It’s a time-honored tradition: January first has arrived, and the self-improvement projects have begun. The options are endless. Exercise more, lose weight, commit to financial planning, read a book a month; the lists go on and on.
While individual New Year’s resolutions have a mixed track record of success, applying the framework of these annual goals to your business can be a powerful tool to re-energize and refocus your team in 2022.
Here are five strategies to jump-start your organization’s January to create a strong Q1 and beyond.
- Ensure the foundation of your department or organization is strong; pull your key staff together to review operational and communication processes for efficacy and return-on-investment. If a process is time-consuming or resource-intensive, are the results worth the costs involved? What changes could be made to create more impact and efficiency?
- Fine-tune your strategic plan to ensure your goals for 2022 are ambitious and achievable – and drive to the desired long-term results. And, if your organization or division does not have a medium-to-long-term strategic plan (supported by quarterly project milestones) consider using Q1 to develop one. Finally, communicate goals and progress to your team – and get their input on the opportunities which exist.
- Do a deep dive on your customer service practices. What are the metrics and results you are striving to reach? What’s happening in real-time? How do you respond to service failures? With 93% of companies reporting they will continue to do business with companies that deliver proactive customer service, understanding the current state of your customers’ experiences – and building for CX excellence – is a key way to grow your business.
- Fight the “great resignation” with a two-pronged approach.
- Invest in your current staff through training and opportunities for new projects and advancement. Provide access to leadership through cross-divisional teams and opportunities to present at and participate in meetings with senior managers.
- Build a robust infrastructure of organizational champions, company “alumni” and potential candidates to help get the word out about company culture and job opportunities. Strategic communication and social media plans can effectively support these efforts.
- Develop a “playbook” to ensure successful hiring: define the key job-related skills of your star performers, and integrate these capabilities into hiring rubrics which include position-specific knowledge as well as company-wide core competencies. Using these “guideposts” as part of your recruitment and onboarding process drives both hiring equity and efficacy.
Finally, communicate, communicate and communicate again what the goals, tactics, and progress are for the new year. Soliciting the input and commitment of your team while focusing on a solid plan will ensure the creation of a “best in class” organization for 2022 and beyond.
