When a manager and an employee agree on action items in a performance review's action plan, you can turn any action item into a goal with Set goal. The New goal wizard opens with the action item's text as the goal name and the employee already assigned, and the new goal stays linked to the action item. Once the goal exists, the action item shows the goal's progress and a See goal button.

Before you start

• The company needs both Performance reviews with action plans and Goals.
• You need Goals > Create key results with a scope that covers the employee of the action plan (for example, For direct and indirect reportees for your own reportees).
• The action item must already be added to the action plan. See the action plan articles in Performance reviews.

Step by step

Set a goal from an action item

1. Open the employee's action plan from the performance review (Performance > Reviews > (review) > action plan).
2. Find the action item and click Set goal.
3. In the New goal wizard, review the Name (prefilled with the action item text) and change it if needed. Assign to is set to the employee and can't be changed.
4. Add a Description if you want, choose the Goal period and Target frequency, and click Continue.
5. Configure the Type of metric and targets, and click Submit.
6. The wizard closes and you stay on the action plan. The action item now shows the goal's progress.
    

Open the goal from the action item

1. On the action plan, find the action item with the goal.
2. Click the arrow button (See goal) next to its progress. The goal's detail page opens.

Rules and behavior

• If your Create key results scope doesn't cover the employee of the action plan, then Set goal is not shown.
• If the action item already has a goal, then Set goal is replaced by the goal's progress and See goal.
• The goal created from an action item is assigned only to the employee of the action plan, so it is an Individual goal.
• Create an individual goal for each person is not offered when you set a goal from an action item.
• The goal created from an action item behaves like any other goal: it appears in Performance > Goals, can be edited, weighted, used in incentive plans and deleted.
• The link between the goal and the action item is kept in the background and can't be edited.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: "I don't see Set goal on an action item." → Cause: Your Create key results scope doesn't cover the employee, or the action item already has a goal. → Fix: Ask an admin to review your permissions, or click See goal to open the existing goal.
• Symptom: "I can't change Assign to in the wizard." → Cause: Goals created from action items are always assigned to the action plan's employee. → Fix: Create the goal from Performance > Goals > New Goal if it should be assigned to someone else (it won't be linked to the action item).
• Symptom: "The action item still shows Set goal after I created the goal." → Cause: The page has not refreshed yet, or the goal creation failed. → Fix: Refresh the page; if the button is still there, create the goal again.

FAQ

1. Is the employee notified when I set a goal from their action plan?
No notification is sent for the goal itself. The employee sees it in Performance > Goals and in their own goals side panel.

2. If I delete the goal, what happens to the action item?
The action item stays in the action plan. Set goal is available again.

3. Can I change the goal name so it's different from the action item?
Yes. The name is only prefilled; edit it in the wizard or later with Edit goal.

4. Can employees set goals from their own action plan?
Yes, if their permission group has Create key results with the scope For themselves.