Goal Setting & Performance Planning
What's New and Changing for Goal Setting
What's New for FY26-27
Change #1: For FY26-27, there are a few updates to goal setting and performance planning. CU Boulder is committed to fostering the success of all faculty, staff and students. To support this institutional priority, two campus-wide goals have been established for university staff employees.
- Growth & Development goal: All university staff will be assigned a growth and development goal aligned with CU Boulder’s institutional priority of supporting the success of students, faculty, and staff. This goal may be used as written or tailored to reflect the skills, knowledge, and experiences that best support each employee’s professional growth.
- Supervisor goal: All university staff supervisors will have a leadership goal focused on regular check-ins, performance conversations, employee development, and supervisory growth (supervisors only). This goal may be used as written or tailored to reflect individual leadership development priorities for the year.
Change #2: In addition to campus-wide goals, employees will work with their supervisor to create 1-3 individual performance goals aligned with team, unit, and institutional priorities. These goals may focus on key job responsibilities, special projects or initiatives, stretch assignments, professional development, or other supervisor-defined priorities.
Change #3: Employees should create between 3-5 total goals with their supervisor. No more than 5!
Goal Setting Best Practices
College and unit priorities can change throughout the year, and goals should be flexible enough to adapt as priorities evolve. Well-crafted goals help you stay focused on what matters most while supporting your team's and the university's success.
When creating your goals, keep these best practices in mind:
- Focus on what matters most. Identify the one to three most important priorities you want to accomplish over the next year.
- Make goals specific and measurable. Clearly define the desired outcomes and the behaviors that will contribute to success.
- Align goals with organizational priorities. Connect your goals with team, unit, or institutional priorities.
- Stay flexible. Revisit and adjust your goals throughout the year as priorities or business needs change.
- Focus on outcomes, not tasks. Goals should describe meaningful accomplishments rather than serve as a job description or list of day-to-day activities.
- Keep goals current. Maintain one to five active goals at a time. As goals are completed, add new ones as appropriate to reflect evolving priorities and responsibilities.
Are we still using Core Competencies?
- No. Core Competencies will no longer be part of the University Staff performance management process.
- CU Boulder is developing a set of university-wide values, expected to be finalized in October, which will replace the current competencies framework and be incorporated into both the Mid-year Connected Conversation and the Year-end Performance Evaluation.
- Moving forward, evaluations will focus on both what employees accomplish and how they accomplish it. Each goal will receive a rating that reflects both results and demonstrated behaviors, rather than separate ratings for goals and competencies.
- Once the campus values are finalized, additional guidance will be provided on how to evaluate demonstrated behaviors using the new values framework.
- In the interim, colleges and departments may continue using their own values or competencies to support discussions about behavioral expectations and goal achievement.
- However, once CU Boulder values are in place, the university will align evaluations to the campus-wide framework and phase out department-specific competency goals.
University Staff are strongly encouraged to complete the new Goal Setting for Performance Management training, which introduces the updated framework and provides guidance for this year’s goal setting. Register for a training or attend office hours.
Goal Setting Process
Goals are created through a collaborative partnership between employees and supervisors to ensure shared expectations and alignment. The process is grounded in open dialogue, with goals discussed and finalized during the goal setting and performance planning conversation.
All employees should have up to 5 goals, including:
Growth & Development Goal (required for all university staff)
- Focus on building skills, knowledge, and career growth
Supervisor Goal (required for university staff supervisors only)
- Focus on leadership, team development, and performance conversations
1 to 3 goals aligned to team, unit or institutional priorities.
- These goals may include core job responsibilities and annual priorities, special projects or strategic initiatives, stretch assignments, professional development, or other supervisor-identified priorities
Set clear, actionable, and measurable goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework.
- Specific: clearly defined outcome
- Measurable: track progress and success
- Achievable: realistic and attainable
- Relevant: aligned to priorities
- Time-bound: defined timeline
- Goals are established at the start of the performance cycle (July 1 for university staff) through a collaborative goal setting process between supervisors and employees.
- Goals must be finalized in Cornerstone or on the Goal Setting and Performance Planning form by September 30
- They should be reviewed regularly and updated as needed during ongoing one-on-one meetings to reflect evolving priorities and maintain alignment.
A goal setting conversation is a collaborative discussion between the supervisor and employee to align on priorities, reflect on performance, and finalize goals. It should include reviewing past performance, clarifying expectations, and jointly developing goals, with agreement on the goals, next steps, and who will document them in Cornerstone or on the paper form.
- Reflect on past performance
- Discuss priorities and expectations
- Co-create and finalize goals
- Confirm next steps and documentation
- Goals can be entered into Cornerstone or on the performance planning form
- Campus-wide goals are pre-populated and should be reviewed, customized, and updated as appropriate
- Add 1-3 individual goals that align with team, unit, or institutional priorities
Goal setting is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Goals should be discussed regularly during one-on-one meetings and updated as priorities evolve throughout the year. Supervisors and employees should use these conversations to review progress, adjust goals and expectations as needed, and ensure continued alignment with team and organizational priorities.
Goal Setting in 5 Steps
- Reflect on past performance and lessons learned
- Discuss and align on team, unit, and institutional priorities
- Collaboratively develop 1–3 individual goals and review and customize the 2 university-wide goals, for a total of no more than 5 goals
- Agree on success measures, action steps, and any needed support or resources
- Document and finalize goals in Cornerstone or on the Goal Setting and Performance Planning form
These are a few examples of goals. Please reference the University Staff Goal Setting Instructions and Guidelines for a comprehensive list of examples
1–3 Individual Goals Expectation: Employees should establish 1–3 individual goals aligned with team, unit, or institutional priorities.
Individual Goal Example: Lead the redesign of the student onboarding process by mapping current steps, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing an improved workflow that reduces processing time by 25% by the end of the academic year.
Growth and Development Goal Expectation: This goal focuses on building the skills, knowledge, or experience needed to improve performance and support professional growth. Employees should identify the specific actions they will take to achieve the goal, such as completing training, seeking feedback, volunteering, or taking on new responsibilities.
Growth and Development Goal Example: Take responsibility for the growth and development of myself and others by actively seeking guidance, feedback, and training. Specifically,
- I will complete at least two training courses this year to strengthen my knowledge and build connections with CU colleagues and professionals in my field.
- I will cross-train with a colleague to learn their key responsibilities and serve as a backup, working with them and my supervisor through hands-on practice.
- Participating in at least one supervisory-focused training or workshop and applying at least one key takeaway.
- Holding regular (at least monthly) one-on-one check-ins with direct reports.
- Completing all required performance management activities for each direct report by established deadlines, including goal setting and performance planning, the required mid-year connected conversation, and the year-end evaluation.
- Using the performance management website for tools and guidance as needed.
- Providing equitable access to development, mentorship, and stretch opportunities.
- Celebrating team achievements and milestones.
Inviting input from all team members and recognizing their contributions.
- Participating in at least one supervisory-focused training or workshop and applying at least one key takeaway.
Supervisor Expectation: All University Staff supervisors will have a leadership goal focused on conducting regular check-ins, providing meaningful performance feedback, supporting employee development, and strengthening their own supervisory effectiveness. Supervisors should include the specific actions they will take to successfully achieve this goal.
Supervisor Goal: Demonstrate leadership by fostering an inclusive and empowering team culture that enables team members to contribute, grow, and reach their full potential by:
