How to Import Goals from Excel in Performance?
One of the most important parts of the performance process is the goals that are entered.
These goals can be entered into the system in two different ways.
After the performance template is published, employees can write their own goals through the Sorwe app. They can enter their goals, goal weights, related actions, and more.
In addition to allowing employees to enter their own goals, you may also want the goals to be more systematic and controlled. In that case, you can upload the goals to the system via Excel.
In this article, we will focus on the second option.
Before uploading the performance goals to the system with the excel you have prepared, you must have created the performance template and assigned it to the employees.
You can check the article How to Start Performance? for this.
You can find detailed explanations for each column below. However, downloading the sample Excel file at the bottom of the page and reviewing all columns together will help you better understand the content of this article.
1. Employee Information (Column A)
In Column A, you should enter either the employee’s registered email address or mobile phone number in Sorwe, depending on which one is available. If the employee has an email address added to the system, Sorwe will identify them by that email, so you should use the email address for those employees.
If an employee has multiple goals, the same email address or phone number must be listed in separate rows for each goal/action. An employee may have just one goal or as many as you wish to assign.
2. Goal and Weight Information (Columns B–C)
Enter the employee’s goal in Column B and the corresponding goal weight in Column C.
The total weight of all goals for an individual should not exceed 100. The system allows you to upload goal list Excel files multiple times; therefore, if you plan to add extra goals later, the total weight does not necessarily have to reach 100 in the initial upload. However, if the total goal weight for an employee exceeds 100, an error will occur during the file upload.
3. Action Details (Columns D–E–F–G–H–K–L–M–N–O–P–Q)
The “Action” in Column D refers to the measurable steps or activities that will be taken to achieve the related goal.
Example Goal: To enhance operational efficiency by optimizing HR processes
Example Action: To standardize and make HR processes (performance management, training, leave management) traceable through digital platforms and automation tools
A goal can have multiple actions. In this case, you should list each action in separate rows while keeping the goal information the same. The goal weight should remain the same across all actions.
When you add multiple actions for a goal, the system will, by default, distribute the weight equally among the actions. You can adjust these weights later if desired.
In Column E, you need to enter the performance period in which the related action should be completed. Your performance process may be quarterly, semi-annual, annual, etc., and the periods are determined accordingly. For example, for an annual performance process, there is only one period; in this case, you can enter the period as “Q1.”
It is important to pay attention to punctuation and spaces; if entered incorrectly or incompletely, the system will not accept the upload. The period information you enter here must match the period information specified when creating the performance template in the management panel.
In Column F, you can enter any notes you want to add regarding the related action.
In Column G, you need to specify the realising condition for the related goal or action. You should indicate the type of progress measurement that applies to your goal (Project, Percent, Numeric, Currency, Decreasing Value, or Date). If a goal has multiple actions, you must enter the realising condition separately for each action. (If your goal uses the “Percent” condition and is also a descending action, you can enter the target value for the percent goal.)
In Column H, you should enter the target value to be achieved for the goal or action, corresponding to the realising condition specified in the previous column.
If “Project” or “Percent” is selected, the achieved value column should be left blank. For Date, enter the value in the format DD.MM.YYYY (e.g., 31.12.2025).
Example Goal: To acquire 50 new customers per year
Action for the Goal: To create weekly customer acquisition plans for the sales team and monitor performance through the CRM system
Realising Condition: Numeric
Target Value: 50
Let’s explain the Realising Conditions:
⁙ Percent — Select this when you want to track the progress of your goal as a percentage.
⁙ Numeric — Choose this when your goal has a specific numeric target to reach.
⁙ Project — Use this when the goal can simply be marked as completed or not completed. For example, hiring a new sales manager is a goal that progresses based on completion status.
⁙ Currency — Select this when the goal involves a financial target, such as EBITDA or revenue goals.
⁙ Decreasing Value — Choose this when achieving the goal depends on a reduction in value. For instance, the more electricity usage decreases, the more progress you make toward the goal. After selecting “Decreasing Value,” you must also define one of the following as the achievement criterion: Percentage, Numeric, or Currency.
⁙ Date — Use this for actions that need to be completed within a specific timeframe. For example: updating the technology infrastructure by December 31, 2025.
Column K is where you indicate whether the goal is a descending value goal. You should enter Yes or No. You must also select the realising condition to define how the goal will be measured.
In Column L, the Action Start Value column can be used if you want to set an initial value when creating the goal. For example, if your objective is to keep production costs at 40%, and this figure was 50% last year, you can enter 50 as the action start value. This way, the starting point of the goal is defined, and progress can be tracked accordingly.
