Planning Backwards

Start with the holidays!  Then add the important personal milestones and build the plan around it.  

I’ve been running Impact HR for 16 years. And I’ve grown it while I had 2 children and have been through cancer treatments. What I’ve learnt along the way is that planning backwards is essential to stay in love with your business and manage through the busyness. And yes, it is unapologetically different to what you are taught in corporates.  

As I’ve worked with business owners, I’ve heard so many stories of how long it has been since they were able to take a holiday. While I love their passion for their business, it concerns me that they are not getting to build their dream business. They are becoming slaves to their processes and a part of their wellbeing is being sacrificed. Turning it around and starting with the holiday or break in mind is essential.  

My team are already planning and sharing their breaks too. We have bookings for January 2027 already and I’m excited to see the team planning amazing experiences across the year. This allows us to plan, and everyone has valuable time with family without the resource crunch that occurs if too many people are away at the same time.   

Then we build in important milestone dates for the business such as promotions, product launches, team learning, strategy reviews etc. If there is an overlap with any of these and holidays, we have time to adjust our people plan and/or modify dates. There is a fabulous opportunity to cross train members of the team if we know well in advance that there will be a resource gap due to leave or multiple activities happening at the same time.  

My next step is building in all the regular meeting and Business As Usual (BAU) activities. The payroll dates, the financial reporting, the team meetings etc. This is then used to create individualised client plans and internal department plans.  

When we approach the Business Plan backwards, the parts come together more easily and the needs of all the different parts of the business are met.  

Our highly skilled Outsourced HR team are here to assist you and support your success. If you’d like help with putting in place a business plan that will really work for both you and your business, please contact us on 1300 474 672 or book a meeting below.