Action items are an essential part of strategic planning that can let organizations set clear goals and establish accountability in the workplace. The tasks created for your employees will help them prioritize important duties and clarify your expectations. There are three ways you can improve your action items and make them easily understandable to team members.
Assign each item to a specific person
It’s vital to create action items that are intended for a specific person. If you create tasks with no assigned worker, then it will be impossible to hold team members accountable for their duties. Additionally, an action item with no assigned employee can cause confusion in the workplace. Your workers won’t know who needs to complete the task, which may lead to multiple people working on the same thing.
Set clear deadlines for your items
An effective action item should convey your expectations for when it needs to be completed. Executives need to add deadlines to their tasks to ensure employees stay productive and are maintaining progress toward the company’s overall goals. Items without deadlines may be mistakenly considered a low priority to team members.
Specify the actions you want from employees
Be clear when writing your action items to prevent confusion. The items should be limited to one specific action instead of vaguely describing a series of tasks. Vague descriptions may cause your employees to perform duties that aren’t relevant to your organization’s current needs. It also helps to confirm with your team members if they understand the action items.
The action items you make for your company will guide employees toward correctly completing their duties in a timely manner. If you want more strategic planning assistance, then contact Jim Crisafulli now. He is a business mentor in Rhode Island who knows how to elevate your brand to world-class status.
Written By
Mark