UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Human Resources’ (HR) Talent Management team reminds staff that the 2024-25 Performance Review Cycle is underway. The current review cycle began on April 1 and will conclude on March 31, 2025. Workday is now open for goal setting and all full-time staff, executives and non-academic administrators should have a task in their Workday inbox called “Set Content: 2024-2025 Setting Goals and Expectations.”  

When managers and employees take time at the start of a new performance year to discuss unit objectives and ensure deliverables and expectations are clear, the employee is on track to achieve their goals as well as those of the units.  

"Goal-setting is an opportunity for each of us to connect and align our work to our organization's objectives. It ensures we are focused on the right activities for our team, unit and the University," said Christy Helms, senior director for HR talent management. 

The performance year is organized into four phases:  

Prepare (April): During the month of April, employees and managers should be working together to review unit strategic priorities and set individual and organizational goals that support priorities. The Developing Effective Goals and Setting SMART Goals knowledge base articles provide information for developing goals.  

Setting Goals in Workday (May): On May 1, Workday opened for entering goals. At this time, employees will enter their goals into Workday and submit to the manager. Once the goals are approved by the manager, they can be edited/updated as needed throughout the performance year. The online module on Setting Goals & Expectations in Workday provides step-by-step instructions for the employee and manager. There are two Zoom offerings for folks to learn about the process of setting SMART goals (PSU Performance Reviews: Setting Goals & Expectations for Managers and PSU Performance Reviews: Setting Goals & Expectations for Individual Contributors). 

Manage Goals (June–February): Once goals are set, focus turns to supporting the work to achieve goals. Regular meetings provide opportunities to provide feedback and document conversations. Employees and managers can use the Activity Stream functionality in Workday to document comments related to goals. The Check-Ins function can be used to document conversations about goals and the core principles. These comments are then available to both the employee and manager for use in preparing the evaluations at the end of the year. Refer to the Knowledge Base Articles, Commenting on Goals in Workday and Check-Ins.  

End of Year (February–March): The end-of-year activities will kick off on Feb. 14, 2025, and should be completed by March 31, 2025. A summary of end of year activities with a recommended timeline can be referenced on the HR Performance Management webpage.  

“Performance reviews play a crucial role in one of Penn State’s five areas of strategic focus, investing in our people.” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer. “Through this process, employees and managers discuss areas in which the employee has interest in growing and developing. These conversations help to inform HR in ways we can support our workforce in their growth through our professional development programming.” 

Employees and managers can add, update or remove goals throughout the performance year, but are encouraged to set and enter their goals in Workday by May 31. When a new goal is entered or updated by the employee, it must be approved by the manager in Workday. Additional resources may be found in the Performance Reviews — Set Goals knowledge base article.  

Several resources are available to support the “setting goals” phase of the performance review year. Visit the performance management webpages on the HR website to access training and job aids. 

Any questions related to goal setting should be directed to HR Services by opening an inquiry, using live chat, or by calling 814-865-1473.