Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Establishing Performance Goals

The first step in the Performance Assessment process is to establish what kind of performance is expected and how it will be measured. Use the Employee Responsibilities and Goals Form with each type of assessment.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Using the S.M.A.R.T. approach when creating goals is an effective way for managers and employees to be clear and understand each other.

S.M.A.R.T acronym and descriptions
Letter Description
S Specific: Be specific when establishing goals. Are expectations met and priorities specific and clear? If applicable, have previous expectations changed since goals were established? How are the expectations consistent with the goals of the department? The work group?
M Measurable: How will both parties know when a performance is Successful vs. Outstanding? What types of observations or review would indicate that the employee is performing at a Consistent level? What examples, behaviors, feedback will be considered?
A Attainable: Goals should be appropriate to the employee’s responsibilities and level of experience, and reasonably attainable within the individual’s control. If a standard is unrealistic, people feel they’re being set up for failure.
R Realistic: Given the employee’s current performance, time in the position, and department priorities, are the goals realistic?
T Timeframe: What must the employee do in the next 90 days, six months, one year? Are all employees expected to accomplish the same goals in the same time frame? What type of follow-up schedule will be considered?

Intercultural Competence Self-Assessment

In order to assist with the continuous development of culturally aware and responsive leaders, the District Leaders for Diversity Council (DLDC) created an Intercultural Competence Assessment tool. This tool also moves PCC toward compliance with HB 2864 (Chapter 397; 2017 Laws; Effective date January 1, 2018), which states, “Each public institution of higher education shall establish a process for recommending, and providing oversight for the implementation of, cultural competency standards for the public institution of higher education and the institution’s employees.” Instructions for using the Intercultural Competence Assessment tool are on the first page of the forms below: