The Business Leader’s End-of-the-Year Checklist: Being Prepared for 2020
With only eight weeks left in 2019, it’s time to finalize plans for next year. The success of your business is dependent on your ability to set goals, communicate them with your team, and have a solid plan to achieve them. Here at Connections 4 Success, we’ve put together this checklist to help you solidify plans so you can be sure you have completed everything you need to be prepared to start 2020 off right!
Take Inventory of Current Operations
⬜ Conduct an operational assessment.
Collect as much data as you can so you have a full view of where your business stands. Key areas to focus on are staffing, processes and workflow, finances, organizational structure, facilities, and any other key performance data of what your business is tracking. We discussed in detail the process of conducting an assessment in a previous blog post, which you can reference for assistance with this process.
⬜ Determine your needs
Figure out where any gaps, weaknesses, process duplications, financial concerns, and other operational issues lie.
Map Operational Goals and End-of-the-Year Tasks
⬜ Brainstorm ways to meet the needs of your business
Prioritize problem areas and work through them, developing goals and tasks which will solve them. Determine how those goals and tasks fit in with the current strengths of your business.
⬜ Establish delegation and accountability
Refer to your operational assessment to inform your development of team and department assignments for 2020 business goals. The operational assessment contains information on who has the skills and availability to take on specific tasks, who has accomplished 2019 tasks well, and who is eager for more responsibility.
⬜ Develop timelines
Create a realistic timeline for the completion of each 2020 operational objective and the meeting of each goal.
⬜ Develop methods to measure accountability
Create accountability measurements for all team members who will be receiving a task or working towards a goal.
2020 Budget
⬜ Review financial reports
Figure out where in the last year you were over and under on budget line items. Reallocate funds as needed.
⬜ Map funding for 2020 objectives
Consider where any tasks or goals may need additional funding or personnel and allocate as necessary.
Finalize 2020 Operational Goals and Budget
⬜ Write out the final plan for 2020
The budget and operational plan will need to be available for reference through the year to make sure the business is on track to complete tasks and achieve goals.
⬜ Meet with leadership and managers
Discuss how they will be affected by upcoming objectives and goals. Inform each department of its budget for 2020.
⬜ Share the operational goals with the team
Choose a medium which works best for your business and team. A shared digital file on a common drive would work if everyone regularly has access to it. A digital copy of the document can also be posted on your project management platform. If you have a common area at your workplace, goals could be printed and displayed or stored where everyone could reference them when needed.
Schedule a team meeting
⬜ Communicate with your team
This is your opportunity to keep everyone on the same page and working toward the same goals. Reflect on the organization’s 2019 wins and acknowledge areas that can be improved. Introduce everyone to the changes 2020 will bring based on your finalized objectives.
Planning and having a well laid out operational direction for your business’s goals for the upcoming year allows your business the ability to pivot when needed. Obstacles such as economic downturns, technology innovations, and industry regulation will require business agility. Build a solid foundation for growth and allow your business the ability to be nimble and innovative with changes.
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