When you own a business or hold a leadership position, planning ahead can save you time, money and effort in the future. By simply looking to the future and setting some goals, you can not only increase productivity, but also prepare your company for any industry-wide or company-wide changes on the horizon.
As the busy season settles down and the year comes to an end, there is no better time to evaluate your company and start planning ahead than the present.
At Fantasy Sound, we are sure to have an end-of-year meeting that wraps up all of our efforts of the last calendar year. This is an opportunity for us to talk about what worked well and what didn’t work quite as expected. We also take this time to set goals for the upcoming year. I believe that everyone’s opinion is valuable and that a business is a team effort, so we really value hearing our team’s thoughts and coming up with a strategy for next year.
This end-of-year meeting is something that can be put into place in every company; however, keep in mind that the content will vary depending on what your company’s values are and where you see your future. For example, while we may be looking to boost our bottom line next year, expanding your professional network may be more of a priority for your brand.
Of course, it can be difficult to plan ahead when employees come and go. As committed as your staff may be, it’s important to remember that their lives will change and you may inevitably find yourself without a team member that you had planned around. Regardless, it’s essential to include these employees in your end-of-year meeting as well – in fact, hearing them out may alert you to some changes that need to be made in order to keep them on board.
As much as you value each and every employee, remember that everyone is replaceable – if someone were to leave, you would need to replace them. Having a strong foundation ensures that these transition periods go smoothly, so focus on building a company culture of trust, empowerment and community.
Kevin Dennis is the editor of WeddingIQ and owner of Fantasy Sound Event Services, a full-service event company based in Livermore, California. Dennis is the current chapter president for Silicon Valley NACE, and the immediate past national president for WIPA.