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Goals

Goals are statements of future position. They make broad, visionary statements of where the department will be positioned two to four years down the road. Each KRA may have several related goals. Because they are futuristic visions, most goals remain the same for more than one year. An annual review of each goal is necessary because changes in technology and the business may necessitate a new goal direction.

A goal under the research and development KRAs could be: Clients will be using the most efficient platform for office automation. This is a broad statement of life as it can be several years from now. It is general and somewhat fuzzy statement of positive position. That goal will involve several measurable steps between now and then. Those steps are called objectives.

Objectives

Objectives are the specific and measurable steps that will be accomplished within the planning year to move toward realization of the long-term goal. Any goal may have one or more objectives related to it in any given planning year. Objectives should be stated in measurable terms, much like a behavioral objective for training. Managers should state somewhere in the objective what is to be accomplished, when it will be completed, by whom it will be completed, and most important, how accomplishment of the objective will be measured to ensure success.

An objective related to the previous goal on the most efficient platform might read: Conduct research to identify and compare costs associated with word processing in mini and micro platforms (WHAT). Recommendations should be made on which client departments should be using which platform (HOW MEASURED). The research and resulting recommendations are due in written form no later than the end of the second quarter (HOW MEASURED and WHEN). The research team will consist of one member from the technical services department and one from the department (WHO).

The final planning document, then, will consist of a few KRAs, with each KRA having several goals. Beneath each goal will be one or more objectives. The following year, if planning has been pretty much on target (and barring any radical changes within the company), the KRA will probably remain the same. Most goals will remain for at least two years, perhaps more. Down the road some goals will be added. Objectives will change every year. They are the stepping stones that lead the department down a goal pathway.

STEP SIX: DOING IT!

Once managers have a basic document that identifies their KRAs, goals, and objectives, they should share it with appropriate management. Do they agree this is the direction the department should be heading? Once managers have clarified their overall strategic direction, they should start working on objectives. Managers may want to limit participation to certain grade levels or positions, or they may want to involve everyone.

The Value of Strategic Planning

The overall strategic planning process provides a department with opportunities to target its services and energies on high-payback and business-directed activities. Using a strategic plan builds the professional image, credibility, and visibility of the department. It provides opportunities and challenges for the staff that might otherwise be missed. The written documents provide the department with vehicles that help market its efforts and successes, which in turn enhances the department’s image and perceived value throughout the company.

Departments must make a decision whether to continue down the path of least resistance (i.e., providing traditional training and support services to computer clients), or whether they will move to the next stage of growth, which includes identifying strategic uses of technology to meet corporate business needs.

Although training and support are critical for the successful implementation of technology, is it possible to outsource, for example, the basic office automation training? If so, managers should use the talents and skills of former trainers as consultants who will work more closely with individuals and groups of clients in the company to help them maximize the capabilities and potential of end-user products.

If, for instance, end users are still using end-user tools as standalone, independent products rather than as an integrated office automation suite, managers may not be returning the highest value that could be offered by their department to the company. If, in the words of consultant Naomi Karten, the services currently provided only help departments to “do nothing faster than ever before,” departments may be left with a suite of services for which there are few customers, and that offer little value to the company.

It is easy to have a vague vision of what managers should or would like to be doing for their end users two to three years down the road. Unfortunately, it is also too easy to pass off that vision as something they simply do not have the time to do, because they are too busy putting out fires on a daily basis.

Strategic planning is the critical first step in taking accountability for the future. If managers fail to move from the positions of reactive fire fighters to those of proactive partners in corporate strategic planning, someone else within management may very well make those plans for them — plans that may or may not include them.

This next stage of growth promises challenges and opportunities. The larger world of information management and information services is already meeting the challenge of realigning itself to be more in step with overall business strategies. Departments that are willing to take those first steps into true strategic planning will find the rewards well worth the efforts.

ACTION CHECKLIST

Before embarking down the road of strategic planning, managers must keep several points in mind, including the following:

  Expect some rough spots the first time through. If they have never been through the planning process, managers may find their first year somewhat cumbersome. But that pain usually goes away once they meet their first objective.
  Combine realism with challenge. Typically, the first time through a planning process, managers will be tempted to leap tall buildings in a single bound. They will probably take on more objectives than they can realistically complete in one year, and they will more than likely underestimate the time needed to complete some objectives. On the other hand, managers should not set objectives that are too simple. Well-chosen objectives should encourage stretching beyond the immediate comfort zone.
  Do not expect to meet all objectives and goals. Perhaps managers have taken on too many. Perhaps the business needs change suddenly. Objectives are targets that sometimes move. Managers do their best to achieve them. But when they miss the target, they should not give up. Instead, they should analyze why they missed, then readjust and move on. The better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-never-to-have-loved-at-all cliche certainly applies to strategic planning. If only a few words are changed, the same principle applies.
  Look at the strategic plan as a living, breathing document, one that can and should change as the business needs change. Goals and objectives are managers’ general predictions of where they are headed. But they should expect the unexpected during the year. They should be prepared to make adjustments to their visions and then continue on.


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