Individual objective achievement plan

Please note the information in the guidelines on page 4.

Employee	Date
Supervisor	HR partner (HRP)
Reasons The supervisor makes note of the reasons (performance and/or behaviour) why the objective achievement plan is necessary.

Objective setting (OS)

OS = objective setting, SR1 = status review 1, OAR = objective achievement review, I = interim reviews

Objective(s) What observable and measurable results are expected in terms of performance and/or behaviour?	Measures Define the concrete measures that should be taken to achieve the objective(s). How can the employee take initiative to achieve the objective(s)? How can the supervisor/ETH support them via training, coaching, mentoring, etc.?	Date Status Review (SR1) Agree on a binding date	Date Objective Achievement Review (OAR) Agree on a binding date
DD.MM.YYYY (Date SR1)	DD.MM.YYYY (Date OAR)

Confirmation that objective setting (OS) has taken place

Date	Signature of employee	Signature of supervisor
DD.MM.YYYY (Date OS)

Status review (SR1)

OS = objective setting, SR1 = status review 1, OAR = objective achievement review, I = interim reviews

Objective(s) Copy the objectives from OS, adapt if necessary	Interim status Discuss the interim status of all the objectives that have been agreed on. Is the employee on track to meet them? Which observable and measurable objectives have they achieved, and to what degree? Define any additional measures and how the supervisor specifically can provide support.	On track to meet objectives?	Date OAR The original date can only be pushed back in agreement with the HRP
☐ Yes ☐ Not quite Define additional measures	DD.MM.YYYY (Date OAR)
☐ Yes ☐ Not quite Define additional measures
☐ Yes ☐ Not quite Define additional measures

Confirmation that status review (SR1) has taken place

Date	Signature of employee	Signature of supervisor
DD.MM.YYYY (Date SR1)

Objective achievement review (OAR)

OS = objective setting, SR1 = status review 1, OAR = objective achievement review, I = interim reviews

Objective(s) Copy objectives from SR1	Objective achievement review (OAR) Which observable and measurable objectives has the employee achieved? Which objectives were not met, and which follow-up steps are to be taken?	Objective met?
☐ Yes ☐ No Follow-up steps together with HRP
☐ Yes ☐ No Follow-up steps together with HRP
☐ Yes ☐ No Follow-up steps together with HRP

Confirmation that objective achievement review (OAR) has taken place

Date	Signature of employee	Signature of supervisor
DD.MM.YYYY (Date OAR)

Send copies following each meeting to:

All meeting participants

HR partner (for storage in the employee’s personnel file)

ETH Zurich

Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership

Binzmühlestrasse 130

8092 Zurich

Guidelines for individual objective achievement plans

Individual objective achievement plans are created for employees whose performance and/or behaviour do not meet expectations. This plan is a central component of the non-routine goal and assessment process. You can find more information in the following document: Guidelines goal and assessment process. You should involve your HR partner (HRP) as early as possible.

Basic approach

Inform your employee about the reasons for putting them on an objective achievement plan and make them aware of the objectives and consequences of the plan.

When defining the measures needed to achieve these objectives, it is important to concretely spell out what kind of support there needs to be between the employee and the supervisor, e.g., continuing education, coaching or mentoring.

After the objective setting (OS) stage, you need to have at least one status review (SR1) that is put into writing before the final status review (OAR) in which you assess whether the employee has met their objectives. The first status review (SR1) should take place three months after objective setting (OS) at the latest. Depending on the situation, the first status review (SR1) can already take place after one or two months. It is also an option to hold additional status reviews (SR2, SR3, etc).
Example:
14 March – Objective setting (OS)
14 June – Status review (SR1)
14 September – Objective achievement review (OAR)

You should have regular interim reviews (I) at short intervals, for example weekly, biweekly or monthly.

As soon as you notice that the agreed timeframe for achieving the objectives cannot be reached, and/or if the two planned reviews (SR1 and OAR) are not sufficient for achieving the objectives, you should discuss follow-up steps with your HR partner (HRP), e.g., postponing the timeline, warning with a note for the employee’s personnel file.

Example procedure for individual objective achievement plans

By this point, the objectives have been achieved, or if not, define follow-up steps together with HRP

OS = objective setting, SR1 = status review 1, OAR = objective achievement review, I = interim reviews

The following questions can help you formulate objectives and measures:

What are the concrete changes that the objective should bring about? What kind of performance or behaviour is expected of the employee? (SMART objectives)

What measures are needed to achieve the objective? What support does the employee need from the supervisor or from ETH?

How can we tell when the objective has been achieved?

How can we tell if the employee is on track to meet the objectives? Which partial objectives need to be met by the time we have our next status review?