Reena Khullar Sharma, Founder of Agilis Executive Consulting, offers executive coaching and HR partnerships to organizations globally.
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When developing a fiscal year strategic plan, measuring profitability incrementally will guide organizations to be agile in achieving targets. Therefore, aligning each function of the business into quarterly targets will offer the largest return on investment. In addition, compartmentalizing functional tasks into each quarter will ensure these functions are aligned to the organization's short-term and long-term goals. Finally, measuring profitability targets for each quarter based on these functions allows room for unexpected changes. As a result, the movement of tasks between quarters becomes easier when attempting to recover unexpected costs or losses.
We will take a closer look at the characteristics of an organization that support an annual strategic plan and offer advice on how to keep these functions agile for adjustments.
Structure
Agile organizations have a network of empowered teams. When planning your quarterly strategy, it will be important to develop roles and responsibilities designed to offer the flexibility for core competencies to change with unprecedented and external factors. Teams that are empowered with decision-making capabilities will be more flexible to changes in their roles, which rewards the organization with higher engagement. Reviewing the organizational structure and adjusting roles quarterly will keep costs related to turnover and attrition more manageable.
Process
Rapid decision-making and continuous learning cycles each quarter should be the norm. Agile organizations recognize that ongoing learning and development, including a variety of training opportunities, should be available for teams to partake in every quarter. Developing the skill sets for employees in a variety of functional areas rewards teams with the ability to make quick decisions and shift into different roles seamlessly. This commitment to quarterly skills training blankets all employees in the organization's functional teams with the opportunity to adapt to changes and utilize skills sooner than waiting for new positions to emerge.
People
Agile organizations ignite passion in their people through consistent and transparent communication. Quarterly projects and targets, including profitability goals, are discussed to encourage employees to align their outcomes to the organization's long-term strategy. Performance and accountability are more manageable when quarterly insight and feedback are available for employees to recognize their achievements and understand their areas for improvement. This also secures stronger engagement and alleviates possibilities for exiting employees, hence securing higher profitability and lower costs due to employee turnover each quarter.
Technology
Organizations that utilize next-generation-enabling technology offer higher returns each quarter. Technology and artificial intelligence lead agile organizations toward adopting an attitude for ongoing learning and transforming operational tasks to strategic ones in support of redesigning roles for employees to reskill and work quicker. Investing in technology, and monitoring its effect each quarter, will create opportunities for employees to become more strategic in their approach when upskilling and training. As a result, the organization's financial performance increases due to consistent monitoring and investing in new technologies that support productivity and growth.
When developing a strategic plan for a fiscal year, organizations need to approach it proactively by creating quarterly profit goals that are aligned to the corporate long-term strategy. Developing an incremental strategic plan with quarterly profit targets that are aligned to a long-term strategy allows room to accommodate unexpected costs and offers the opportunity to recover any loss in the following quarters. This also results in staying ahead of external and environmental factors that may challenge organizations in achieving these goals.
This measured approach is proactive and agile and will lead an organization's fiscal year successfully, keeping the corporate long-term strategy in the line of sight.
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