Strategic planning clarifies corporate direction

The Ozark-based construction company had put together a long-range business plan every year since 2000, according to Director of Marketing Lacy Snyder-Emmert.

“It got to be about a 30-page document that sat on the shelf and looked really nice, but just sat there,” Snyder-Emmert said. “We didn’t feel like doing the business plan every year was serving a purpose, and the employees didn’t know where we were and where we were headed as a company.”

Larry Snyder & Co. tried a different approach in December, taking about 25 members of its office and management staff to a two-day strategic planning retreat at Lodge of the Four Seasons in Lake Ozark.

Companies can benefit from taking time out of the schedule to involve all company employees in strategic planning; experts and participants say the process can open communication channels and boost company morale.

Getting away

Snyder-Emmert said the idea behind taking the employees out of the office was to stress the importance of the session and what could be accomplished.

“Number one, it was to get everybody away from the office, so they’re not thinking about the e-mails they have to respond to or the reports they have to finish,” she said. “But also, we took a whole day off and went somewhere to make them understand that this is more than just sitting down in a meeting – this is about where we want to go with the company.”

Overall, Snyder-Emmert said the company’s main goals are to reduce employee turnover – an issue she said is facing the entire construction industry and is expected to intensify in coming years – and to reach higher benchmarks for project value, though she declined to discuss specific numbers.

Going out of the office for strategy sessions is a great idea, according to Julie Short, owner of Springfield marketing firm J.P. Short & Associates. She periodically leads a seminar titled “Take Your Business to the Next Level” through the Missouri State University Small Business Development Center.

“When you can get away from the office and spend some time, it allows you to step back from the day-to-day activities, and that’s what strategic planning is all about,” Short said.

She added that the key to successful planning is to include everyone in the process and let them know that all ideas are welcome, no matter how seemingly outrageous or strange.

Having a vision

Short said the hardest part of strategic planning can often be getting the company to figure out where it wants to go and what it wants to accomplish.

“I always try to get companies to come up with a vision – and that can be the hardest thing,” she said. “Often, they say, ‘I want to grow my business,’ but they don’t know how to get there. Strategic planning is about solving problems, and the easiest way is to really understand what you’re dealing with.”

Larry Snyder & Co. developed its strategic planning materials in-house, Snyder-Emmert said, but other companies see value in bringing in outside perspective.

Such was the case for Dr. Gary Nie, who was faced with figuring out the direction of Angel Animal Hospital, which he and his wife, Dr. Jane Flathers, bought in May 2006. Nie attended one of Short’s SBDC seminars in summer 2007. The workshop covered several topics, such as identifying growth opportunities and compiling a list of critical success factors for change.

“We took over a clinic that was in a time warp from about 30 years ago and have tried to move it into a modern age,” he said. “I wanted to see what they could offer, with the thought of bouncing around some ideas to help us look into the future.”

Snyder-Emmert said the biggest issue for Larry Snyder & Co. was getting over the fear of such a seemingly big task as strategic planning.

Nie said the planning process could have been intimidating for him as well but the knowledge he gained from the SBDC workshop – combined with previous management training courses – has allowed him to look confidently to the future.

“We’re in the midst of an expansion project – we’re going to be building a new hospital on West Republic Road,” Nie said. “So the idea was to use the class to help me get into that and look at our planning going forward.”

Following through

Despite all the work and effort that can go into a company’s strategic planning, Short said it doesn’t mean much if the company isn’t willing to follow up on its own suggestions.

“Strategic planning is about changing your direction; if you keep on doing what you’re doing, you’re going to keep on getting what you’re getting,” she said. “The main thing is that the company that wants to do strategic planning has to be committed to doing something different.”

That willingness used to be a problem for Larry Snyder & Co. and its dust-collecting business plans. Now, though, Snyder-Emmert said the company has set specific goals for each of its departments.

One such goal is increased efficiency for the estimating department’s bid request system, the method by which it sends information about upcoming jobs to its 400 subcontractors.

“We set a goal to research and find a new way to send out those bid invitations by January, and implement it by the end of February,” she said.

Another goal, she said, is for the project management department to create a more efficient flow of paperwork, such as bids and blueprints, through the office.

Setting specific benchmarks – and deadlines for reaching them – is crucial, Short said, noting that it becomes much easier to determine what additional resources, such as money, personnel, equipment and time, are needed.

In the end, proper strategic planning can lead to increased company morale and a renewed sense of direction.

“I think we bonded more as a team, and we know what to shoot for now, which gives people more motivation to come to work,” Snyder-Emmert said. “It’s something we’ll do every year.”

Additional Assistance

Companies interested in learning more about strategic planning can get some help from Missouri State University’s Small Business Development Center.

“Take Your Business to the Next Level,” an upcoming SBDC seminar, focuses on helping small businesses with evaluation, basic planning and rethinking company strategies.

The four-hour seminar begins at 8:30 a.m. April 23 at Glass Hall on the MSU campus. The cost is $129 per person. For more information or to register, call (417) 836-5685 or visit www.sbdc.missouristate.edu. [[In-content Ad]]