Employers and hiring managers know that the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to set the stage for the coming twelve months.
The decisions you make and actions you take now will influence your priorities and the overall progression of the coming year.
Here are a few key goals you should be evaluating now, as well as the steps you need to take to ensure that you will be prepared to meet those goals by next December.
New Clients and Projects
Evaluating your backlog and forecasting your year to come is an important way to start off the new year. Even if your company is organized by fiscal year, December and January are a great time to make sure you are on track to meet your financial goals. Check in with clients, old and new, to make sure that their projects are headed in the right direction. Evaluate your workload to make sure that you have the resources you need to get the job done on time and on budget. Check in to see what future project might be on the horizon. Reach out to key clients that you are interested in targeting in 2016. Refresh and prepare your marketing collateral so that you are ready to win new clients and projects as they become available.
Getting and Staying Organized
Good organization is one of the most critical aspects of being able to meet your financial goals. As the year goes by, it is often the case that organization and tracking of business plans, client outreach, and other goal-based material because less of a priority. But good business planning and organization is the key to staying on track throughout the year. By tracking progress efficiently you are more able to evaluate the status of your projects and your long term goals. Take a little time at the beginning of the year to update, clean up, and organize your administrative tasks. Evaluate whether your organizational processes are working for your company, and if not consider changing them so they are more useful. A little extra effort on the front end of the year can help to make sure you are where you want to be in December.
Hiring the Support You Need
January often sees a spike in the job market, and there’s a good reason for that. Employers take advantage of the new energy, and new budgets, of January to bring on the support they need to meet their goals. When you are setting goals for the coming year, take the time to really evaluate whether you have the staff on hand to help you meet those goals. Ask questions like whether or not you have enough support to get the job done, and whether you have the staff with the right skills and qualifications to do the work well. Working with a staffing firm like BOS Staffing can help to evaluate your needs and find the right talent in a competitive job market.