How the goals will be achieved What resources are required to meet the goals Although there are no strict rules as to the format of an operational plan, they normally contain the following information: Specific Actions required to achieve goals Human resources required Physical resources required Budget required An indication of how long goals will take to achieve Single-use plans Single-use plans apply to activities that do not recur or repeat. These are one-time occurrences, such as a special sales program and are usually only applicable for one year. They deal with the who, what, where, how, and how much of an activity. A budget is also a single-use plan because it predicts sources and amounts of income and how much they are used for a specific project. Multiple-use plans Continuing or ongoing plans are usually made once for a period of years, whilst continually undergoing reviews and updates according to the organisation's operating systems and procedures as well as market and economic fluctuations. Examples are standard operating policies and procedures. Standard operating systems (and Standard Operating Procedures—SOPs) contribute to the success of any enterprise. An operating system has a number of advantages. For example, it will: help staff know the operating standards and the expected results help deliver products and services to customers in a consistent manner enhance the ability to manage growth give a better opportunity to franchise a concept ensure operations will run smoothly under a range of circumstances enhance the value of the business Key performance indicators (KPI's) Once an organisation has analysed its mission, identified all its stakeholders, and defined its goals, it needs a way to measure progress toward those goals. Key Performance Indicators (or KPIs) are those measurements. How do KPI's work? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantitative and qualitative measures used to review an organisation's progress against its goals. These are broken down and set as targets for achievement by departments and individuals. The achievement of these targets is reviewed at regular intervals. KPI's vary between companies and industries, depending on their priorities or performance criteria. They are sometimes referred to as Key Success Indicators (KSIs). KPIs need to be flexible and reflect the changing goals of the organisation. Goals change as the organisation changes in reaction to external factors or as it gets closer to achieving its original goals.
Watch a video Click here for a video link to Jen D'Amore from About.com, explains all about Key Performance Indicators and how to use and implement them to accomplish tasks and motivate employees. She explains how KPI's help an organisation define and measure progress toward its goals. This topic follows on to the next topic covering S.M.A.R.T. KPI's . S.M.A.R.T. KPI'S The acronym S.M.A.R.T is often used to describe KPIs. We covered S.M.A.R.T earlier in Topic 2 under Setting team objectives and goals. Successful KPIs follow the S.M.A.R.T criteria: Specific KPIs need to be specific to the individual job and if possible expressed as statements of actual on-the-job behaviours. For example, a KPI should: explain clearly to the employee what he/she has to do in terms of performance to be successful have an impact on successful job performance, that is distinguishing between effective performance and ineffective performance focus on the behaviour itself, rather than personality attibutes such as ‘attitude to customers’. such as 'work quality', and 'job knowledge' are too vague to be of much use.