Virtually every business project involves team planning. Whether it is a new initiative, restructuring departments or organizing major projects, more than one person must get involved in the process. 

But team planning is not always foolproof. Team members can underachieve and fail to see the importance of their projects. To remedy team planning issues, it requires not only launching goal-focused strategies but also engaging team members, so they feel motivated to participate. Below are five strategies to help your business roll out team plans that get results.

1. Include team members in the goal-setting process

Proper team planning starts with setting clear goals that are visible to all team members. Include team members in the entire goal-setting and implementation process, so they feel accountable and recognize how serious your initiatives are to the business’ stability and growth. 

2. Define team member roles

Define each team member’s role and how they contribute to achieving your overall business goals. As a leader, your role is to clearly spell out team members’ responsibilities and exactly what is required of them so they have no unanswered questions that would impede their progress. Start by reviewing previous goals to check if they have been completed, and track progress with your team members to stress to them the importance of reaching targets.

3. Meet regularly

Bringing team members together to meet is essential to effective team planning and goal execution. Meet quarterly or monthly to discuss progress and any issues that are impeding forward momentum. You may need to schedule impromptu meetings if a plan needs improvement and/or requires immediate attention. Set a strict meeting schedule, but allow for flexibility so team members feel they can get answers to their questions when progress has halted. To encourage participation, use a meeting format that appeals to your team’s personalities, so they are motivated to get more involved.

4. Encourage regular communication and collaboration

Team members should feel excited to participate in planning and accomplishing their goals and willing to collaborate. To encourage this level of participation, communicate with team members regularly, and set the overall tone during the planning and strategy phases. We discussed conducting regular meetings earlier in this article, but individual huddles and group communication outside regularly planned meetings will help encourage this collaboration.

5. Use a texting service

One of the best methods to help team members stay in touch and communicate outside of formal meetings is to use mass texting. Some communication may not require a formal meeting nor a long email thread. Instead of gathering team members together and distracting them from their work, consider a mass texting service so you can collaborate quickly. Every employee likely has a smartphone, and by using a texting service, reaching them is as simple as one click.

Text messaging is also a more effective form of communication because text messages get opened more frequently than emails. Also, texting services are inexpensive and improve productivity since they are quick and easy to use. Simply create your message and click to send. Your team will receive your texts within seconds. Once you send the messages, review your analytics and check who has not opened your message.

If you would like to check out CallFire’s texting services, sign up for a free account here. For pennies a text, CallFire can help you foster more team collaboration and create a positive experience for your team members so you can generate better business results.