Are you new to organizing project teams? Here’s all the information you need to get started.
Organizations can derive significant financial and business benefits from team planning, which supports their growth and strategic objectives. To achieve this, a comprehensive team planning process is required.
But what is team planning, how is it implemented and why is it the sign of a high-performance team? Let’s find out!
What is team planning?
The process of establishing your team’s annual operational and strategic plans is known as team planning. It involves carefully aligning the work of your staff with the overall direction of the company. By defining your team’s strategic objectives and breaking them down into specific projects, goals and activities, it provides a clear roadmap for success. Team planning helps us to see the bigger picture by allowing us to zoom out and not just focus on day-to-day tasks.
This type of preparation ensures that all your team members know exactly what they need to do to succeed. It also enables you to show how your team meets needs and how your efforts contribute to the company’s profitability.
Why develop a team plan?
By developing a plan, your team will gain focus and strategic alignment. It ensures that every task performed by your staff benefits your business.
By simplifying the process of determining priorities and allocating the necessary resources, it eliminates the uncertainties associated with project planning. What’s more, by planning ahead, it becomes easier to determine whether you have the necessary resources to meet business priorities, or whether you need to hire additional staff.
Some companies don’t use team planning because they find it tedious and time-consuming. Why take the time to be more precise when the business plan serves as a basis for analysis?
Unfortunately, this is a false economy. The “big picture” is too big without a team plan. Your team can be working on the wrong things at the wrong time without even realizing it if there’s no team-level supervision.
Is a team plan necessary?
Every team, regardless of size or industry, needs a strategy. The difference between HOPING to achieve your goals and actually achieving them lies in a team plan. If you want your team to perform at a high level, it’s an indispensable tool.
- Do you know what targets the company has set itself for this year?
- Do you know how our team contributes to these goals?
- Do you know what your personal contribution to these goals is?
- Do you know exactly what success means for you personally and for the team?
If you can’t answer these questions, you’d better come up with a team plan fast!
Why do you need a team plan? Because without a team plan, your team members won’t know exactly what needs to be done, when or why, or whether it’s been done successfully.
Team cohesion, motivation and production can suffer from a lack of planning, for example:
- Prioritize unimportant activities because they don’t understand the importance of specific deliverables or when they are required.
- Prioritize self over team goals and inadvertently postpone important projects
- Lack of motivation due to their ignorance of the crucial role they play in the success of companies
- Disappointment at not receiving feedback on performance against KPIs
What are the advantages of team planning?
Team planning has many benefits for the company, the team and the individual. By participating in team planning, you can create a more satisfied and cohesive team, while reaping significant financial and business rewards.
Making a difference for your company
Thanks to team planning, which synchronizes work with the company’s strategy, your team actively supports the company’s expansion and success. Teams with a plan are more likely to perform well and prove their value to the company.
Assigning the best team members and preparing projects in advance are two aspects of team planning. This is known as resource planning, and has been shown to increase productivity and reduce inefficiencies, resulting in faster, more efficient and smarter work.
Building your group
Team planning promotes team growth and reduces unfavorable employee turnover.
It gives people a stage on which they can showcase their special talents and be recognized for their contributions. It also pinpoints areas where your staff can improve their skills, so you’re ready for the future. What’s more, it ensures that your team is neither overloaded nor under-utilized – a technique known as value for money – maximizing team productivity without depleting it.
By examining the team’s objectives, its fundamental principles and the way in which members work together rather than acting alone, team planning also promotes cohesion.
When team members feel empowered and engaged, they produce excellent work and stay with the team, boosting both employee performance and retention. Payroll software provider Gusto reports that 37% of workers cite “working with a great team” as their main motivation for staying with their company.
Recognize problems proactively
Team planning enables you to anticipate problems before they arise and develop plans to solve them, such as resource constraints, conflicts or bottlenecks. It’s the epitome of the proverb “Prevention is better than cure”.
It also contributes to capacity planning, a crucial strategic procedure for determining whether your company has the necessary resources for the projects in its portfolio. If you expect to be understaffed, a thorough team strategy will also provide you with elements to present to your management to request additional resources.
