support and communicate with their direct reports.
These updates are part of a continuing effort by the University to utilize employee feedback to inform changes, including shifting the review cycle for employees to more closely align with the fiscal year.
“The performance review process is always evolving to meet the needs and expectations of our valued staff and managers,” said Christy Helms, senior director for Talent Management. “We will continue to be open to feedback, evaluating the effectiveness of the process and looking for opportunities for enhancements.”
Workday opens for goal setting on Aug. 3. Staff members are encouraged to work with their managers in July to identify goals for the 2026-27 performance year. Employees will be receiving emails from Human Resources with more information in the coming weeks.
The goal setting and review process applies to all full-time, benefits-eligible staff, administrators and executives across Penn State locations and presents an opportunity for managers and staff to discuss and solidify annual priorities in support of the University’s mission.
For more information on goal setting and the performance review process, managers and individual contributors can sign up for training sessions in July and August through Penn State’s Learning Resource Network (LRN). Check the LRN for available session times. A compilation of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found on the Penn State Human Resources website.