Creating and Managing Goals

Importing goals allows your organization to create, delete, or update a large volume of goals for various users based on filter fields in a CSV file. Common filters include division, department, and location, but several others can be seen in the CSV file.

Using Import Performance Goals, and Import Development Goals, a CSV file can be generated from the goal plan template list, and administrators can easily manage goals for organizations.

Administrators need a Role-Based Permission to import goals for the organization: Administrator Permissions→Manage Goals→Import Goals. It is also possible to add a child permission, Import Goals for Target Population. If this permission is used in your organization, and users attempt to import goals for users outside their target population, they will receive an error message in the Goal Import Email Notification.

From the Goal Plan, depending on the goal plan configuration and permissions, employees, managers, and other roles can access different options when adding a new goal.​

To start, select the Create Goal button, which is available in the Goal Plan.

In the next step, the Goal Creation Menu options will be displayed. Depending on the instance and goal plan configuration, the following options will be available:

• Tell us what you want to achieve: - The feature AI-Assisted Performance Goals needs to be enabled. The employee can enter up to 500 characters to create a goal using Generative AI.
• Create from Scratch - Creating a goal with a blank goal form.
• Copy from Goal Plan - Create goals from other goal plans available to the user, which may contain goals that could be copied over.
• Create from Library - A goal library will open, and the user can select up to 10 goals from the library and make further changes as needed.

A Goal Library is a list of goals users can browse, selecting up to 10 goals at a time to add to a goal plan. Library goals provide a starting point for goal setting. Depending upon permissions, these goals can be modified in a second step or once the goal(s) have been added.​

To launch the goal library associated with the goal plan, users select the option Create from Library when they create a goal from the goal plan. ​

Users can use the AI-Assisted Performance Goals feature to create goals using Generative AI. When selecting Create Goal, the Goal Creation Options menu will show a text field titled Tell us what you want to achieve:, where users can provide input (up to 500 characters) and generate a goal using AI technology.

If this is the first time that the employee is using an AI-Assisted capability, the Generate button will trigger an AI Usage Acknowledgment, that needs to be reviewed and accepted first to agree on the AI capabilities considerations when generating outputs.

After selecting the Generate button and confirming the AI Usage Acknowledgment, you will see the Edit Goal screen, where you can edit the goal fields, such as Goal Name, Visibility, Category, Description, Metric, Dates, etc. You can also select the Regenerate button at the top right of the screen.

Users can also create Team Goals using Generative AI. When selecting Create Goal from the Manage Team Goals page, the Goal Creation Options menu will display a text field where a user can input what they want to achieve and use Generative AI to create a new goal when they click the Generate button.

In addition to using Generative AI to create goals, the Assisted Writing can be used to get assistance from AI technology to enhance the content from text and textarea fields, like Goal Name, Metric, or Description.

The capabilities for AI-Assisted Writing available in Goal Management are:

• Enhance Writing: Suggests grammar, spelling, vocabulary choices, and phrasing enhancements in the context of the selected line or paragraph.
• Change Tone: Provides options to change the tone of the writing of the selected line or paragraph to professional, personable, or constructive to suit the communication needs of different audience groups in the organization.
• Make Shorter: Shortens a selected line or paragraph to convey the message more concisely.
• Make Longer: Rewrites a selected line or paragraph by adding more words to provide a detailed explanation based on the original content.
• Make Bulleted List: Converts a selected line or paragraph into a bulleted list to simplify complex information and enhance readability by breaking it down into easy-to-read points.
• Analyze Text: Performs a safety scan on each text box, prompt entry, or Generative AI output to detect bias and suggest replacement text for any language flagged as potentially biased, discriminatory, or harmful.
• Translate: Translates the written text into the user's target language. This action supports the following capabilities:

  • Translation from en_US (US English) to all 46 languages supported in SAP SuccessFactors.

  • Full translation between the following languages: English (US), German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified), and Japanese.

Suggested text from Generative AI can be edited, and AI content can be regenerated to trigger different results that can be easily compared. Once the goal is saved, in the goal details screen, there is an indication that the goal is enhanced by AI. In the Create and Edit goal screen, there is an indication of AI-generated content per goal field.

Using Joule for SAP SuccessFactors, we can easily request navigational and transactional prompts to complete actions and navigate to different pages efficiently. For Goal Management, we can request to view our goals, create a new goal, or edit the details of our existing goals from a single place.

Watch the following video, which shows an example of how to review goals, ask Joule to create a new goal, or edit the goal progress and add a new comment on a goal from a manager's direct report.

This video is for demonstration purposes. Any references made in this video to previous or later videos in this course (including titles, numbers, links, or sequence) may differ from the current course structure. Additionally, some functionalities shown may have evolved over time due to ongoing enhancements or business decisions.

The Team Goals feature allows a manager, for example, to create a goal for their team without the goal having to appear on the manager’s goal plan. ​

The ownership of the Team Goals can also be shared with other managers (Co-owners). ​

The Co-owner will have administrative privileges over the team goals and can perform read/update/delete actions on the team goal, depending on their permissions.​

Example scenario below:​

Sara is a manager and wants to create a team goal that she can manage, but is not responsible for achieving. ​

When goals are aligned, SAP SuccessFactors enables managers and others with certain rights to view information regarding the progress of the aligned goals. Goal Alignment also makes employees feel more closely tied to the organization’s goals; goal alignment results from cascading or linking.

When users set goals for the review period, they can align the goals by cascading them to other users.

Cascading a goal simultaneously creates the same goal on another user’s goal plan and creates a link between them. For example, managers can cascade a goal to a direct report within their hierarchy.

SAP SuccessFactors offers multiple configurations for cascading goals.

Using the Cascade Goal option in an individual goal card, managers can cascade one personal goal. Selecting the Cascade Goal button will also allow a user to select multiple personal goals simultaneously to be cascaded.

Employees receiving the goal can be selected From My Team, including direct reports and matrix reports (if any).

Additionally, an advanced search can be done from Via Search to locate other recipients beyond the reporting hierarchy, using Division, Department, Location, or other criteria available.

Once the goal has been cascaded, the goal details will display in the Goal Alignment section of the individual to which it has been Aligned Down.

Each photo can be selected to navigate to the recipient’s goal details and track the progress and other information about the cascaded goal.

Goals can also be cascaded from another user's goal plan using the Cascade To Me option, depending on the user's permissions.

Linking

Another option for users is to link their performance goals with another user’s goals or unalign goals as needed. This feature helps increase goal visibility and fosters collaboration by allowing goals to be interconnected, making it easier to track and manage aligned goals across users.

In their own goal plan, users choose the Link Goal option on a goal card and follow the on-screen instructions. From another user’s goal plan, users can choose the Link with Mine option on a goal card and complete the linking steps.

Once the goal has been linked with another user, the goal details will be displayed in the Goal Alignment section of the individual to which it has been linked and displayed in the Goal Alignment chart. Users can also unalign goals using the Unalign Goal option on the goal card for goals previously linked or cascaded in their goal plan.

• Administrators can manage an organization's goals by generating a CSV file from the goal plan template list.
• There are several options available when an employee is adding a goal, but this is dependent on the configuration of the goal plan.
• A Goal Library is a list of goals users can browse and add to a goal plan. These goals provide a starting point for goal setting.
• Users can use the AI-Assisted Performance Goals feature to create goals using Generative AI.
• The Team Goals feature allows a manager, for example, to create a goal for their team without the goal having to appear on the manager’s goal plan.
• Cascading a goal simultaneously creates the same goal on another user’s goal plan and creates a link between them. For example, managers can cascade a goal to a direct report within their hierarchy.