How to Set and Communicate Priorities at Work: Management Secrets That Improve Team Performance

How to set and communicate upper management's strategic goals, business objectives, and priorities to all involved and keep them focused.

This article outlines best practices to effectively set and communicate clear priorities:

1. Align with the strategic plan.
2. Write it down.
3. Set the timeline.
4. Meet with stakeholders.
5. Clarify activities and roles.
6. Review and assess.
7. Communicate on time.

By investing in HSI’s employee learning and development program, you’re providing the skills needed to improve performance and see strategic goals materialize.

Setting priorities at work isn’t just about choosing to do one thing over another; it’s about choosing to do important things first to achieve long-term strategic goals. Setting clear priorities keeps employees organized and on task. Organizations and team members must set goals, choose priorities, and make a task list.

Senior management spends time negotiating and planning the company’s strategies and goals. Once set, these priorities need to be clearly communicated and shared throughout the organization. These seven practical steps will help keep all involved focused on priorities to meet the strategic goals set by upper management.

1. Align with the strategic plan.

Fiscal year strategic planning can take months. Senior management may need to hold all-employee meetings to launch the goals or share them with middle managers, who will then conduct team meetings to communicate the organizational strategic goals and business objectives for the upcoming year.

Leaders lay out a very intentional and thoughtful plan for growth. Their strategies might include a new product launch, a merger or acquisition, or a new geographic target market. Conversely, the plan may include retiring a product, selling a division, or closing a market. In any event, the teams of employees who execute it will need to understand the plan and align their efforts with it. Aligning with the strategic plan is the first step in setting and communicating priorities to all team members.

2. Write it down.

Ideally, senior management will create a short, concise summary of the strategic plan for distribution to employees. They might even brand the plan with a name or acronym. Sharing on the internal communication channel can help to communicate and reinforce the priorities for everyone.

The act of writing things down gives ideas a feeling of permanence and importance. Senior leaders should be as clear and specific as possible. As teammates mentally create their own task list, they should write it down in priority order. Keep the task list visible to maintain focus on the highest-priority tasks.

3. Set the timeline.

One driver of any priority is the due date. Task prioritization is a critical component of project management. It helps to hold people accountable. Is something dependent on another task, or can it run concurrently? What is the estimated amount of time required for the work? How many team members are required to accomplish each segment of the project? What are the milestones leading up to the due date?

A common approach to achieving objectives is setting SMART goals. The “T” stands for time-bound. If teammates don’t set a deadline for a task or project, other priorities will arise leading to delays.

Using a prioritization framework, such as the Eisenhower Matrix, helps categorize tasks by urgency and importance. It divides tasks into four quadrants to keep the focus on important tasks:

• Do: urgent and important
• Schedule: important but not urgent
• Delegate: urgent but not important
• Eliminate: neither urgent nor important

4. Meet with stakeholders.

Meetings with key stakeholders should occur to communicate the plan and priorities. The written plan can provide the framework for the meetings, both at launch and for frequent timeline updates. In turn, senior management meets with managers, and then managers meet with team members. Priorities are then shared with outside business partnerships.

An all-employee email is one-sided and may leave employees unsure of the important tasks. Creating a video ensures everyone receives a consistent message. Deploying the video in the organization’s learning management system (LMS) enables tracking and reporting of views. Live meetings allow an open discussion about the strategic plan, priorities, and the video. Whether in -person or in virtual meetings, dialogue is key to discussing and negotiating individual priorities as part of the larger plan. Team members may raise unexpected issues that require further discussion with management and changes in project specifics and/or timeline.

5. Clarify activities and roles.

Once the strategic plan has been launched and goals and business objectives set, they must be translated into actionable items for all team members. This can be a very tactical conversation, reviewing the existing project and task list to ensure they align with the new strategic goals. There may be additional brainstorming sessions to identify new programs to meet the goals and business objectives.

As managers clarify each team member’s crucial role, they also gain commitment to focus on the highest-priority tasks, do their best to meet their goals, and stay on point. If employees don’t have clarity on the priorities, they may become distracted by a more intriguing new project. Days or weeks can be lost during the diversion.

6. Review and assess.

After management sets and communicates priorities, they should take the time to measure progress, track results, and assess the progress. Reviewing the milestones and timeline is also important. If project tasks are not on track, management may need to build some flexibility to pivot.

7. Communicate on time.

As managers regularly review and assess, they also communicate. They’ll need to:

• reinforce the strategic plan and business objectives,
• report on progress to date,
• recognize success, and
• review strategic shifts.

The leadership team may wish to record a monthly or quarterly update video depending on the scope of the strategic initiative. So, to help employees stay connected and focused, it’s a good idea for the management team to review the strategic goals and report accomplishments.

HSI Can Help

HSI offers a wide variety of award-winning microlearning courses that can support your organization in setting and communicating organizational priorities. A few examples include:

• Mission, Vision, and Values: This series provides a solid starting point for the strategic planning process.
• SMART Goals: This course serves as a guide for setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
• Effective Time Management: Eisenhower Matrix Basics: This course explains how to create an Eisenhower Matrix and how to prioritize tasks within the matrix.
• Communication Essentials: This skills bundle helps employees choose the right method and channel for their audience, so the message is clear and professional.
• Project Management: This learning series covers documenting the project charter, establishing timelines, communicating, measuring, tracking, handling change, managing people problems, and completing the project.
• The Art of Saying No: This course helps teammates decline requests when it is necessary to protect focus and priorities.
• Work-Life Balance: The Delicate Art of Juggling: This learning experience teaches learners how to prioritize work, so employees’ lives are more fulfilling overall.

Explore a variety of free courses from HSI and connect with us for a personalized consultation to learn more!