6 Steps to A More Effective Strategic Plan
By Debbie Cardello
Strategic planning can be unnecessarily complex and marginally useful, or offer a streamlined value-added approach that sets the vision and direction and leads to improved outcomes and marketplace distinction. Here's how to ensure your plan is well-developed and executed:
1. Keep the plan simple and alive.
An effective strategic plan creates clear direction for agility to respond to the ever-changing competitive environment. It's not a static document that sits on a shelf. Studer Group's five pillars offer a "ready, set, go!" template that creates alignment and balance.
2. Involve key stakeholders.
Ensure that the plan reflects the voice of the organization by including key stakeholders in the planning process. Invite managers to participate in an interactive SWOT analysis of the organization (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).
I know one organization that brought the top ten strategic initiatives to their physician leaders and asked them to prioritize. As a result, the hospital leaders re-prioritized initiatives and elevated quality and safety to the top strategic priority. Because physicians felt ownership of the plan, they focused effort on achieving these results.
3. Clearly outline responsibilities and accountability.
Without goal "owners" who develop and drive the action plan, the goals become everybody's job with no clear accountability. What does goal ownership look like? A senior leader responsible for patient satisfaction will take point on identifying a steering team, implementing tactics, monitoring progress, and rewarding and recognizing desired behaviors.
The second reason to assign ownership is to balance the number of initiatives among the senior team. For example, I've seen success when the CFO/CIO led quality initiatives. It made sense because of the number of IT solutions that were planned to improve patient safety. Strategic planning can be unnecessarily complex and marginally useful, or offer a streamlined value-added approach that sets the vision and direction and leads to improved outcomes and marketplace distinction. Here's how to ensure your plan is well-developed and executed: By Debbie Cardello
4. Review organizational performance frequently.
Ensure that measurement of actual performance is hardwired at the time the goals are set. Every measure should have a defined measurement interval (e.g. daily, monthly, quarterly) in order to make modification to the plan. If we look at patient satisfaction at the end of the quarter, it is too late to take corrective action. Instead, consider a weekly report card as a way to concurrently monitor and improve results.
5. Assess your organization's capabilities and capacities before setting goals.
Are senior leaders all aligned and engaged in the journey? Do you have the right tools and systems in place? Are the right leaders in the right roles? These answers will determine how aggressive your goals can be. I know one organization in the 5th percentile for patient satisfaction that set a goal to get to the 75th percentile in one year. This was unrealistic because the organization did not have a history of achieving results.
6. Cascade goals to all employees.
To maximize organizational alignment, the goal cascade needs to reach front line staff. Try this: Following a review of the goals at your next employee forum say: "Tell me one organizational priority goal for this year and how you can impact this goal in your job." One of the answers I heard from a housekeeper was: "I help decrease patient infections by keeping rooms clean". That is the alignment we seek.
Print