Regular quarterly reviews are crucial for the fast, sustainable growth of a business, according to Shweta Jhajharia, the principal coach at The London Coaching Group.
Reviewing the performance of the past year is one of seven steps to achieving a productive quarterly review, Ms Jhajharia said.
It enables business bosses to identify a number of key considerations, including whether employees have been working efficiently, whether and why goals have not been met, and how much time they have spent fulfilling their day-to-day tasks rather than looking for strategic partnerships that can build the business.
The second step is the review of the company’s current position – with a particular focus on what needs to be done.
Company chiefs should make similar considerations highlighted in the previous step – including a review of profits made in the past quarter, and what the business should continue working on in the next quarter.
The third step is to set out personal goals.
Ms Jhajharia said: “Define your long-term goals (five to ten years), then break those into three-year goals, and then into one-year goals.
“The drive to make your business a success often comes from the knowledge that this success will allow you to achieve your personal goals.”
The next stage is to create a plan which involves categorising and prioritising goals – noting down measures to achieve these objectives – and splitting the actions over the four quarters of the year, then across the 13 weeks of the quarter, according to Ms Jhajharia.
Step five is assigning accountability. Company heads should assign workers to fulfill different functions, such as marketing and finance, for which these individuals are accountable, Ms Jhajharia said, adding that a list of key performance indicators should be implemented to track the function’s performance.
The next step is to create a default diary.
“For every accountable person there will be weekly actions required in order to maintain the KPIs,” Ms Jhajharia said. “Block out time for these every week so that they’re completed no matter what other tasks crop up. Plan other appointments and activities around these core tasks.”
Finally, business bosses should ensure that they review their plan on a weekly basis.
Mr Jhajharia said: “At the start of the week, look at your weekly plan. Tick off the actions you achieved and highlight the ones you did not. For the latter ask yourself why. Is the goal no longer important or do you need to make adjustments in order to prioritise these tasks?
“This quick review will leave you more focused on the right areas of your business. This will result in greater and more consistent growth.”
Adviser view
William Annison, employee benefits consultant at HWWA Consulting, based in Derbyshire, said: “Most smaller businesses like advisory firms are doing as Ms Jhajharia suggests in a smaller way all the time. I think it is a good idea to sit down every three months or so and think of ways to climb ahead.”
