Writing Effective Goals:

Employee Guide

March 2009

Contents• MyGoals Tool Overview

•What is the tool•Why use the tool

• Employee Development Overview•Employee Development Cycle•Employee Development Tools

• Effective Goal Setting•Why establish goals?•SMART model

• Writing Goals•Things to Ask Yourself•Goal Setting Pitfalls•Examples•Action words

• Goal Review Process

My Goals Tool Overview

• A Standardized Goal Setting Tool Used Throughout the Year By Employees. Includes:

Goals and associated action plans that support the strategic imperatives of the business

> Targeted completion dates

> Updates of progress against goals

> Ability to update eEMS accomplishments with progress updates from MyGoals

What is the My Goals tool?

Enhances Existing Goal Setting Process

Aligning Your Goals with Business Priorities Sets You Up to Succeed

The My Goals tool allows the business to establish goal categories reflecting its key strategic initiatives so you can align your goals with business priorities

This ensures that your individual goals support the business objectives

Why Use the My Goals tool?

Employee Development Overview

Employee Development Cycle

An integrated approach to driving business results and optimizing

employee development

Goal Alignment/Employee

Development Cycle

Ongoing Goal

Reviews

Learning and Development

Plans

BusinessSession C

Employee EMS

EmployeeGoals

Business Leadership Team

key priorities

Salary/Bonus Revie

wAnnual EMS

Review

Session C II

360 Reviews

(as applicable

)

What Is it? - An Annual Performance Review and Development Needs Discussion Between a Manager and EmployeeWhat is it Used For? To Provide Performance Feedback for the Past Year, Identify Development Needs and Career Interests & Act as An Internal ResumeKey Elements

>Identifies Accomplishments Against Goals for the Past Year

>Identifies Strengths & Development Areas for Specific Employee

>Summarizes Career/Job Recommendations

How Is It Implemented? A GE Wide Process Completed Annually

e-EMSe-EMS

What Is It? - The Annual People Review by Each Business/Functional Leader With CEOWhat Is It Used For? As an organizational and individual readiness assessment for the yearKey Elements

>Key People Initiatives>Exempt Talent

Assessment (fed by EMS)

>Succession Planning>Development,

Exposure, and Training Opportunities

How is it Implemented? A GE Wide Process Completed Online by Human Resources & Business Leaders

Individual Performance

Assessment Over Past Year

Individual Performance

Assessment Over Past Year

e-Session Ce-Session C

Organizational Assessment of Key

Talent

Organizational Assessment of Key

Talent

What It Is? - A Process for Setting Individual Goals for the YearWhat Is It Used for? To Set Performance Expectations and Accountabilities for the YearKey Elements

>Allows you to align your goals with key business priorities

>Includes Manager/Employee Goal Reviews

How is it Implemented? Goals set at the start of each cycle with periodic updates- timing determined by each business

Definition of Individual Performance Goals For

The Year

Definition of Individual Performance Goals For

The Year

Employee Development Tools

My GoalsMy Goals

Effective Goal Setting

GE’s G’s &O’s for 2009

Keep the Company Safe

Why Establish Goals?…To Align Your Efforts with Your Business’ Priorities

Each cycle, your business sets its key priorities that reflect the areas your business needs to focus on to be successful. Your business has translated these priorities into goal categories in the My Goals tool against which you should align your goals. This alignment ensures that all employees are focused on contributing to the overall business goals.

Simplification (example only)

Growth (example only)

Quality (example only)

• Review your business’ goal categories, and determine what your goals need to be to help support and deliver these key priorities.

• If you have a goal that supports more than one category, align it with the category where the goal will have the most significant impact.

• Note that you do not need a goal in every category.

Guide Your Work and Give Direction. They Reduce Conflicting Priorities.

Objectify Your Work. They Help Reduce the Confusion and Frustration of Subjective Interpretation. Contradictory Expectations.

Assert Your Intentions. Without Goals You Are More Likely to be Distracted and Spend Time on Non-Priority Items.

Link You to the Organization’s Mission. Goals provide a Line of Sight Between the Individual’s Contribution and the Organization’s Mission.

Spur You into Action. They Provide the Impetus for the Individual and Organizational Achievement.

Importance Of Goals

Specific and Measurable. A SMART goal quantifies, and is unambiguous. Commit to focused, specific goals. It is much easier to manage and execute objectives when they are measurable.

Motivating. SMART goals are emotionally compelling. They build morale, and inspire stakeholders; both direct and indirect. Goals that contribute to business success and/or personal development are much more likely to be completed.

