A well-designed action plan can make it easier for you to track and realize your goals. Whether you have a career, business, or personal goal, you can use an action plan to create a clear path to success.
The level of detail in your action plan may vary based on the resources you have and the complexity of your project or objectives.
In this article, we discuss what an action plan is, why it is important, and how to create an action plan that can help you achieve your goals efficiently and successfully.
Table Of Content
1 What is an Action Plan?
2 Why is an Action Plan Important?
3 How to Write an Action Plan in 5 Steps?
3.1 1. Set SMART goals
3.2 2. Create a list of actions
3.3 3. Set a timeline
3.4 4. Define resources
3.5 5. Monitor progress
4 Action Plan Templates
5 Examples of Action Plans for Business
5.1 Task 1. Training
5.2 Task 2. Recruitment
5.3 Task 3. Improve customer service
5.4 Task 4. Generate more sales
5.5 Task 5. Increase cash flow and reduce costs
5.6 Task 6. Expand customer base
What is an Action Plan?
An action plan is a document that outlines the tasks you need to complete to achieve your goals.
It also breaks down processes into actionable tasks based on a timeline. A good action plan will outline all the steps needed to achieve your goals and help you achieve your goals efficiently by setting time frames—start and end dates—for each step in the process.
Depending on your needs and preferences, you can use this document to set one or more goals. According To GillianPerkins How to Set Goals & Create an Action Plan!
Why is an Action Plan Important?
Action plans are useful for a wide range of individuals and organizations, from employees looking to improve their performance to project managers assigning tasks to team members.
It can help you identify a clear path to move towards your goals and confidently organize related tasks in the right order to achieve your goals in the most efficient way.
Action plans can also make it easier for you to stay motivated and monitor progress toward goals, enabling you to keep your projects on schedule and, if applicable, on budget.
If you’re collaborating with others, you can use it as a tool to reference who should be responsible for each task which can help you avoid procrastination and troubleshoot errors.
How to Write an Action Plan in 5 Steps?
Writing an action plan may seem challenging, but it’s worth working at the beginning to keep yourself focused later and using a simple framework can help give you clarity.
While action plans may differ in terms of tasks and schedules, they generally conform to the same structure and include the same type of information. Create an action plan to help you achieve your goals by following these five steps:
- Set SMART goals.
- Create a list of actions.
- Set the timeline.
- Define resources.
- Monitor progress.
1. Set SMART goals
Before you start writing your action plan, consider using the SMART goals method to set the right goals. Your goal should be:
- Specific: Your goal should be clearly defined. For example, instead of saying that you want to increase your sales, you can set a certain threshold you want to achieve, such as increasing your sales by 20%.
- Measurable: Make sure your goals are measurable. For example, if your goal is to generate more sales, try creating a weekly or monthly sales report to track your progress.
- Attainable: While it’s good to set lofty goals to challenge yourself, making sure they’re achievable will help you achieve the desired progress.
- Relevant: Your goals should be relevant to your abilities, needs and interests. For example, if you want to increase your advertising revenue by 25%, setting a goal to start a new workplace safety program may not be relevant.
- Time-based or time-based: You must set a specific deadline to achieve your goal, such as increasing your income by 10% in the next 12 months.
2. Create a list of actions
Next, make a list of tasks that you need to complete in order to achieve your goals. This process requires dividing your main goal into smaller goals.
By doing so, you can make the final goal seem less overwhelming and move closer to it in an organized, step-by-step manner.
Make sure actions are achievable and linked to your goals. If a given task seems too vague or daunting, you can further divide it into two or three smaller action items that seem more doable.
For example, if you want to get a promotion, you may have to perform a number of tasks to achieve your goal, such as reaching a performance benchmark or learning a new skill.
Learning a new skill is one of those tasks that may need to be broken down into smaller, well-defined steps. Clearly explain each task to create a plan that will take you to your final destination.
3. Set a timeline
In addition to setting a deadline for your main goal, you should also set a time frame for completing each task in the process.
