The year has breasted the half way mark and it is about time to pause and take account of your business’ journey so far. Doing so might reveal some helpful information that will confirm successes or raise your awareness on areas needing improvement.
A mid-year analysis of your organization’s performance these past six months 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.
I’ve compiled a few tips that might help you plan on tackling this mid-year review. I’ve found this overall approach to be helpful for me.
Goal Assessment
The best way to begin reflecting on your progress is to simply review your list of goals. The best way to return them to the front burner is to go fish them out. Having your goals in front of you (and your team for that matter) helps to order your priorities and manage your time in such a way that will aid your attainment of your goal. Now that your goals are in front of you, review each carefully. You will want to attempt to quantify or qualify each as appropriate.
Update Your Team
After assessing your goals, you will want to alert your team on your organization’s progress. Raising the level of awareness of where you stand is important to changing habits and setting 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.
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.
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 precious little to show by way of your goals for this year. You can get there. It is only a matter of time.
