Realistic Tips for Your 2022 Business Plan

“Begin with the end in mind.” — Stephen Covey

It’s January.  It’s that time of year again when people everywhere are recovering from the holidays and trying to stick to their New Year’s resolutions.  Business owners are looking at last year’s performance and preparing to put goals and objectives in place.  But for some businesses, goals might look a little different this year: Stay healthy.  Remain fully staffed.  Keep clients.  Stay above water.  Keep the lights on.  Don’t lose momentum.

As predictability becomes a thing of the past for many, planning for the future and goal setting may seem pointless, even frivolous.  Why spend valuable time, energy, and resources coming up with a plan for the future when something unexpected is likely to come along and derail everything?  As tempting as it may be to fall into that trap, remember that in this environment of instability, it is even more critical to have a solid plan in place.

“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy!” — Brian Tracy

 

 

Now is the perfect time to determine how you want to end this year, what the company needs to sell/produce/perform/execute on to get you there, and what your employees need to do to fully support that effort.

 

Here are a few tips to help you game plan for 2022:

  1. Use SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic/relevant, timebound) to create clearly defined objectives, that support the business’ objectives, for each employee.
  2. Include employees in the objective-setting process, when possible. Consider pulling your employees (or a selection of employees) together and let them work together to help formulate the individual employee goals that will drive the business goals.
  3. Build in an element of flexibility. Businesses that expect the unexpected and prepare for the unknown will be most likely to weather the storms that will inevitably come.
  4. Communicate, communicate, communicate. The better your employees understand the business’ objectives and how each role within the company has clearly defined tasks and responsibilities that are critical to driving those goals, the more they will buy-in. Follow up regularly on progress towards goals, both at an individual level and a Company level.  Make sure you’ve created a communication infrastructure to get necessary information out to your entire team on a consistent basis.  For example:
    • Hold monthly or quarterly all-hands staff meetings
    • Hold weekly leadership meetings
    • Ensure managers are scheduling monthly one-on-ones
    • Encourage daily or weekly morning or afternoon huddles
    • Send out regular reminders, notes of encouragement, updates via email or another internal communication forum.
  5. Don’t be afraid to manage performance. When staffing is tight, some managers may shy away from having tough conversations or addressing poor performance for fear of losing the “warm body” in the seat. However, failure to address poor performance can lead to even worse performance, affecting results and risking clients and employee engagement among the rest of the staff.  Providing pinpointed coaching and feedback regularly can keep everyone on the same page and moving in the right direction.

Remember, “If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.” —Brian Tracy

 

We are expert HR advisors who provide customized employee solutions that elevate your business. If you have questions about 2022 planning and employee retention strategies, please contact us at info@bergerhrsolutions or (410) 695-9888. Berger HR Solutions is here to help.

 

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