In November of 2012, the Board of Directors at PLASP Child Care Services approved a three year strategic plan for the organization. A key focus of the Strategic Plan is to be a World Class Early Learning and Child Care Provider. The Strategic Plan is available in its complete format under the About PLASP section of our website.

This month, PLASP CEO, Lynn Hiebert and Director of Strategic Planning, Ginny Millar, are attending area meetings to present the Strategic Plan to all the staff.

“The Strategic Plan is more than just a poster on the wall,” Lynn explained in her presentation. “It’s a plan for the entire organization, something in which every single person that works for PLASP can take ownership of and become engaged with.”

To work towards this, staff were asked to gather in groups and come up with achievable goals that they themselves would be comfortable working towards by the end of the school year. At each table, were yellow and blue PLASP “kids”, on which staff could write their own goal for their program after reflecting on the strategic plan and the vision for the organization.

“Look at the Strategic Plan,” Ginny encouraged staff, as they began working in their groups. “Where do you see yourselves fitting in with the plan and how can you as a PLASP staff help to achieve the goals that we as an organization have set for ourselves?”

Staff were reminded that their goals should be achievable and therefore needed to be SMART:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time Targeted

As an example, one staff wrote, “I will do my best to get more and more resources in my program by visiting the different resource centres (in my area) by the end of June.”

By the end of the second meeting, almost 100 blue and yellow paper boys and girls had been taped to the wall. By the end of the third area meeting, that number grew to close to 150, each child with its own goal, provided by a program staff who works closely with the children and the parents that use the services provided by PLASP.

By the end of April, when all of the area meetings for the month have been completed, over 800 children will adorn the wall. Each of them will have their own goal on how PLASP Child Care Services can be a World Class Early Learning and Child Care Provider.