These performance goals examples are written for the review conversation most small teams dread. A performance goal works when the person can see their own progress every week, not just when the manager writes it up at the end of the year.
Each one has a number, a date and a first step, and each is a SMART goal. Pick one, change the numbers to fit the role and agree it together. Or shape your own with the SMART goal generator.
Results goals are about the output of the job. Keep them to things the person can actually move, not numbers that depend on the whole business.
4 examplesA clear count with a date. Twelve a quarter is one a week, which makes it easy to tell in week six whether it's on track.
On-time delivery is something customers notice and the person controls. A streak makes a slip visible straight away.
Faster quotes win more work. Measure it from the first enquiry to the quote going out.
Pairing speed with quality stops the goal turning into closing tickets that come straight back.
Quality goals are about doing the work better, not more of it. They need a measure everyone agrees on before you start.
4 examplesRework costs twice: once to fix it and once in the customer's trust. One in twenty is a clear line to aim for.
A goal to hold a good standard is still a goal. It keeps the checklist in use between inspections.
A written checklist means the job is done the same way every time, and someone else can step in.
A wrong invoice delays payment and annoys the customer. Track corrections, not just invoices sent.
Customer goals connect the work to the people who pay for it. Keep the measure simple enough to check each week.
4 examplesA quick reply is the cheapest way to look professional. Most customers just want to know someone has it.
A goal to hold a rating makes a slip visible early, while it's still one bad week.
Past customers bring repeat work and referrals. Five calls a month is about one a week.
A complaint is free advice. The goal is that the same complaint doesn't come back.
Some of the most useful performance goals are about how a person works with the team. They still need a number, or they turn into "be a better team player".
4 examplesGood handovers stop the next person ringing the customer to ask what was agreed.
If only one person can do something, the business stops when they're away. This fixes one gap at a time.
Small, regular ideas add up. Asking for one a month makes it part of the job, not a favour.
A weekly check-in only works if people answer it. A run of answers also gives the review real notes to look back on. See employee check-ins.
Managers need performance goals too, and the best ones are about how well the team is supported.
4 examplesRegular one-on-ones catch problems while they're small. A fortnight is often enough without taking over the week. See one-on-one meetings.
People stop answering when nobody reads the answers. A reply, even a short one, shows they matter.
A review is easier when both people agreed the goal at the start. No goal, no fair review.
An action that carries over every meeting is either too big or not wanted. This goal forces a decision.
People work harder on goals they helped write. Bring three examples and choose one together.
A performance goal should depend on the person's work, not on the market or another team.
Without them, the review turns into opinions about how it went.
More than that and none of them get real attention.
Every goal above ends with a first step. Agree the first one before the meeting ends.
A short weekly check-in means the annual review holds no surprises. See Twelve check-in questions that get real answers.
A performance goal is a result a person agrees to reach in their role, by a date, measured in a way you both agree on. It is the basis for the review conversation, so it should be clear enough that you'd both give the same answer about whether it was met.
Two or three at a time. One results goal, one quality or customer goal and one about how they work with others is a good mix.
Start with what success looks like in the role, then add a number and a date. Ask whether the person controls it, and agree the first step together. How to write SMART goals has five questions that help.
Check progress briefly each week, talk it through properly in one-on-ones, and change goals each quarter or half. The yearly review should only confirm what you both already know.
Change it. A goal that no longer fits the job wastes effort. Note why it changed so the review is fair.
In Lifetick, each person writes their own goals, breaks them into tasks with dates and reminders, and links them to your core values. They choose which goals you see.
A weekly check-in asks what got done on goals and what got in the way, and the answers sit beside each person's goals. You reply in the app, and by review time you have weeks of notes to look back on instead of a blank page. See Send your first check-in and Read and reply to answers.
For how check-ins work across a team, see employee check-ins and goal setting software for small teams.
Twenty team goal examples for sales, support, operations and small business owners, each with a number, a date and a first step to take this week.
For teamsTwenty professional development goals examples for skills, study, leadership and career moves, each with a date and a first step for this week.
For youTwenty-five personal goals examples for health, habits, relationships, learning and home, each with a number, a date and a first step for this week.
Each person writes their goal, links it to a value and gets a weekly check-in. Free for 14 days, no card needed.