In Column M, you can define the weight of the action. A goal can have multiple actions with different weights, and these weights affect the overall achievement rate of the goal. If this column is left blank, all actions related to the goal will contribute equally to the goal’s completion rate.
Example Goal: To generate 20 new leads per month
Action 1: To add at least five new potential customers weekly through LinkedIn, email, and phone calls, and record them in the CRM system
Action Weight: 60
Action 2: To obtain at least three new customer referrals per month through existing clients and follow up with those referrals
Action Weight: 40
In this case, the completion rate of the first action will have a greater impact on the overall progress of the goal.
In Column N, you can enter the Action Min Limit, in Column O the Action Min Limit Score, in Column P the Action Max Limit, and in Column Q the Action Max Limit Score. If you do not wish to use limits, you can simply leave these fields blank.
Let’s explain this with an example:
Suppose employee X has a goal of acquiring 50 new customers per year.
If you want X to earn at least 10 points even when acquiring fewer than 5 customers, you should enter:
Action Min Limit: 5
Action Min Limit Score: 10
This means if X acquires 4 new customers, they will still receive a minimum of 10 points for this goal.
If the target is 50 customers and you don’t want X to earn more than 120 points even when acquiring 51 or more customers, you should enter:
Action Max Limit: 51
Action Max Limit Score: 120
In this way, even if X acquires 60 customers, they will receive a maximum of 120 points.
4. Linked Goal Information (Columns I–J)
Each employee’s goal must be linked to a higher-level goal. This upper goal can belong to the employee’s manager or represent one of the company’s main objectives.
In Column I, you must enter the email address or phone number (without the leading ‘0’) of the owner of the upper goal to which the employee’s goal in Column B is linked.
In Column J, you should write the goal of the person listed in Column I exactly as it appears in the system.
Example (as shown in the sample Excel file at the bottom of the page):
Email: kaya.aslan@cx.com
Goal Description: To achieve an annual sales revenue of 5 million TL
Parent Goal Owner: ian.mcadams@cx.com
Parent Goal: To triple the company’s financial performance
In this example, Kaya Aslan’s goal related to revenue is linked to Ian McAdams’s goal regarding financial performance, meaning Kaya’s goal derives from Ian’s higher-level goal.
Points to Double-Check:
The goals defined within the performance process must collectively have a total weight of 100%, including all related actions. You can upload multiple Excel goal lists throughout the performance process. Therefore, even if the total goal weight does not add up to 100%, the Excel upload will still be completed successfully. However, the employee will see a notification window on their screen as shown below:
The relevant performance period must be written as “Q1”
Pay close attention to punctuation and spacing — if entered incorrectly or incompletely, the system will not accept the file.
You may fill in the Action Note field; however, it is not mandatory.
The Realising Condition must be one of the five measurement types: Project, Percent, Numeric, Currency, or Date. If “Project” or “Percent” is selected, the Target Value column must remain empty. For the Date type, the value should be written in the format 31.12.2025.
When the Excel goal list is ready, we can load it from the system. Click on the Options button, then choose the Import Goals From Excel.
Then you can select the your Excel Goal List via Upload Goals button.
When the Excel list is OK, the following screen will appear:
Here are some import settings. Let's review these.
→ You can check the "Delete employees' previous goals" option if there are predefined goals when you load this list and you want to delete the goals which are not in the new excel or you want to update them.
※ The deletion process works like this: Let's say the employee has 3 goals. Let these be X, Y and Z. If there are only goal X and goal Y in the newly uploaded Excel list, the Z target will be deleted. And X and Y will be updated.
→ If you "Lock Imported Goals", employees cannot edit or change the goals that you imported.
※ Let's say you did not choose this option, employees will be able to edit their goals. Afterwards, these goals will go to the employee's approval. When the employee approved them, this time, goals will go to the manager's approval.
※ If you want the goals to be approved automatically, you can turn on the parameter next to it.
※ When you turn on the "Lock Imported Goals" option, the next parameter will change. Then, employees will not be able to edit their goals. Goals will be approved automatically, and there will be no need for employee or manager approval.
※ If you want any approval, you can choose "Goals require employee approval" option.
※ This option does not require manager approval for goals uploaded. Goals will be approved automatically.
→ With the "Goals require employee approval" option, imported goals require to be approved by employees.
You can take a look at the employee's goals before uploading the list.
Then you can upload the list with the Start button.
