Importing goals in Grow lets you quickly set up multiple goals at once, saving time and ensuring consistency across your team. Whether you’re an HR admin or a manager, this feature allows you to add goals in bulk while maintaining accuracy. This article will guide you through the step-by-step process of preparing your file, importing goals, and following best practices to avoid errors.
Before proceeding it is good to know:
The import only supports creating new goals.
You cannot modify existing goals through import.
To edit goals, you must use the Grow interface directly.
Re-importing a modified export will create duplicates.
Accessing goal imports by role
The method for importing goals varies based on your assigned role:
HR manager for all people
Go to Goals → Import goals.
Click Download an example file and fill it out with all the goals you want to import.
Review the File requirements to ensure your import runs smoothly.
HR manager for selected groups or departments
Go to My team → Goals.
Click Import goals to open the side panel.
Click Download an example file and fill it out with all the goals you want to import.
Review the File requirements to ensure your import runs smoothly.
📌 Note: To learn how and where to manage your HR manager role see User roles and permissions in Grow.
The file structure
Here’s a detailed overview of each column in the import file—take a moment to review them to understand how each one works.
id (mandatory): Unique identifier for the goals.
parent_id: Identifier of the parent goals (for sub-goals).
owner (mandatory): goals owner → must match an existing user’s email or ID.
title (mandatory): Title of the goals.
description: Description of the goals.
kind (mandatory): Type → qualitative or quantitative.
status: Current status → not_started, on_track, at_risk, off_track, unachieved, achieved, overachieved.
period (mandatory): Goals period → e.g., 2023, S1 2023, Jan 2023.
period_start / period_end: Start and end dates for the period (date format required).
start_at / due_at: Start and due dates of the goals (date format required).
unit (mandatory for quantitative goals): Unit of measure → %, €, upsells, etc.
start_value (mandatory for quantitative goals): Starting value → e.g., 0, 100.
target (mandatory for quantitative goals): Target value → e.g., 100, 200.
value (mandatory for quantitative goals): Current progress → e.g., 50 for 50%.
priority: Priority → value between 1 and 4.
weight: Weight → positive integer (>1).
to_assess (mandatory): Indicates whether the goals should be assessed → true or false.
📌 Note: Follow the rules in the platform’s guide for proper formatting and column setup. Adding or customizing title columns is not supported.
Best practices for import
Use .xlsx format only. Maximum file size: 15 MB.
Include all columns listed above.
Any error in a single row will cancel the entire import.
Accepted date formats:
start_at / due_at → DD/MM/YYYY
period → Jan YYYY, Q1 YYYY, T1 YYYY, S1 YYYY, YYYY
Goals can have one level of sub-goals (parent → child). Child goals inherit parent dates by default.
The parent_id field must match an ID present in the file.
Importing the file
When you’re ready to upload your file, either drag and drop it into the designated area or select it manually.
Email confirmation
After the import is processed, you will receive an email:
Success: The email confirms the number of goals created.
Failure: The email includes an attached file highlighting errors that must be corrected before retrying.
Performance reviews
If you want goals to appear in performance reviews, they must be created before launching the review campaign.