Put your people at the heart of the end of year planning process
Planning effectively for the year ahead is always difficult. You need to understand every trend in your sector, pinpoint what competitors are doing and understand how customer needs are changing. And you need to bring together all this information to create a strategy that works.
Involving your people is vital. You need to tap into their understanding and knowledge to underpin your plan. And you must get their buy-in – otherwise you won’t have a chance of implementing it successfully.
However, planning this year is particularly tough, with uncertainty and volatility impacting every organisation in lots of ways.
Seven key businesses trends we’ll all face in 2023
In fact, according to Forbes, there are seven major challenges that business must get ready for in 2023:
- Inflation and the economic downturn: Most forecasters expect a slowdown in economic growth with prices continuing to rise, meaning you’ll need to closely scrutinise and adjust spending plans.
- Supply chain security: Supply chains were first hit during the pandemic and are now being impacted by the war in Ukraine. If your business is facing these challenges, instead of over-ordering in order to hold additional buffers, you should look to restructure your supply chains to avoid similar future challenges.
- Increasing customer expectations: Customers are demanding improved offline and online experiences. Your company need to challenge itself to ensure you’re able to deliver on their expectations.
- Accelerated digital transformation: AI, 5G, Blockchain and the Internet of Things are among the key technologies that are revolutionising business operations. You must ensure your firm can access the skills and expertise it will need to make the most of the advances in tech to re-think how you work.
- The War for Talent will intensify: Most parts of industry are having to fight harder to attract and keep the best talent – especially when it comes to future skills. As part of this you will have to make sure that your business can meet employee expectations in terms of work-life balance, flexibility, training, work environment and more.
- Data and device security: Enterprises are relying on data more than ever. But with ransomware, hacking and cybercrime on the rise, one of the big priorities is ensuring all your data and devices are secured.
- Sustainability: Customers are demanding that businesses operate sustainability and move away from fossil fuels. Which means decarbonisation has to be a practical objective for every business.
Why you need to involve your people in planning
Your employees are working hard in the trenches every day. By using their feedback about the challenges and trends they’re seeing, you’ll be best positioned to make a plan that will work. Engaging them early in the process will get them fully engaged, so follow this checklist to drive success.
5 step checklist for involving your people in the planning process:
- Lean on your team: Involve employees early in the planning process to ensure they are excited and take ownership of the strategic plan.
- Get aligned: Align your plan closely with your overall business goals. Use feedback from employees to make the planning process more effective and give each employee their own goals that tie into the bigger plan.
- Over-communicate: Poorly communicating makes misunderstandings and inefficiencies more likely. Make sure everyone knows their objectives so that they are crystal clear on what they should be doing.
- Focus on the plan & execution: Be specific about who needs to do what and what expectations are. Without this employees are more likely to feel stressed and be less productive.
- Lead by example: You can’t overemphasize the importance of having engaged leaders who are able to share their vision with the team. With the right people in place, leading with enthusiasm and optimism you can drive incredible success.
If you want to make 2023 your best year ever, prioritise the planning process and make sure you involve your people in it. Tivian’s in-depth guide to end of year planning is packed with advice and important considerations. Download it here
