BUSINESS OPERATIONS: Make Your Plan

Now is the time to develop a plan to improve your operations and get the year off to a positive start. Soon, you’ll find yourself too busy to focus on a plan and the next thing you’ll realize is  another year has gone by and things are  the same as last year.

If you can’t get to the next level, it is in part because you do not have a plan. This is a disciplined, creative process for determining how to take your organization from where it is to where you wish it to be in the future. It is fundamentally a decision-making process and encompasses the entire spectrum of issues an organization faces. Here are a few steps to create a plan and go through the process of envisioning your company’s future.

STEP 1 – CREATE A SURVEY. In an effort to make it congenial for your staff to participate in developing this plan, I suggest  a survey that asks questions about everyone and everything. For example:

• What improvements should be made to our shop operations?
•  What can the front office do to help you?
• What are you really good at?
• What can you do better?

This allows participants to express ideas on how the company can improve operations and also outline their own goals. Involve the field crew leaders, mechanics, etc. Also, give employees the opportunity to anonymously review other individuals they work with for additional feedback.

STEP 2 – COMPILE SURVEY RESULTS. It is best to have each individual mail these surveys to an outsider to compile. This is where you need to strongly consider a facilitator. A planning-session facilitator should be someone outside the company, but familiar with our industry. Someone not emotionally invested in the business who can bring experience in the planning process, give perspective on the future and allow team members to work as equals.

STEP 3 – CREATE A TEAM. The ideal size of a planning team is six to 12 individuals who represent every area of the company. For a small company, the team may involve just the owner and one or two managers.

STEP 4 – SCHEDULE A MEETING. Have the group meet at an off-site location like a hotel or resort for the maximum of two days. This keeps everyone focused on the task at hand without the typical daily distractions.

STEP 5 – REVIEW SURVEYS. Take each question and review the answers compiled by the facilitator. At this point, list your company’s strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats. This is where everyone can provide their input on changes.

STEP 6 – ACTION PLAN. The majority of the team’s time will be spent on identifying each goal and developing an action plan. The action plan identifies the events, phases or accomplishments that must take place for the plan to be met. Keep in mind, someone on the team must be responsible for setting dates by which goals must be accomplished and then seeing them through.

If your company is small, simplify the employee-survey concept by asking your employees their opinions, reviewing them and creating a plan for their suggestions to be implemented this year. Regardless of your company size, though, your plan will not work if you don’t write it down and review it in it’s entirety at least every quarter. Do this and you will be proud of your 2006 accomplishments.