The request for us to "set our goals" via email is an absolute joke and seems to be an inefficient use of time and, frankly, somewhat disrespectful. In my area of work, no employee has ever received meaningful feedback from their manager. The narrative remains unchanged: "This is the firm's directive," "Meets is the new exceeds," and "Ratings are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things."
Perhaps a more constructive approach would involve managers providing their employees with genuine end-of-year evaluations. If a team has three individuals who truly exceed expectations, they should be recognized accordingly and they should hand out three exceeds. Otherwise, the current goal-setting is a complete waste of time, energy and resources.