How to Prepare for Annual Planning in your Organization

As the year draws to a close, organizations turn their focus to annual planning—an essential process that sets the strategic direction for the year ahead. Annual planning offers a unique opportunity to align their departments with the broader goals of the company, ensuring that all teams are moving toward a common purpose in their strategic plan.

This article is part of a three-part series to help you with your Annual Planning

Read How to Host an Effective Annual Planning Retreat for Your Team

Read How to Follow Up After Your Annual Planning Retreat

The Importance of Annual Planning

Annual planning is not just a formality—it’s a crucial step to ensure your organization has clear objectives, aligned priorities, and the necessary resources to meet its goals. Done well, this process fosters collaboration across teams and departments, creating a unified plan that positions the organization for success in the coming year.

Getting your Plan in Place

• Timeline: Start planning at least 2 to 3 months before the new year.

• Participants: Executive leadership and department heads.

• Duration: Typically, 1 to 2 days of offsite sessions or a series of focused meetings.

The preparation phase is critical to ensuring that the actual planning sessions are productive and focused. Team leaders should work with their staff to gather all the necessary information and data before the planning retreat.

Your Checklist for Preparation:

• Review Previous Year’s Performance
  Collect performance data (KPIs, OKRs), identify successes and challenges, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

• Gather Relevant Documents and Data
  Ensure that strategic plans, budget reports, and stakeholder feedback (employees, partners, donors) are available for review.

• Conduct a SWOT Analysis
  Each department should complete a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. This ensures a clear understanding of both internal capabilities and external factors that could impact the department in the upcoming year.

• Set Preliminary Goals
  Directors should work with their teams to draft preliminary objectives and propose key results that align with the company’s strategic plan.

• Identify Resource Needs
  Determine the resources—budget, personnel, technology, and infrastructure—that will be necessary to achieve your department’s goals. Directors should prepare realistic estimates to present during the planning sessions.

• Schedule Joint Planning Sessions (if needed)
  Some objectives may require collaboration between departments. If this is the case, schedule joint planning sessions to ensure interdepartmental alignment on shared goals.

Need help?

Annual Planning can be challenging to take on alone. Contact us to discuss how we can support your team’s process and help you achieve your goals.

By following this structured approach, you can can ensure your are well-prepared for the annual planning process. This preparation not only sets the organization up for success but also strengthens alignment across departments, ensuring that everyone is working toward common goals. As you head into the planning cycle, remember that clarity, communication, and collaboration are the keys to successful strategic planning.