Creating a strategic plan

Running a leisure-time music group can be time-consuming. Getting bogged down in the small details and immediate issues, you can occasionally forget to look at the bigger picture. Creating a strategic plan will help you keep an eye on the overall picture, and provide a framework for dealing with those day-to-day details.

What are the key elements of a strategic plan?

• Dreaming – what would you like to achieve over the next few years.
• Planning – what do you need to achieve your dream, whether that’s money, equipment, people, skills etc
• Doing – creating a framework that will enable you to put your plan into action

Why is it important?

• You have clear goals to aim for and a timescale to achieve them.
• Roles are clarified with a clear structure to follow.
• Work can be allocated fairly, without people being overloaded.
• You can deliver a better service to your stakeholders i.e. members, audience, volunteers, sponsors, funders etc.
• It creates a more productive environment for volunteers, members, and prospective committee members.

Getting your committee engaged in the process

Strategic planning shouldn't be a complicated process if your committee is on board from the start. In addition to the points above (Why is it important?), you could also mention some of the following reasons:

• Committee members/trustees are legally responsible for the overall welfare for the group. A strategic plan helps meet the objects laid down in your constitution, make contingency plans to protect the group should something unexpected happen, and create a vision to sustain the group for years to come.
• Setting aside time to talk about the next 3-4 years, creates new enthusiasm, momentum and energy.
• It helps prioritise future activities and allocate adequate resources.
• A focused, organised and enthusiastic committee will be an appealing environment for anyone else considering joining the committee.

Allocate at least a half day to the process. Consider doing this on a weekends, during school holidays, or instead of your normal rehearsal. Use a neutral location – your rehearsal venue or an office workspace if you have access to one, where there are no distractions (family, TV, etc.).

What time frame should a strategic plan cover?

A plan covering three to five years is the most common. You might decide that a more focused one or two-year plan is more useful initially. Your plan may be broken down into individual years but it should be reviewed and updated as you move through it. Either way, have a time frame in mind when you start stage one – dreaming…

Stage 1 – Dreaming

Imagine your ideal, or ‘dream’, music group. What would it look like? What would it sound like? How would it operate?
Start by asking everyone involved to create a quick wish list for their group. What do they want the group to look like in five years’ time? A list may include:

• A full tenor section, or a stronger string section.
• Financially secure.
• Social media presence.
• More young people.
• Double audience size.
• Modern logo.
• Known for working with new composers.
• The mayor comes to every concert.
• Relationship with a school.
• A particular piece you really want to perform or promote.
• Better relationships with particular organisations in the local community.
• Own a particular instrument or some staging or equipment.

Create a long list of all the suggestions. You may notice some common themes – you could group these together into trends? Next, look at each listed item. Think about the steps you might need to take, and the resources needed, to achieve each one. Such as:

• People with specific skills – which skills? Include steps for finding these people if needed.
• Specialist equipment – what will you need and how much will it cost?
• Money – how much? If you need to raise funds include this as a step.

Keep this a ‘big picture’ exercise, don’t get bogged down in too much detail or worry about how to achieve it. The purpose is to agree on a unified vision – your ‘dream group’. Even if something seems unachievable – if it’s on your list, think about what it would involve and what it would take to achieve it.

Stage 2 – Planning

Think about what can be realistically achieved. Can you do everything on your wish list? Some wishes may not be realistic and may need to be put on hold, or re-thought to make it more achievable.
The ultimate aim here is to decide:

• What can realistically be achieved?
• What are the priorities.
• What is your timeline.
• Where do these tasks fit along your timeline.

Priorities and timelines
It's useful to to allocate a priority rating of 1-5, or to categorise things into groups such as; must have | should have | would like to have | could live without.

A ‘Post-it Note’ approach works well for this exercise. Write each aim on its own Post-it Note - move them around on a wall or table as you think about a timeline. This visual approach can help you see the bigger picture, and how it all fits in together.
As you prioritise - start creating a timeline based on.

• How long will each step take.
• Which tasks will be quickest and easiest to complete.
• What tasks contingent on others being completed first.

You could assign a year to the tasks. Perhaps create groups of tasks to be completed or started in year one, tasks for year two and so on.

Time for detail

In stage one you looked at the steps you would have to take for each goal. Now revisit these and look again at what resources you will need to help achieve your aims.