Attainable. A SMART goal is realistic, but makes you stretch. Goals that do not provide sufficient challenge are meaningless. Evaluate reality, and set yourself up for success.

Relevant. SMART goals prioritize the 20% of activities that contribute 80% of results. Properly conceived goals are relevant to the organization’s goals, and help solve business problems.

Trackable and Time-Bound. Strong SMART goals have target dates to ensure that they don’t get lost among daily imperatives. Each goal you establish should be able to be broken down into shorter, trackable segments that enable you to check your progress and evaluate the quality of your efforts.

How Do I Set Effective Goals?

Writing Your Goals

Writing your Goals

•“Does this goal align with the SMART model?”•“Is this goal tied to the business priorities?”•“How would I define success for this goal?”•“How would I describe this goal to someone else?”•“Is this goal realistic? Can I easily tell when this goal has been achieved?”

•“Can I cut tactical details out and still preserve the meaning of the objective?”

•“Have I mixed performance objectives, metrics, and timing together (e.g., Achieve 100% on all customer quality metrics on a monthly basis)?”

Things to Ask Yourself When Reviewing Your Goals:

Your Objectives Should be Clear to Anyone Reviewing Your Goals

• Setting Too Many Goals and Objectives. While there is no set number of recommended goals, your goals should be based on the overall deliverables of your job.>The majority of your goals should relate to what is most important to your job. >Too many goals often means that a goal has been broken down into its individual tasks rather than focusing on the deliverable.

• Defining Activities/Tasks Instead of Outputs or Expected Results.• Not Clearly Defining the Standards of the Expected Results (e.g.

Quantity, Quality, Time)• Not being specific enough• Making Goals Too Wordy• Not Reaching Mutual Agreement and Understanding with your

Manager of Performance Expectations• Failing to Renegotiate Goals As Needed

Goal Setting Pitfalls

Writing your Goals

Examples of Good Goals

Goals Metrics TimingImplement Smart Pricing system

Achieve 5% price increase & $500MM Operating Margin

Q 2 20XX

Standardize financial reconciliations within sub business

Completed analysis and recommendations for standard template

Q 1 20XX

Manage & penetrate existing customers to meet renewal target

Achieve 85%+ renewal rate

Dec 20XX

Drive Growth through new account signings & new services

Add 10 new accounts (x orders, x $$ NEA) & 10,000 new services

Dec 20XX

EHS compliance training for new hires

100% of new hires to be trained within 30 days of start date

June 20XX

Writing your Goals

Writing Your Goals

Effective Goals Use Action Words: Use Wording That Is “Action Oriented” and Concise Rather Than Passive and Wordy. The Following List of Key Action Verbs May Be Useful When You Prepare Your Goals:

• Setting Too Many Goals and Objectives. While there is no set number of recommended goals, your goals should be based on the overall deliverables of your job. The majority of your goals should relate to what is most important to your job. Too many goals often means that a goal has been broken down into its individual tasks rather than focusing on the deliverable.

• Defining Activities/Tasks Instead of Outputs or Expected Results.

• Not Clearly Defining the Standards of the Expected Results (e.g. Quantity, Quality, Time)

• Not being specific enough

• Making Goals Too Wordy

• Not Reaching Mutual Agreement and Understanding with your Manager of Performance Expectations

• Failing to Renegotiate Goals As Needed

Common Pitfalls

http://ems.ge.com

G&O Review Process

Employeedocuments

goals

Final Version?

Add ManagerComments (optional)

EmployeeEdits

Needed?

Employee

Manager

One over one Manager or HRM

My Goals Workflow: Initial Submission To Approval

Yes

Start

SUBMIT to

Manager

Approve

ACKNOWLEDGEGOAL

DISCUSSION

RETURN UNAPPROVED

View Goals(anytime afterSubmission by

Employee)

ActionWorkflow Process Step

Yes

No

No

Goals Discussed

WithManager?

Yes

Save as Draft

Add Status Update

My Goals Workflow: Updating a Goal After Initial Goal Approval

ActionWorkflow Process Step

Start: GoalsHave Been Approved

AddGoal

Employee – Option 1

Manager

Employee – Option 2

Employee – Option 3

ManagerViews

Changes

Final Version? Yes

No

Save as Draft

EmployeeEdits

Needed?

Add ManagerComments

(optional), Send to Employee

Revise Goal Completion

Date or Indicator

Employee – Option 4

SUBMIT to

Manager

CancelGoal

Yes

No

One over One Manager, HR Manager

View Updates& Manager Comments

ManagerUnlocks Goal to

EmployeeEdit Status