2020 – According to some excited pundits, this is the year to see everything clearly. So let’s get started with the people in your business. Having a clear understanding of where you are today will help manage your risks and maximize your team’s productivity.

Remember, if you pay someone $50,000 a year and they work for you for 20 years, that’s a million dollar investment. How much time do you spend managing your million dollar investments? It just takes 10 minutes to get started. Let’s focus on three activities:

1. SWOT analysis –looking at your team and the issues you’ll face in 2020, identify:

Strengths – Who are your best people? What’s unique about your business culture? What’s your competitive advantage?

Weaknesses – Who are your poorest performers? Are you lacking some key skills? Do you have succession plans for your key people? Do you need to replace/recruit some new team members?

Opportunities – do you have some great people you can develop or grow into new roles? If you add or change a role, could you take advantage of new business opportunities?

Threats – Could you lose key staff to the competition or retirement? Are you vulnerable if a government inspector came into your workplace?

2. Plan your people calendar – 2020 will be a busy year, so make sure you have dates for performance reviews and salary reviews. Build in time for people celebrations – BBQs in the summer, service award recognition, birthdays, etc. Review your vacation planning process. Consider scheduling regular town hall meetings for staff to update and motivate them on your business.

3. Celebrate your people – Take a few minutes to reflect on your people achievements for 2019 – who did you hire? Who made a real difference to your business? Take a few minutes to thank and recognize them. A personal note or thank you will make a great start to the year for them – and you’ll start the New Year off on a positive note for yourself.

You can do all this on the back of an envelope or spend a whole day in a boardroom with graphs and flipcharts. Either approach can be effective. The key is to take some time to reflect on your business and plan your next steps to success through your people. Book time in your calendar to do this after you’ve finished reading this.

We’d be pleased to provide any guidance or support to build your 2020 people plan. Clarity is everything – having a great people plan is a first step. We look forward to sharing in your success. Here’s to a remarkably clear 2020!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks,

Frank Newman, B.A. C.H.R.L., Chief Human Resources Environmentalist

Annual People Planning