What distinguishes team execution planning from team strategy planning?
A strategic team plan describes the goals a team must achieve in order to support the company’s overall objectives. An execution plan gives the team detailed instructions on how to get there.
Achieving a goal is not the same as setting one. Developing a comprehensive team plan, which encompasses both the strategic direction and the organization of implementation, ensures that your group fulfills its commitments.
Make sure your execution and strategy plans are well linked. Things will go wrong if there’s a discrepancy between your execution strategy and your team’s strategic plan.
An execution plan describes what needs to be done, when and by whom. To ensure that each team member understands how his or her contribution fits into the whole, it’s helpful to outline the interdependencies. The aim is to get everyone on the same page.
It also solves an often overlooked problem in the workplace: people are too embarrassed to ask for help when they don’t know what to do. Never assume that your team members will be able to convert abstract goals into achievable task-based strategies on their own. Provide them with a clear roadmap for individual and organizational achievements using team planning.
What is the team planning procedure?
The following steps are included in team planning:
- Strategic alignment: In order to understand how his team fits into the wider business plan for the year, the team leader meets with senior management at this stage. They’ll talk about the company’s overall direction and what it wants to achieve in the coming year. Next, they discuss the role their team is to play in achieving the company’s objectives.
- Team planning session: This gathering of team members provides an opportunity to discuss objectives for the coming year. It usually begins with a presentation by the team leader on how his or her work fits into the company’s plan, and a statement of the team’s annual goals. Team members then work together to decide how each of them will achieve these objectives.
- Creating the team plan: After the team planning meeting, the team plan is formalized and documented. You will refer to this living text regularly. Each team member will use it to review their missions, deadlines and key performance indicators. Team leaders will also use it to monitor the team’s overall progress towards objectives.
- Reviewing the team’s plan: It’s essential to regularly evaluate progress to ensure that objectives are on track. It may be a good idea to hold a formal evaluation meeting every quarter. You can also put “team plan review” on the agenda of your weekly or monthly meetings.
When planning a team, who is involved?
The following people must be included in team planning:
The full line-up
Team planning requires the participation of the entire group. We mean business. It’s not just a perk. The participation of every team member in the planning process is crucial.
Team leaders benefit from knowing what assets they have, and what capabilities and strengths they possess. By talking to the people who do the work every day, team leaders can honestly assess the feasibility of their ideas.
It also gives each team member a sense of authority and ownership for the year ahead, and clarifies his or her important role within the overall project.
Team captain(s)
The role of the team leader is crucial. They liaise between the team and operational execution, as well as between senior management and strategy. They take the lead in discussions and ensure that the day achieves its objectives on the day of the team planning session.
An executive supervisor
To conduct these crucial strategic planning conversations, the team leader will need to interact with a more senior member of the organization. Depending on the size and structure of your team, this may be a direct discussion with a member of senior management. Or it may be a mid-level member of management. In either case, you need a senior manager to communicate strategic objectives to your team at all levels of the organization’s hierarchy.
A third-party coordinator
It can be useful to call on an outside facilitator, especially if your team is large. His or her professional experience and understanding of team planning methods can help you develop a more effective team plan than you could on your own.
They can also be very useful at team planning meetings. They allow the team leader to concentrate on interacting with his or her team, overseeing the day’s program and organization.
When is the right time to plan as a team?
In principle, team planning should take place once a year, following the presentation of the organization’s overall strategy. A team strategy should only cover the next six to twelve months. If you wait longer than a year, the company’s priorities may change and your plan may become obsolete.
How often should my team strategy be reviewed?
It’s a good idea to carry out a quarterly evaluation of your team plan. This will enable you to monitor progress towards your objectives, and change course if necessary to achieve them.
By reviewing your team strategy, you can anticipate these problems and take swift action to prevent them from derailing your annual target.
Five components of a successful team strategy
There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for team planning. It’s up to you to devise a strategy that benefits both you and your group. But there are several essential elements you need to include.
