20 Free Action Plan Templates (Word

An action plan is a document that outlines the tasks a person needs to complete to accomplish a specific goal. The document breaks up the project into small actionable assignments, each assigned with a timeline. A well-designed plan will outline all the necessary steps to achieve your goal and help you reach your target efficiently. Apart from detailing all the steps necessary to complete a project, the plan also shows the milestones that the person may have so far achieved in the course of undertaking the project.

Whether it’s a personal, business, or career goal, a good action will make it easier for you to track and actualize your goals. It goes without saying that action plans may vary in the levels of detail depending on the complexities of the individual projects. Also, it’s worth noting that different types of action plans, including emergency action plans and affirmative action plans, are available, with each having its specific purpose, as you’ll soon find out.

What is the Purpose of an Action Plan

Generally, an action plan is meant to help someone understand what they will need to do to complete a task, project, strategy, or initiative to realize a specific goal. Anyone can use an action plan to set single or multiple goals based on their needs and preferences.

How Does an Emergency Action Plan Benefit Your Workplace

An emergency action plan is a special type of action plan that may be very crucial for an organization. The difference between it and a general action plan is that the former outlines all the necessary steps and procedures an organization will need to take to respond to an emergency that has occurred in the workplace. On the other hand, the latter simply details all the necessary steps and procedures an organization will need to take to accomplish a given task, project, initiative, strategy, or anything else similar. One may wonder, how does an emergency action plan benefit my workplace? Well, it helps;

• Minimize potential emergencies.
• Ensure employees’ safety in case of an emergency.
• Prevent any downtime that may occur when an emergency happens.
• Prevent potential personal injury lawsuits.

Action Plan Templates

How to Write an Action Plan

Even though action plans may vary in terms of tasks as well as timelines, they generally follow the same format with certain types of details explained below;

• SMART(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based) goals.
• A list of tasks to be undertaken to realize the goal of the project.
• A timeline to complete each task.
• A list of resources that will be necessary to complete the project, which may include funds, personnel, tools, and time.
• Details to help monitor the progress of the project e.g., milestones to watch out for.

What is an Affirmative Action Plan?

Just like an emergency action plan, an affirmative action plan is another special type of action plan that can go a long way in an organizational setup. Unlike a general action plan that generally outlines the steps to take to accomplish a specific project, the former is more of a document that gives assurance of employee career advancement rights. That’s because it details the steps that the organization has taken and will take to ensure the right of all persons to progress in the company based on merit and ability as opposed to social identifiers. For beginners, social identifiers are things like gender, race, nationality, religion, disability, political affiliations, etc.

An action plan can be an extremely useful document for any individual or organization. This document details all the actions that will need to be undertaken to accomplish a specific project. Any person or organization can have a project that they need to accomplish. Without an action plan, the person or organization may find it challenging to tell whether or not it’s on the right track towards success. That’s because a well-designed action plan breaks down a project into small achievable tasks and shows the milestones achieved, which is a good progress indicator.

Such a document outlines SMART goals, the list of tasks to be undertaken to realize the project’s goal, and a timeline to complete each task. Apart from that, it lists down all the resources that will be necessary to complete the project and details all the information that can be used to monitor the progress of the project.