Seven reasons to consider working with a strategic planning service.

Are you running a company and struggling with a particular business challenge or question about your users? Do you want to make sure you’re on the right path forward to success? You might want to consider hiring a strategic planning service. It is their job to analyze the position your company is in and work with you to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Be warned: they are blunt. But, they are also fair. You may not like everything they say, but they are effective.

Strategic planning is an organizational strategy used in companies of all sizes and verticals. It provides a plan and roadmap for a company and is a tool that should be used in fulfilling a mission or goal. Strategic planning services are experts in the key aspects of the strategic planning process and can help organizations outline and implement strategic planning initiatives. Successful strategic plans should clearly document specific goals and the action steps and resources necessary to accomplish them. Organizations without a strategic planning foundation and forward-thinking process are much more likely to face roadblocks, especially in today’s competitive environment. 

Still not sure if this service could help your company? Here is a basic rundown of all the ways you might benefit from hiring a strategic planning service.

1. A Strategic Planning Service Helps You Plan

A strategic planning service’s purpose isn’t to read over your plan and then check it off so you can go execute. Their job is to partner with you during this planning phase and actually work with you on it. They will analyze your company so they can lead you down the path of smart business decisions. Elements and components of a strategic plan include:

  • Mission and vision statements for context
  • Goal setting
  • Strategy implementation timelines
  • Progress monitoring timelines
  • Benchmarks and/or objectives that inform progress towards goals and how they support the mission and values
  • Defining how and when progress will be tracked
  • Outline of roles and responsibilities for each employee or team

2. They Facilitate the Process

When a strategic planning service first comes in, they review everything that has to do with your company. They familiarize themselves with the ins and outs, from your employees to your goals. When you’re holding your strategic planning meetings, the strategic planning service can bring in an expert to help facilitate these meetings and conversations. This expert, or facilitator, is someone who plans, designs, and leads a key group meeting or event and can help when dealing with larger topics. They offer a non-biased opinion and take care of logistics while making sure everyone stays on track. 

Pro Tip: Check out Facilitation Lab, our weekly virtual meetup focused on helping facilitators hone their craft to help improve the quality of meetings. Control the Room, Voltage Control’s Annual Facilitator Summit is another resource for facilitators. The summit provides facilitators with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge on how to facilitate meetings that matter and connect with other facilitation and meeting practitioners.

3. They Ask the Big Questions

Strategic planning services ask all the big questions that you may be afraid to ask. Your answers to these deep, probing questions are the key to unlocking a more successful future. Because they are neutral and unbiased (and offer a fresh perspective), strategic planning services aren’t afraid to dig into potentially touchy subjects. This may feel uncomfortable at first but will help you learn more about your business and where you want to take it (and how to get there) in the long run. Strategic planning services can also help accelerate innovation through design sprints and innovation exercises. 

Pro Tip: Learn about when you should run a design sprint here and how Voltage Control can help here. 

4. Strategic Planning Services Challenge Your Status Quo

Similarly to the above point, a strategic planning service is not afraid to challenge the status quo and will do this often. That means everything you’re currently doing with your business is potentially on the chopping block. Strategic planning services take an honest assessment of your company’s situation and can help you identify areas in which your organization can improve. They will share their insights and recommendations with you. Big problems will be discussed in enough detail where you’ll be able to easily make changes. You’ll have the benefit of an outsider’s perspective to see what shifts you might want to make in your company. Embrace these new ideas.

5. They Keep What Works

That being said, strategic planning companies will also identify, highlight and keep what’s working well for your organization. Every company has its individual strengths. The role of the service is also to point out these strengths so you can keep them up and iterate upon them. 

6. They Offer Advice During Changing Times

We’ve all learned how much the pandemic changed the way we work. Strategic planning services can provide clarity and organization during uncertain times. In light of recent events, an effective strategic plan looks a lot different today than a few years ago, in large part due to the increasingly hybrid workplace. Your team members are probably not in the same location, or even if they are, may not all be coming into a physical office. Many organizations had to develop strategic plans when determining how to successfully work in this hybrid and virtual environment. 

7. They Analyze and Get Involved

The strategic planning service’s job doesn’t end with analyzing your company. They get involved in helping you develop, execute and evaluate a new strategic plan. They sit down and help build your strategic plan framework, which after the initial analysis and assessment, will typically include:

  • High level strategy formulation and development
  • Strategic plan documentation 
  • Translation of high level plan into operational planning and action items
  • Performance evaluation 
  • Strategic plan review and refinement as needed

A strategic planning service can also help with team alignment, collaboration training, and team culture, even if your team is remote. 

Strategic planning is a necessary, positive process when an organization wants to tackle business problems and be set up for future success. Organizations considering strategic planning should also consider utilizing strategic planning services. They bring expertise and guidance, promote team alignment and provide a more streamlined process.

Create your strategic plan today

Does your organization need help to develop a strategic plan? Voltage Control offers training and facilitation services. Reach out to hello@voltagecontrol.com to learn more or schedule a consultation.