Challenges in annual planning
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 9:56 am
These are the most common project management challenges you may encounter in your annual plan and ways to overcome them.
Inaccurate forecasting : Sometimes teams overestimate what they can accomplish in a year. As a result, they make inaccurate forecasts for everything, including budgets, resources, and activities.
To avoid this, make forecasts based on existing data. Be reasonable in your forecasts and err on the side of caution.
Alignment : All individuals, teams and departments must align their goals with those australia accountant email list of the organization. More importantly, they must be in service of the company's overall business plan. When this does not happen, it becomes a major challenge.
The easiest way to overcome this is to use planning methods such as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) or the Balanced Scorecard. This helps keep everyone’s goals and activities aligned towards the same goal.
bonus_: Free Business plan templates for you to work with.
Budget constraints : It is very rare that all teams get the budgets they ask for. This means that teams have to achieve their goals within the budgets they have available.
With that in mind, run some simulations. Consider several budget allocation combinations before choosing the best one.
Time Management : Let’s face it. Planning takes time. When you’re already overloaded with daily work, setting aside time to plan ahead can be a huge challenge.
Overcome this challenge by building contingency time into your plan. Make sure you leave a couple of weeks free in December in your annual plan for next year’s company annual planning.
Company leaders can play a key role in helping teams overcome these challenges.
The role of leadership in annual planning
A good leader understands that teams are closer to reality and have a more grounded knowledge of company issues.
So, instead of being a trainer or a planner, the leader plays the role of driver and facilitator of annual planning.
Asking Questions : The leader facilitates the review of the previous year by asking relevant questions.
Offering ideas : They bring their experience to offer suggestions and ideas
Resolve conflicts : Help teams reach consensus on issues they disagree on
Supervision : They observe the planning process to detect possible gaps and bring them to the team's attention.
Inaccurate forecasting : Sometimes teams overestimate what they can accomplish in a year. As a result, they make inaccurate forecasts for everything, including budgets, resources, and activities.
To avoid this, make forecasts based on existing data. Be reasonable in your forecasts and err on the side of caution.
Alignment : All individuals, teams and departments must align their goals with those australia accountant email list of the organization. More importantly, they must be in service of the company's overall business plan. When this does not happen, it becomes a major challenge.
The easiest way to overcome this is to use planning methods such as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) or the Balanced Scorecard. This helps keep everyone’s goals and activities aligned towards the same goal.
bonus_: Free Business plan templates for you to work with.
Budget constraints : It is very rare that all teams get the budgets they ask for. This means that teams have to achieve their goals within the budgets they have available.
With that in mind, run some simulations. Consider several budget allocation combinations before choosing the best one.
Time Management : Let’s face it. Planning takes time. When you’re already overloaded with daily work, setting aside time to plan ahead can be a huge challenge.
Overcome this challenge by building contingency time into your plan. Make sure you leave a couple of weeks free in December in your annual plan for next year’s company annual planning.
Company leaders can play a key role in helping teams overcome these challenges.
The role of leadership in annual planning
A good leader understands that teams are closer to reality and have a more grounded knowledge of company issues.
So, instead of being a trainer or a planner, the leader plays the role of driver and facilitator of annual planning.
Asking Questions : The leader facilitates the review of the previous year by asking relevant questions.
Offering ideas : They bring their experience to offer suggestions and ideas
Resolve conflicts : Help teams reach consensus on issues they disagree on
Supervision : They observe the planning process to detect possible gaps and bring them to the team's attention.