The Importance of Quarterly Planning

team members quarterly planning

As the new year starts, so are our plans and goals for the year. January is mostly the time when we assess what happened in the previous year, and plan the strategies accordingly to have a better and productive result than the prior year.

Planning is the key to success for companies and small business owners. Long term goals are set and made known to all team members or employees to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Some do annual planning, some prefer to plan quarterly to discuss the steps a business or a company has to take within a year.

What is Quarterly Planning?

Quarter planning is the strategic implementation of an annual plan broken into four quarters. Mostly, businesses and companies are implementing it, but it can be applied to your personal goals as well. Every quarter you will set a goal, revisit what has happened, go over your plans, celebrate every milestone reached, and make goals and plans again for the next 90 days.

Why is Quarterly Planning important?

There are many reasons why quarterly planning plays a vital role in your business. It makes things manageable and achievable, therefore making it easier for a company or business to reach their annual goals.

Makes employees or business owners accountable

Having a quarterly plan means going over it every 3-months’ time. By doing so, employees and team members won’t slack off but own up to their responsibilities instead. Each of them should have attainable goals for the quarter, including action plans to achieve them.

Doing that also allows the bosses, managers, and team leaders to easily check on their employees or team members’ progress and productivity.

Helps maintain sustainable growth

We all know that the market changes from time to time. Quarterly planning ensures that the company eliminates or addresses the problems or challenges head-on, especially when it is related to the company’s sustainable growth.

Improves employee’s performance

Employee’s performance is critical to the overall success of a company or business, and that applies to all industries. That is why, these days, companies have been giving quarterly incentives or bonuses to employees who have achieved, if not surpassed, their goals within the quarter. Incentives like that make them more motivated and eager to do better.

Helps visualize the bigger picture

All employees or team members in a company should be on the same page to achieve the company’s bigger, long-term goals. Setting quarterly goals allows everyone in the company to have a clearer understanding of the path it’s going to take and the role it will play in achieving success.