Strategic Planning Process
Who is this for?
This is for you if you are looking for support to develop a high-level strategic plan detailing where you want your business to be over the next 3-5 years.
Note: The information contained herein is for guidance only and may change over time. You should always seek professional advice and support to ensure that it is most appropriate to you and your own individual circumstances.
Strategic Planning – what is it?
“Strategic” relates to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them.
Strategic planning for any organisation is the responsibility of top management and is usually the responsibility of the board of directors. It is often used by larger organisations with staff and perhaps multi sites or a range of operations. It can also be modified and used by smaller organisations.
Strategic Plan – what is in it?
The elements of a strategic plan include:
A Vision Statement
A Vision Statement is future-based and describes what a company desires to achieve in the long run, generally in a time frame of 3-5 years, or sometimes even longer. It and usually it reflects what the company or organisation intends to be at some point in the future.
A Mission Statement
A Mission Statement is present-based and sums up the primary goals, purposes and values of an organisation. It succinctly answers the question, "Why does the organisation exist?"
Values of the Organisation
Values of the organisation describe the core ethics or principles of the organisation and should reflect the organisation’s aspirations for appropriate workplace behaviour e.g. integrity; teamwork; openness; drive; sustainable etc.
Desired Outcomes
Desired Outcomes state what success looks like for your strategic plan and some of these will be easily quantifiable, and others will not. These are often termed “strategic goals” and for each one, you will also have a subset of aims or objectives.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are a vital part of your strategic plan and are the way you will measure your success in achieving your plan’s goals.
The 6 Key Steps
There are a number of steps involved in developing a strategic plan for an organisation.
Step 1: Undertake an analysis of your organisation
This is often best done by completing a SWOT (Strengths; Weaknesses/Opportunities; Threats) analysis that could be carried out by a range of key stakeholders so you can see the organisation from different perspectives.
Step 2: Create your vision statement
Create your vision statement, something that should inspire others inside and outside the organisation to feel motivated to support what you want to do.
Step 3: Create your mission statement
Create your mission statement, remembering to align this with your constitution or primary purpose as an organisation.
Step 4: Create your organisation’s values
Create your organisation’s values and make sure they are meaningful and reflect what your organisation stands for.
Step 5: Determine your desired outcomes
Determine your desired outcomes or strategic goals, with accountability and responsibility embedded in these.
Step 6: Establish leading Key Performance Indicators
Establish leading Key Performance Indicators that you will track regularly over the timespan of the strategic plan.
Many organisations choose to engage an independent facilitator to provide challenge and an external perspective to the above 6 steps process.
Summary
Not every organisation needs a strategic plan but if you have staff and a range of key stakeholders, you may want to develop a plan over the longer time (3-5 years) that will provide a central focus and reference for everyone involved.