Where Is Your Strategic Plan? 

 When was the last time you pulled your organization's strategic plan off the shelf? Many companies invest a great deal of time, money and manpower into producing a great planning document. The initial development and implementation is approached with great zeal. However, after time most plans are forgotten - the impetus that drove its creation is often refocused on other competing priorities. The result is that the plan is stowed away to become a placeholder in a bookcase in someone's office. 

The whole premise of a strategic plan is to guide an organization into the future - with a well throughout plan complete with goals, objectives and action items. Many companies fail to revisit their plans on a scheduled review cycle. It is extremely important to conduct a performance check on your plan to ensure you are achieving your benchmarks and maintain market viability. Just as you are managing your employees' performance through the annual review process (we hope this to be the case) - you should be evaluating your strategic plan's overall performance. Organizations that regularly maintain their plan are more apt to stay strategically focused rather than succumb to the temptation of reactionary decision-making.

Sustaining Organizational Buy-In  Maintains Plan Effectiveness

A key component of how successful a plan can be is directly related the the consistency, quality and frequency of leadership's follow through. During the initial planning and development phase, employees where most likely asked to contribute their ideas, feelings and concepts on how they view, or desire the organization today and into the future.  Generally, the plan's goals, objectives and action plans are created in part from their input and involvement. If management fails to maintain the direction and follow-through , employee support and motivation will diminish and the organization will falter.

Keep on track and deliver on what was created. If the environment changes, change with the environment. Seek input for alternative ideas or direction. Keep employees and key stakeholders involved as the plan evolves - maintain the motivation and focus on success.

If you have not revisited your strategic plan within the last year, it may be overdue.  Leverage its intentions with current conditions, change if necessary, and keep the organizational involvement high.

A Good Read...

Over the last several months, we have provided articles on the importance of hiring good employees and what it takes to keep them in your employment. Recently, we have come across a book by Richard Finnegan, "Rethinking Retention in Good Times and in Bad" that supports our philosophy by providing solid strategies for leaders searching for ways to maintain key performers in their organization. Below is the executive summary for your review.

Employee turnover is one of the primary concerns of U.S. executives, and the business world is still searching for an effective process that will maximize retention. In order to find and keep loyal workers, companies must identify their own strengths and weaknesses, and begin to offer unique rewards that will keep employees working for years-even decades-to come. Studies indicate that employee turnover costs anywhere from 12 to 40 percent of a company's pretax income, making turnover a critical issue for executives in all industries. Turnover is especially important in poor economies, since those who voluntarily leave their jobs are likely to be top performers. In Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad, author Richard Finnegan presents a practical new model that can help businesses of all kinds hold on to their best workers. The Rethinking Retention Model includes three principles that will help executives understand their retention problems, and seven strategies that can boost retention in any department. Each of these points is examined in detail throughout the book. The three principles at the foundation of retention are:

1. Employees quit jobs because they can.
2. Employees stay for things that are unique to a company.
3. Supervisor relationships drive both retention and turnover.

The basic strategies suggested by Finnegan to boost retention are:

1. Hold supervisors accountable for achieving retention goals.
2. Develop supervisors to build trust with their teams.
3. Hire the right people.
4. Script employees' first 90 days.
5. Ensure that company policies drive retention.
6. Calculate turnover cost and communicate the problem to management.
7. Drive retention from the top.

While these strategies describe ways to deal with specific problems, it is important to note that the common thread that runs through all effective retention strategies is the shared responsibility of operations management and staff support.

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