On the 7th day of Business Planning my true love gave to me… TEAM GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT!

With the growth you’re planning for the coming year, is your existing team capable of meeting the needs of your business?

This can be a very challenging area for many business owners. Maybe you’re under-staffed and the growth will stall if you don’t get more help. Or perhaps you hired someone because you liked them, but their skillset doesn’t measure up to the needs of the job.

STOP NOW, take out your team’s individual job descriptions and evaluate their contribution to the business by way of attitude, skillset, initiative and overall growth contribution. Schedule face to face meetings with each team member. Ask them what they feel they need to be more successful in their role. Then together, create a Professional Development Plan with each so they experience more fulfillment in their role as well as increase their value to the business.

If an individual isn’t working out in their role, before you decide to give them the “Gift to Go” (our preferred term for firing someone), be honest with yourself. Ask these questions:

• Is that person clear on what was expected of them? If not, did they proactively seek help to understand?
• Was that person given the training they needed to perform the job?
• Do they have the skillset to fulfill what’s been asked of them?

In our book, Snapshot Business Planning, we walk you through firing, hiring, and improving the effectiveness of your existing team, as well as how to better understand each other and work together based on varying personality styles. Pick up a copy here.

Be on the lookout tomorrow for YOUR Day 8 of the 12 Days of Business Planning!