Solutions
Keep goals moving after the day they are set
There is a system for setting goals, and nothing that carries them afterwards. An AI interview asks where each goal stands each month, and records the next step and the date it is due.
Challenge
Stalled goals are not a motivation problem
An MBO-style goal-setting process tends to move only at a few fixed moments: the start, the end, and whatever checkpoints sit between them. Between them it rests on conversations with a manager, but what was said stays with whoever was in the room, so the next conversation starts by asking where things stand all over again. Rules about recording it get written, and then the day job takes over.
- Goals set at the start of the period do not move until the end of it
- What comes out of a conversation scatters across paper, spreadsheets and memory
- Conversations differ by manager, and so does the detail that gets written down
- Each one restarts instead of continuing from the last
01
Goals imported
Pulled from your HR system
02
Send the interview URL
No scheduling back-and-forth
03
AI interview
Evidence of progress, the year-end outlook, the next step
04
Record generated
A recap for the employee, a structured record for the manager
05
Manager conversation
Evaluation and encouragement
The three shaded steps come off the monthly workload. Setting the bar, evaluating against it and motivating people stay with the manager.
Solution
The AI does not evaluate. It asks, and it organises
Goals already entered in your HR system are read in as they are, so nobody rewrites them. The interview asks three things: the evidence behind the progress, the outlook for year-end, and the next step with a date on it. When it ends, the employee gets a recap and the manager gets a structured record.
- Starts from goals already entered, so nothing is typed twice
- Everyone is asked the same things, to the same standard
- Each interview continues from the last, and the record shows how a person changes over time
- The manager still decides. The AI puts no score on anyone
What the employee receives afterwards (excerpt)
Likely to slip
Reworking the quoting process
The new process is designed, but the system changes are on hold waiting for a quote. “I can’t take it to the approvers without a number,” so the supplier needs a deadline for their reply.
Next step Set a deadline for the system quote (this week)
For the manager A deadline is needed so this does not sit waiting for a reply
Across the year
What the interviews add up to is the next set of goals
An AI interview is not a one-off. The same person is asked the same things across the period, so the records are already in place when the review conversation comes, and what is written back at the end becomes the material for setting the next round of goals.
01
Start of the period
Goals go into your HR system
02
During the period
Interviews build up: evidence and next steps
03
Before the review
The review starts with the records in place
04
End of the period
The result is written back
Related pages
More detail, by topic
The criteria used in goal reviews connect with the criteria used in hiring.
Your performance review criteria can be used for hiring as they are →
Use review criteria in interviews as they are, and find the ones that common questions leave without evidence.
Whether an interview evaluation was right only shows after the hire →
Check hiring evaluations against results after the hire.
Frequently asked questions
Does the AI evaluate people?
No. What it produces is a record of what the person said, organised by topic. Setting the bar for a goal and judging performance against it stay with the manager, as before.
Does this add work for the employee?
No. The goals and plans set at the start of the period are read from your HR system as they are. What the interview asks for is new: the evidence behind the progress, the outlook for year-end, and the next step.
How often should the interviews run?
We suggest starting with two — one during the period and one before the review. They fit the conversations you already hold, so your HR system needs no changes and the workload barely moves. Once you can see the effect, you can move to fortnightly or similar.
Does this work with OKRs?
Yes. OKRs usually run by the quarter, and some organisations deliberately keep them away from performance reviews, but what the AI interview does is the same: it reads the goals already set, asks for the evidence behind the progress and the next step, and keeps the record. The shorter the cycle, the shorter the gap between interviews.
Will we notice when something changes?
As the records build up, the same person can be followed over time. Shifts in motivation, in how someone approaches the work, and in the difficulties they are carrying can be flagged to the people who need to know. What counts as a change, and on what threshold, is tuned to your own standards.
Can it connect to our HR system?
It reads the goals in and writes the year-end result back. How much is possible depends on the system, so tell us which one you use.
Who can see the record?
By default, the employee and their manager. Beyond that, you can name who else can see it, person by person.
Do we have to roll it out company-wide at once?
No. Run a few people through it first to check the steps and the time it takes, then extend it to managers, and decide from there whether to take it company-wide.
How do we measure whether it works?
The share of records where the agreed fields are actually filled in, the time the conversations take, and the gap between self-assessment and manager assessment. Which of these to use depends on why you are introducing it.
How much does it cost?
Pricing works differently here than for hiring interviews: it follows the number of employees covered and how often the interviews run. Tell us roughly the scale and we will put a quote together.
Show us your goal-setting cycle exactly as it is
We will show you where the AI interview fits into it. Free, about 30 minutes.