Twelve months is simply too long to go between reassessments of your business goals. Unfortunately, most leaders only take the time to recalibrate at the start or end of the year. That prolonged period between reviews does find problems but they are often too far advanced to be suitably, or promptly, rectified.
The mid-year check-up is a convenient waypoint at which to conduct an in-depth appraisal. Here are some things to consider:
Client Base
People are usually inundated with questionnaires and surveys at the beginning and end of every year and, therefore, less inclined to participate at those times. Conduct a mid-year client review instead and you are likely to see better response rates.
Most businesses earn 80 percent of their revenue from just 20 percent of their clients. Focus on this group – their input is crucial to your strategic plans for the following year.
Internal Sentiment
Staff morale is important in terms of individual performance but it is also contagious. The mid-year doldrums can be a precursor to a domino effect of indifference within the company and best caught early. The last thing you want is to have a slew of departures at the end of the year, just when you are making a push for bigger goals in 2022.
Monitor employee turnover, especially among critical staff members. If possible, speak also to former teammates and consider whether the reasons they left have been addressed.
Mix Things Up
The recruitment process is less thorough than most leaders would like. It very often cobbles together teams of individuals who excel in their own roles but do not coalesce as well as they should collectively. A mid-year review is an excellent opportunity to shake things up by reconfiguring teams that are not living up to their potential. This sort of cross-team interaction can inspire a jolt of innovative solutions.
Paperwork!
No one enjoys reading dreary reams of documents but you have to keep current with your organization’s financial information, regulatory standards, and, in this environment, health and safety requirements. By keeping your paperwork in order halfway through the year, you will be saving yourself many headaches come year-end.
The Flipside
Remember, a review does not have to focus only on whether you have deviated from your goals but also where you have met or exceeded them. Celebrate the wins that you had along the way. It is a fine way to acknowledge the effort that your team invested to get you this far.
Please contact me today if you have any questions about how to plan for a successful end to 2021.
