Winning Teams Have a Fourth Quarter Plan

It’s the fourth quarter, and you need a plan to finish the year with a Win. Do you have a game plan?

Our latest blog post highlights four actions you can take this quarter to finish strong. Each action matches one of the 4 pillars of Talent Management – Acquire, Grow, Engage, Manage – the A GEM model.

Plan for Acquiring Top Talent

Plan now for your 2025 talent needs. Annual strategic planning workshops result in actions and impacts to your overall People Strategy. Make sure that the people dimension is considered with all strategic discussions. You can also incorporate a dedicated People track.

Once you know the focus areas for next year, you can start detailed plans before the new year starts!

What’s important on the talent front?

What does your workforce growth look like?

Will you be hiring any summer interns or seasonal workers?

If your organization doesn’t have annual planning on its agenda, take a People First approach and lead the way.

Grow Your Team’s Capabilities

Employee growth and development is a year-round activity. To wrap up the year, focus on these two areas.

1.      Ensure team members have completed their individual growth and development plans for the current year. Growing your employees increases employee engagement and strengthens your ability to serve your clients.

2.      Get the jump on planning next year’s skill development needs. What skills and capabilities will your team need next year based on strategic planning and business growth? Begin developing the plans to train and skill the team, including sources, costs, and schedules.

Engage the Team

Make sure you are ready with some year-end recognition activities for your team members. Whether you plan for a small year-end potluck or large gatherings, also incorporate individual touchpoints. All team members can benefit from direct connections with their leaders and peers. Make it a Q4 resolution to up your game on recognizing a job well done – you don’t have to wait for a new year to make a change!

Manage the Performance Process

Many organizations rush to complete the Performance Management cycle at year end or immediately in the new year. Take time at the beginning of the quarter to do the work early before year-end pressures derail this priority.

It’s also a good time to do a retrospective on the performance cycle activities immediately after completing them. Gather the information while it is fresh, and you will have data that is more accurate to turn into improvements for next year.

Acting at the beginning of your fourth quarter gives you time to manage your talent game to a Win. Manage the clock, engage the team, call the right plays, and you’ll come out on top!