It’s important to create a timeline that you can reasonably follow so that you can maintain consistent progress toward your goals. Assess the requirements and consider the amount of time you need to complete each item on your list.
For example, you want to increase traffic to your website by 100% within a year through social media and search engine optimization.
Set a timeframe for achieving the results you want for each task, such as increasing your social media following by 30% in four months and creating the first page of web search results for certain keywords within six months.
4. Define resources
If you’re managing a large project, you’re more likely to assign tasks to a number of people. Assess your team’s skills and abilities to determine which one is best qualified to perform each task.
Then, write down who will be responsible for the objectives and the resources needed to complete the task, such as money, equipment, and personnel.
For example, if you are managing a marketing campaign, you will need to find out which staff members are strongest in planning, content production, social media marketing, and SEO. You should also have apps and tools for content production, graphic design, and marketing analysis.
5. Monitor progress
Finally, explain how you will ensure each task in your action plan is completed on time, such as using internal reporting or holding regular meetings.
That way, you’ll have a clearer idea of the progress you’re making toward your goals. Define the steps you will use to monitor the progress of the plan, which could be milestones such as the number of tasks completed or a quantitative measure, such as sales or market share.
For example, you want your customer service department to be able to handle 1,000 questions a day by the end of the year. However, you must have at least 10 customer representatives to achieve your goal.
You can easily tell how close you are to your final goal by assessing how many inquiries you can handle and how many customer service reps you have at the half-year mark.
Template Action Plan
You can save time by using templates to create your plan of action. Here are effective templates for a variety of goal-setting situations:
Problem:
Goal:
Action plan:
Actions (the steps you plan to take to achieve your goals)
Responsibilities (staff members who will handle each step)
Timeline (deadlines for each step)
Resources (assets you need to allocate for each step)
Potential bottlenecks (factors that could potentially hinder the completion of each step)
Results (desired results for each step)
Evidence of Success:
Tracking and Evaluation Process:
Example of an Action Plan for a Business
The following is an example of an action plan for a clothing retailer:
- Problem: Slow profit growth due to inadequate customer service.
- Goal: Increase profits by 50% in three years.
- Goal: Three Years (Tips: This is a SMART goal)
We expect our apparel retail business to increase our profitability by 40% as we follow this plan to improve customer service and add staff over the next three years.
Our current business conditions: Annual profit of 150,000,000, four employees, and many customer complaints
- Our business within six months: Every employee will be trained in customer service and profits will increase by 10%
- Our business within 12 months: 180,000,000 annual profit, six employees, no job openings, and a strong customer service culture.
- Our business within three years: Being in the top 20% of apparel retailers with the largest market share in Jakarta.
Action plan to achieve our goals
Task 1. Training
- Action: All employees will undergo customer service training.
- Completion date: September 20XX
- Responsible: Sales Manager
Task 2. Recruitment
- Action: Identify the required skillset of new hires and work with recruitment agencies to recruit the right talent.
- Completion date: November 20XX
- Responsible: Sales Manager
Task 3. Improve customer service
- Action: Update our website and update.
- Completion date: Started in December 20XX and still ongoing
- Responsible: IT Manager
Task 4. Generate more sales
Plan A
- Action: Meet the top 20% of customers and plan a strategy to generate more sales per customer.
- Completion date: January 20XX
- Responsible: Customer sales manager
Plan B
- Action: Create product and service brochures.
- Completion date: 20XX May
- Responsible: Marketing Manager
Task 5. Increase cash flow and reduce costs
- Action: Introduce payment plans that are more convenient for customers.
- Completion date: January 20XX
- Responsible: Finance manager
Task 6. Expand customer base
Plan A
- Action: Search for regional sales events and participate in relevant events.
- Completion date: 20XX June
- Responsible: Sales Manager
Plan B
- Action: Review our competitors’ offerings and target deficiencies in theirs.
- Completion date: 20XX October
- Responsible: Sales Manager
Proof of success: Annual profit of 225,000,000
Tracking and evaluation process: Assessing profitability, staff size and number of customer complaints.