How To Get Your Employees Interested In Following Your Business Plan

The following is a guest post by Robert Steere at Business Owner’s Toolkit.

One of the most challenging aspects of managing employees is persuading them to share your vision for the company. Without substantial employee “buy in”, it is exceedingly difficult to run your business the way you see fit. In fact, unless employees are at least minimally on board with your business plan, the entire business planning process can become an utter waste of time. Fortunately, steps can be taken to frame your business plan in ways that appeal to and resonate with your employees. Properly executed, these steps will ensure the employees are as motivated and enthusiastic about the plan as management is.

Don’t Endlessly Roll Out Plan After Plan

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In his book A Sense of Urgency, Harvard Business professor John Kotter explains that employees are quickly disillusioned by managers who roll out one half-baked plan after another. The employees soon sense that each “plan” is little more than a momentary fad which will likely fade into irrelevance as quickly as it arrived. Nor is this necessarily irrational from their perspective. After all, employees have their own responsibilities at work without the boss also cramming new business plans down their throat each month. The capacity of even a genuinely committed employee to invest himself in a broad, over-arching plan is limited.

Believe in The Plan Yourself

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Thus, it is important that you authentically believe in and think through any business plans that employees come into contact with. People can tell the difference between real enthusiasm and hype-ridden “management speak.” It is therefore the job of the manager to communicate business plans in plainspoken, credible language that employees can personally relate to and find meaning in. Resist the temptation to use buzzwords and overly broad language. Instead, speak plainly and honestly about what the plan is intended to achieve.

Be Specific

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Make business plans as specific and actionable as possible so that everyone knows what is individually expected of them and how it fits with the overall vision. Let’s say, for instance, that part of the new plan is for all employees to complete status reports once a week stating their most recent accomplishments. Do not phrase this plan as “a new paradigm to ensure regimented awareness of corporate progress at known intervals.” Instead, simply tell employees that the company has had a tough time staying on top of what everyone is doing and that therefore they must now fill out a small weekly report.

Periodically Seek Employee Input

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Another tip John Kotter offers in A Sense of Urgency is giving employees some input into shaping the plan. Employees might resent or distrust a plan that was concocted sight unseen in the manager’s office and foisted upon them after the fact. Should the plain fail, they can later point to their lack of involvement or approval as a reason. Conversely, employees who had a say in the plan automatically feel more invested in it and accountable for seeing it succeed. So while business plans must ultimately be approved by managers, it might pay to include key employees in the decision making progress (especially as regards their own role in carrying the plan out.)

Have Timelines & Dated Milestones

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Once a business plan has been described in broad outline, immediately lay out timelines and dated milestones for its implementation. More often than not, these are what will make the program “real” in the minds of employees. Strive to lay out a short-term goal dated for completion no later than two weeks after the business plan is announced. Moreover, lay out regularly scheduled deliverables in connection with the plan that each employee is required to meet. This could be a status report, meeting, or anything else which demonstrates an employee’s compliance with the business plan.

Take Enforcement Seriously

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In his book Ruthless Management of People & Profits, Dan Kennedy laments how some managers try to cultivate an “ownership mentality” in their employees, out of hope that this will make them automatically comply with new initiatives. This often fails because, as Kennedy bluntly states, employees are not owners. Owners and managers have undeniable personal stakes in whether business plans work out, whereas employees generally do not. Therefore, managing employees often comes down to enforcement. Employees must see that the business plan is not some transient fad, but rather is here to stay and that you are watching to ensure it gets carried out.

Demonstrate Positive Outcomes From The Plan

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Above all, what motivates employees to buy into and stick with business plans is seeing positive outcomes. Employees are so accustomed to failed “initiatives” and “plans” that did nothing but waste time that genuinely successful strategies stand out. Few will oppose a plan that demonstrably does what management promised it would. To this end, strive mightily to produce a few “small victories” early on which can be held up as evidence of the business plan working.

About the Author: Robert Steere is a staff writer at Business Owner’s Toolkit. Business Owner’s Toolkit provides information on how to start a business. They also provide useful tools for small business owners such as a sample balance sheet.