The one thing you should never do with a strategic plan is to put it away in a bottom draw and forget about it until the next time it needs to be revamped. There is a real risk of this considering that strategic plans are set for a period of 3-5 years. A strategic plan should be reviewed by management on regular basis so that: - It serves as a guide to the decision-making process of management
- Strategies can be evaluated for their effectiveness; and
- The impact of significant changes to the business environment can be considered
Strategic plans should NOT be considered as unchangeable for their stated period. There is every probability that the strategic plan will need amending from time to time for reasons such as: - It becomes evident that a particular strategy is already unsuccessful
- New and better opportunities become evident
- The organisation's financial circumstances change
- Significant people either arrive or leave the organisation
- Factors in the external environment change
The organisation's management should therefore review the strategic plan on a quarterly basis by measuring the extent to which key performance indicators have been achieved. A short report (perhaps one page) that tables progress made, can be presented to the management committee or board to faciltate the process. If the existing plan becomes unworkable in any significant way, a new plan should be formulated. It may not be necessary to go through all the steps taken to prepare the existing plan, simply that goals, objectives and strategies need to be amended or removed. The final step in any planning process is to monitor and evaluate progress. The same way as you check the signposts along a road when completing a journey, it is similarly important to check that development is on track. The management committee should use reports against its annual operational plans to review progress towards meeting the strategic aims and objectives. Therefore, they must ensure that whoever is doing the work is keeping appropriate records so that progress can be assessed. This will involve, at the implementation stage of your plan, being clear what systems and structures are required. The things you decide to measure will give an indication of how well you’re doing, hence, the name indicators or performance measures. Before completing your plan, you need to agree how and when it will be monitored and reviewed and what information the Management Committee needs to receive in order to review progress. When reviewing progress towards achieving the strategic aims and objectives, the Management Committee should: - ensure that activities are kept within the parameters of the agreed strategic aims and objectives
- ensure that activities are consistent with organisation’s vision, mission and values
- if the organisation is a charity, use the information collected to show the public benefit the charity is having
- keep under review internal and external changes which may require adjustments to the organisation’s strategy or affect their ability to achieve their objectives
More on monitoring and evaluation. For further information on strategic planning and the other stages in the process, click on the links below: Strategic plans have become crucial for small businesses looking for ways to survive in an increasingly unstable global economic climate. Crafting and developing such plans is only half the battle, however. To complete the plan's objectives, a small-business entrepreneur must designate employees to perform specific tasks, which avoids duplicating efforts. However, when goals are not being met, management must remain equally willing to rethink its objectives and prepare a system to review them. Communicate the ObjectivesCommunication is one of the most crucial steps after a plan is finalized, according to an analysis prepared for the U.S. Small Business Administration. To carry out new policies and procedures effectively, employees need a solid grasp of the plan's contents. Strategic plans are more likely to succeed when workers get intimately involved with the process. This concept is known as ownership. However, small business owners must also outline a realistic schedule to roll out the plan's goals and make sure that they are implemented correctly. Failure to take this factor into account can be disastrous.
Determine Employee RolesTo successfully communicate a strategic plan's objectives, management should designate employees responsible for implementing key aspects of the document. Defining roles is important to avoid duplicating efforts, or worse, neglecting tasks that need attention. One method is to pattern the implementation team after a city council-manager form of government, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research. In this model, a condominium association's board assumes the council's executive role, with the property-management team handling day-to-day oversight, just as a city manager does. Defining these roles will improve the odds of a strategic plan's success.
Every small-business owner needs corrective measures to get plans back on track, since individual and organizational goals are not alike, the Small Business Administration's analysis notes. If management sees performance falling short of expectations, a reevaluation of the original goals may be needed. However, management must also distinguish the causes of discrepancies between actual and planned results. Tying unit- and profit-production goals to any plan's success is straightforward. However, this approach works less well for items that are harder to quantify, such as management decisions.
Review the OutcomesSmart strategic planners assume the need for constant follow-up, as "Entrepreneur" magazine outlined in its January 2003 interview with the Subway sandwich chain's cofounder, Fred DeLuca. According to DeLuca, one key aspect of the company's growth has come from its willingness to listen to its franchisees, who get one of five seats on its system advisory council. Every four months, the group -- which also includes company representatives, codevelopment agents, and its franchisee association -- meets to share ideas. This approach allows all the company's interest groups to air concerns while working as a team.
Why is strategy implementation so important to a company?
Strategy implementation is important because it involves taking action instead of simply brainstorming ideas. It helps show the team that the strategies discussed are viable. It's also a great tool for team development because everyone can participate.
Will it be necessary to monitor and evaluate the implementation of strategic plan?
To best understand where you're succeeding and where you may be falling behind, strategic plans need to be continually monitored, and goals should be regularly tracked.
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