It's that time...

Do you know the strategic plan of your organization? Is your department aligned to the overall goals? As a contributor, do you know what goals you are accomplishing in 2010? I’ve surveyed some of my students at Regis and colleagues to find that they don’t know the answers to these questions.

When we don’t know where we are going, we don’t know our purpose. Organizational leaders must communicate the mission, vision, values and strategic plan for the organization on a regular basis. This gives employees purpose and motivation to contribute to the bottom-line. When the organization, departments and employees are aligned overall performance improves.

During the last three weeks, I’ve been involved in strategic planning for EPI, Regis, and Colorado SHRM State Council. Here’s a little background that will hopefully help you:

1. Michelle Kelly, President of EPI hosted a team meeting for our strategic planning. She had the mission, vision and values displayed for our team to reference. We defined our objectives, developed our strategies, determined responsibility, and assigned due dates. The EPI team knows where we are going and how we are going to get there!
2. Yesterday, I was invited to a call with Regis MSOL leadership. Given that I’m not a full-time employee, but an affiliate faculty member it was advantageous for them to host this call to keep us all aligned with where Regis is going. They also communicated how we add value to their overall strategic plan.
3. This past weekend, I developed my strategic plan for the Colorado SHRM State Council Board, where I serve as the Diversity Director. Their template for strategic planning includes: strategies, measurement for performance, and an action plan. Once I developed the plan, I welcomed my new team through e-mail (there are seven diversity representatives throughout the state) and provided the plan. In the next few weeks we will all have a conference call to discuss the plan and ensure we are all aligned to accomplish our 2010 goals.

I share the steps that were taken in each of these instances to provide you additional ideas for developing a strategic plan. It is important that everyone in your organization knows where they are going and how they are going to get there. This is purpose and why we show up at work to perform and contribute.