The new year offers an opportunity for rejuvenation. Why not start 2019 by making some resolutions for your business? There’s no better time to set some effective fleet management milestones that motivate your team and keep your business on track, from the beginning of the year to the end.
Intelligent milestones do more than just keep you focused on your goals. They also help you to precisely identify areas of your business that may be underperforming, aspects of your business plan that might be unrealistic and expectations for employee performance that might be either too high or too low. But how to ensure you get the most from your milestones?
This brief article outlines the six steps you need to take to ensure the milestones you set for your business are workable, trackable and effective.
Make it goal-specific
General aspirations don’t make for motivating milestones. The big question is: where is this all leading? Making the project or annual goal specific from the start is essential to creating clarity of purpose and making the milestone both actionable and achievable.
Ensure that it is quantifiable and measurable
Milestones that include a target metric facilitate the process of quantifying and measuring your progress. Performance measurement is key to understanding your strengths and areas where improvements can be made.
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Establish milestones that are interconnected and interdependent
Each milestone should represent one step that pushes you towards your main goal for the year ahead. They should also create a logical sequence – the achievements and gains of the first milestone creating a solid foundation from which you can achieve the second and so on. This is about mapping a logical journey towards your goals, not deciding on a collection of separate beneficial activities that you’ll chase at the same time.
Assign team member task ownership
The correct delegation of tasks to departments, teams and individuals relies on a thorough HR skillset assessment. A comprehensive analysis before assignment is likely to generate less bottlenecks and instances of poor performance later on. This component can also include the setting up of contingency plan protocols for the efficient handling of potential issues, in order to minimize impact on operational performance.
Develop an all-encompassing budget plan
A results-driven fleet management milestone plan may well require capital. While your overall goal may be to cut costs and/or drive revenues, investment is necessary to reach it. For each milestone, decide how much of your budget you’re prepared to dedicate to its achievement.
Confirm every team member understands the plan and their role
To maximize the chances of reaching and exceeding each individual milestone and of attaining your overall fleet management goal for the year, each team member must be clear on what you are planning and what you expect them to contribute in order to achieve it.
As you can see, creating an effective annual strategy will take some time and thought. However, that investment at the beginning translates to valuable results later in the year, increasing efficiency, clarifying expectations and simplifying team communication on the way. Want some tools to help you with your planning? Be sure to check out our full free guide on setting effective fleet management milestones.
Happy planning and best of luck in the new year!