Business Planning for 2021

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 hasn’t gone according to anyone’s plan. We’ve all been forced to adjust in some capacity: work, education, parenting, and self-care to name a few. As we approach the end of this turbulent year, we as business owners must do our due diligence to prepare (to the best of our ability) for a positive and prosperous new year.

Planning for 2021

Now is the time to reflect, analyze, and strategize. COVID-19 exposed many strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for businesses so here are some ways to use that new-found knowledge to your advantage going into 2021 as well as some trends to build into your new-year plan.

Step 1: Start now

It’s officially Q4. Don’t wait any longer to put together your plan for next year! It’s time to zoom out and focus on long-term goals, decisions, and approaches for the future. This type of planning should be strategically thought out, brainstormed, and discussed. Gather your thoughts along with your leadership team to get started.

Step 2: Take a look backward in order to move forward

Once you have your trusted team ready to switch mindset to 2021, prepare them to take a look into the past. Most of us are probably ready to move on from 2020 and don’t want to dwell on it any longer, but there are so many things you can take away and learn from this year. 

When looking at the past, identify strengths, weaknesses, pitfalls, and triumphs. Look at instances where you and your team had to pivot and how successful it was. From there, look at instances where maybe you didn’t act quickly enough and determine if it was for the best or a missed opportunity.

You can also use this time to analyze personnel. Who stepped up to the plate in a time of need? Who spoke up and offered new ideas?  Who underperformed or was unwilling to adjust with the rest of the organization? Answering questions like these can help you make decisions, albeit some tough ones, for the betterment of the company.

Step 3: Reset your goals

Based on the trends, revelations, and findings from your look into the past, you’ll need to set up new and realistic goals. 

Step 4: Connect as humans

At the end of the day, people are what hold an organization together. Ensuring everyone is engaged and feels valued will connect them to a common goal: the business goal. Carve out time to hear everyone’s individual concerns and ideas. Organize a way to bring everyone together and use this as a time to create excitement around the new year.

Trends for 2021

As you start your plan to close out the year strong and start the new year even stronger, there are a couple of trends that you should keep in mind.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)

One of the positive things to happen this year is the shining of a larger light on diversity, equity, and inclusion injustice in the workplace. Employers have been given a kick in the backside to make DE&I a priority for current and future employees and the success of the business. Learn more about how DE&I is defined here.

Implementing a DE&I program or improving upon an already existing one would be a great initiative to throw into your 2021 plan. This will lead to happier, more engaged employees and customers. When you get happier, more engaged, and more productive employees and customers, you get a more successful organization. A 2017 study found that “Diverse teams are more innovative and make better decisions, and diverse companies have better shareholder returns.”

Remote work is here to stay

It’s important to note that remote work will not simply be contained within COVID times. A recent study on remote work revealed that 40% of workers would prefer to work remotely full time in the future. Most workers have expressed that they prefer having the option to work remotely. As a business owner, you need to put the proper processes in place for things like remote onboarding, meetings, building a virtual culture, and so on. Fully embracing the work-from-home culture will help with productivity, retention, culture, and success.

Conclusion

If Who Staffing can help you in any way with building a process that allows you to win the war on talent, please feel free to reach out to start a conversation or go here for more information about us. If you’re interested in learning about our different hiring arrangements and levels of service, you can read about them here.