We are entering the second-half of the year. If you haven’t made time to review how your business has been performing over the past six months, I encourage you to stop and plan now.
A mid-year analysis of your organization’s performance these past two quarters is important in recognizing what has and has not been working. Without a mid-year assessment, you could be setting yourself up for setbacks that might not be easily reversible come the fourth quarter.
Usually, the ones who have no idea where their business is “at” are the ones who loathe mid-year reviews the most. This is exactly the reason why these planning and review sessions are important.
To help with your review in the next few weeks, I’ve put together a list of a few tips that might help.
Tip 1: Reflect on your original written goals for the year.
The best way to begin measuring on your progress is to simply review your list of goals. This is why it’s important to have your goals written down.
Having your goals in front of you (and your team for that matter) helps to order your priorities and manage your time. Now that your goals are in front of you, review each carefully. You will want to attempt to quantify or qualify each as appropriate.
Tip 2: Plan to get and to give updates.
After assessing your goals, you will want to get with your team to receive any essential updates/reports on aspects of your company that you may not readily have access to. After compiling everything, it would be smart to hold an office/company meeting to provide an update on your organization’s progress.
Company meetings are a great internal communication tactic to not only raise the level of awareness of where you stand, but provides you with an opportunity to change habits and set procedures in place to utilize the last half of the year to reach and, hopefully, exceed your goals.
When updating your team on your organization’s progress, it’s important to not only delivery the bad news, but celebrate the good news—your accomplishments. Giving praise to a job well done is important in building morale and setting a positive tone.
Tip 3: Ask for feedback.
Since you’re assessing performance, it’s helpful to ask your team for feedback on their perceptions. You have the opportunity to gain insightful information that could lead to workflow improvements. In addition, employee feedback gives your team a sense of input into operations and helps to improve morale.
Tip 4: Document revisions and changes to your strategy/goals.
Just as you made an initiative to write down your goals for the year, document any changes and updates as you see fit. Perhaps your goals and units of measurement weren’t realistic or attainable. During your review and planning, make updates and realistic projections to your plan. Don’t sell yourself short, either. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly review your business and team’s performance.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Each step counts. Each step precedes the next step. Don’t fall into the trap of wondering why the year seems to run so fast, with little to show by way of your goals for this year.
You can get there. It is only a matter of time… and planning.