People and skills:

• Can things be achieved by the people you have now?
• What are the gaps in terms of skills?
• Does your wider membership have these skills?
• Which tasks can be managed by one person? Which will be better allocated to a team?
• Do you need to ‘buy in’ external expertise? Or recruit extra volunteers?

Money:

• Have you reserves to spend?
• Do you need to fundraise, what options are open to you?
• Is in-kind support an option?
• Could you borrow the things you need, or arrange an exchange?
• See our guidance on increasing your income for more ideas.

Equipment:

• What equipment do you have already?
• Can you work with or repurpose what you have already?

Revisit Priorities and Timelines
Now look again at your priorities and timeline, and make any adjustments needed. Are there bottlenecks where everything’s happening at once? Adjust your timings so that the workload is more evenly spread. You may find you decide to lose some 'wishes' to simply make the process more manageable.
By the end of this process you should have:

• A set of achievable aims – in order of importance.
• Steps needed to take to achieve your aims.
• A timeline showing the order you need to take those steps.
• An idea of the resources/people you have to achieve the aims.
• The resources/people gaps you need to fill.

Stage 3 - Doing

Now that you have your plan you can start building a framework for delivery. Decide on your key roles (e.g. marketing, fundraising, recruitment) and what tasks sit under each one.

• Break things down into their smallest components.
• Create groups of tasks that must go together and things that could be shared out between your key roles.
• Consider using the ‘Post-it Note’ approach for this – write each individual duty on its own Post-it Note, and move them around on a wall or table against your key roles, and can see where the majority of the work is.
• You can use the MM sample role descriptions to help you decide what should go where.
• You may need to create additional roles, check your constitution for guidance on this. (You don’t need to rewrite your constitution!)
• Consider understudy roles for important jobs, no matter how big or small. What happens if someone leaves their role unexpectedly? Don’t rely on just one person.

The right people in the right roles:

People are often keen to help, but might their skills may not match a particular role. Be honest in your assessment: Could some people be better in a different role?
The role of chair: A really important consideration is the role that your chair will play. Different people chair in different ways, and different groups will require a different approach. You need to decide what is right for your group, and for the person filling the role. Read our guidance on the role of the chair.  
The MD: include a role description for your MD, especially if they are taking on new duties. It’s important that you establish what is within their remit and what isn't.

Building teams
Developing teams of people is an effective way to manage bigger projects. A team could be led by a committee member but formed of volunteers from your wider group or elsewhere. It has lots of benefits:

• Shares workload and reduces overburdening individuals.
• Knowledge is shared among more people.
• Gaps can be covered more easily if needed.
• Gives people more flexible commitment options.
• Gives scope to recruit more people.
• Allows volunteers to use their skillset more efectively.

Managing teams:
Remember that the committee is ultimately responsible for the group. Let teams know that they will have the full support from the committee but be very clear about their remit.

• Have a clear function for each team – state specific aims and targets.
• Who will lead the team? Ideally a committee member.
• How many people will be on each team?
• How will roles be shared out? Role descriptions are a good idea
• How will your committee keep up-to-date with a team's progress?

Commmunication
Good communication between teams and committee is important, but keep it simple. Over-burdensome reporting can demotivate people and you end up doing more reporting and less doing. The benefits are:

• The committee has an overview of what stage things are at and to decide if priorities or resources need to change.
• Helps focus and motivation and demonstrates the impact the team are having.

Recruiting help
Look at your wider membership. Have they key skills you can use to build teams? Consider the following:

• Undertake a skills audit – survey your membership.
• Consider having fixed-term positions.
• Regular shout-outs at rehearsals.
• Question on membership joining form.
• Use the personal touch and approach individuals.
• Respect people’s time and ask them to do one small job that contributes to the team.

If you need to recruit outside your membership for certain key skills? How will you do this?

• Friends and family.
• Social media.
• Volunteer centres (local CVS).

Communicating your plan
It’s important to keep your membership informed of your plans and how progress is going. An honest and transparent approach works best. Explain why you have taken certain decisions, whether they have been successful, and what your next steps will be. A quick update during a rehearsal would help members feel part of a larger whole.

Review and re-plan
Plans need to be flexible and adaptable. External and unforeseen factors may have an impact on your strategy, or you simply realise something is not as achievable as you first thought. Build in regular points to review how work is progressing. Make changes if needed. This could be adjusting priorities and timelines, reallocating people and money, or deciding to drop some aims from the original plan. Don’t see it as a failure – but as good group management.