Objective
To be productive, your team needs to rally around a common goal. At the very least, this section should explain how your team’s work fits into the company’s overall operational picture. But you can also address the team’s objectives and principles, depending on your organization’s culture. What is your team’s passion? What makes them tick? How do they communicate with the rest of the company?
Methodical organization
The strategic alignment between your team and the company as a whole is illustrated in the section on the strategic plan. In addition to providing high-level details of the action your team will take, you should make reference to the areas of the organization plan that your team will support. These should be ranked in order of importance to both strategic objectives and financial performance.
Execution plan
This section provides a detailed, task-oriented plan. It divides the year’s activities into distinct team projects. It contains details of the timetable, resources required, budget, key performance indicators, etc.
The execution plan can help determine the interdependence of projects and prevent conflicts, such as conflicting demands for the same resources. By anticipating these conflicts, you can allocate resources more wisely and avoid potentially costly bottlenecks.
An execution plan also contributes to capacity planning by enabling you to assess the availability of your resources and develop appropriate plans to carry out future projects.
Emergency preparedness
One of the essential elements of team planning is contingency planning. If X, then Y” is the key. If circumstances change, you have the freedom to modify or reorganize your plan. According to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, “if-then” planners are 300% more likely to succeed than “fixed” planners. So, if you can, include some flexibility in your team’s plan.
It’s better to assign team members to another project, rather than leaving them idle and underused, if one of your projects depends on another team’s project being completed on time, and that project’s schedule slips.
Monitoring and measurement
How you will monitor progress against the strategy should be described in your team plan. This plan may apply only at project or team level. It can also take into account the performance of individual team members. It is essential to make it clear that team members will not be pressured or humiliated if their performance falls short of their KPIs. Rather, the aim is to check that the plan is heading in the right direction and, if not, to make the necessary adjustments to change course.
Six guidelines for a productive team planning meeting
- Invite the right people. You already know that you need to include your whole team, the team leader(s) and a senior manager, as we’ve already talked about the importance of involving the right people in team planning. To take notes and record the results, you can also enlist the help of a facilitator on the day.
- Set a convincing agenda. It’s great to get your whole team together. But pandemonium can strike at any time. So make sure you set clear objectives and stick to them. Remember, the purpose of this meeting is to document your plans and objectives for the rest of the year.
- Start on a high note. Start the meeting with an activity that focuses on the team’s strengths to help everyone get into the right frame of mind. Ask everyone to list something about their team or workplace that they’re grateful for, for example. Then everyone puts the paper into a ball and throws it at each other. Once everything is well mixed, each person chooses a piece of paper to read aloud to the group.
- Establish a safe space: it’s essential that everyone feels comfortable saying what they think during the planning process, which can involve difficult subjects. Make it clear that you value and encourage openness and constructive criticism. However, to prevent the “grumpies” from taking center stage, be aware of their presence and have a plan to deal with them.
- Change: you may want to divide up into smaller groups for your planning session. However, “groupthink” can seriously compromise your planning process. It limits your staff to topics they already know, stifling creativity and new ideas. Wherever possible, try to rotate people so that they don’t just converse with their colleagues on a daily basis.
- Take a break. Make sure your group has enough free time. Tired teammates won’t be as motivated or inventive. Avoid overloading the meeting or letting it drag on too long. It’s better to organize two shorter sessions than one longer one.
Apps and tools for team planning
Put an end to your search for an “Excel team resource planning template”. Instead, invest in a team planning tool tailored to your needs.
Dedicated workforce capacity planning software such as Teambook, for example, comes with tools and automations for:
- Define the skills and analyze the availability of team members
- Allocate tasks to your project teams in an operational manner
- Plan capacity for future projects and make any necessary resource requests.
- Identify bottlenecks and reallocate resources to other projects at the click of a button
- Monitor workload and compare with planned times
Sounds better, doesn’t it, than constantly copying and pasting sheets and cells?
We hope we’ve made a convincing case for team planning in your company.
“Failure to plan is planning to fail”, as the saying goes.
That’s why the most successful teams structure, focus and evaluate their work using proven methods such as resource planning, capacity planning, project management, portfolio management and team planning, among others.
