How to Get the Most Out of Your Strategic Plan
“The only people who really care about strategic plans are foundations.”
“We don’t have extra funds to create a plan that is going to sit on a shelf. We have clients to serve!”
“Sure, strategic planning is “helpful,” but I don’t have time for that right now. I’m trying to dig my organization out of the hole COVID left us in!”
Does this sound like something you might say? I hear these objections all the time from nonprofit leaders. The fear is that a strategic planning process is irrelevant to their work, costly, and too time-consuming for already overworked staff. These comments are typical but indicate that the leader focuses on the process instead of the value.
Strategic planning:
Allows you to create a roadmap of action to combat the staggering moment we are in as a sector. For instance, 13% of all nonprofit jobs lost since March of 2020, as reported by Johns Hopkins University.
Solicits input from staff, leading to higher job satisfaction and reduced costly turnover. For example, the Center for American Progress reports that the cost to turnover one $10 an hour employee is $3,300 or even up to 20% of the employee's salary!
Offers time to step back from the organizational chaos to focus on long-term sustainability. It should feel like a cup of coffee, a deep breath, and a stimulating conversation—that leads to growth!
So how do you get the most out of your strategic plan?
✔ Create a clear timeline and process
✔ Identify your strategic planning team, internal, and external stakeholders
✔ Conduct a thorough analysis of your operations
✔ Outline priority areas from growth
✔ Align goals within your priority areas
✔ Encourage feedback from your stakeholders
✔ Create action steps to achieve your goal
The last step, creating an action plan, is the key to making your strategic plan a valuable document for your organization. It’s the difference between saying, “It would be nice to reach these goals.” and, “Here is how we are going to reach our goals.” Implementation plans are your roadmap for success.
Take your plan one step further.
After it is approved, offer it to your staff to create annual operational plans regarding their yearly targets for your goals. Have your team work together to talk through their vision for enacting the strategic planning goals collectively, then meet individually with staff members to align their annual individual goals with the plan. Aligning all your team goals with the strategic plan brings the work up and down the organizational axis and allows for deeper buy-in.
Strategic plans are useless if we fail to create action steps and align our team’s focus. However, when your entire organization’s leadership, from your board members to your entry-level staff, are all laser-focused on the same goals, you can work magic!
Need help leading your strategic plan? Spark Group Consulting is here to help. Contact us today!
Happy planning!
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