Action Plans

Action plans complement our coaching programs and can be linked to a 1:1 check-in. Action plans created in a check-in allow for managers and reps to leave the 1:1 with the same, clear documented items.

Action plans can also exist independently outside of 1:1s in order to help create a focus on explicit steps needed to achieve a desired result.

How do employees know they have an action plan to complete?

Do I have to review and approve an action plan?

What happens if an action plan is not completed?

How do I reopen an expired action plan?

How do employees know they have an action plan to complete?

Once an action plan has been created for a specific employee, they will be notified via email and will be able to access the action plan within Ambition.

 ↳ Example action plan emails can be seen here.

Upon logging into Ambition, the user will be able to view:

• Who created the action plan via the title. ex. User's Name <> Creator's Name Action Plan
• The action plan's items --> goal, question, external URL, etc.
• Action plan's due date and time

The action plans I created involve steps and goals that will take place over several days/weeks. Are employees able to save their progress as they knock out each item?

Yes. Employees have the option to save their progress as they complete each question or item in the action plan. They can make changes to their action plan and save their progress as many times as they like until the action plan due date.

Can employees skip required questions or tasks on their action plans?

No. Employees won't be able to submit their action plan for review until all of the required questions have been answered. An action plan can be submitted with optional items left blank.

Do I have to review and approve an action plan?

While both the user and manager will have access to viewing action plans at all times to allow for tracking towards completion, manager approval is only required if the action plan contains a required external URL agenda item.

If the external URL agenda item is marked as "Required", then the employee and manager will both be responsible for marking the agenda item as complete. After the action plan is submitted by the employee, the action plan will be put in a "Pending Approval" status while waiting for manager approval.

All other completed action plans will automatically move to a "Completed" status and do not require manager approval.

Note about goal agenda items: Goal agenda items will automatically be marked as complete once the goal is reached.

If the goal is completed but then updated and the target is no longer reached it will automatically revert the action plan's goal agenda item to be incomplete.

If the goal agenda item is marked as required, the action plan's completeness depends on goal completion. If the goal agenda item is required, we do not advise creating or using goals where the goal's end date is after the action plan's due date.

Learn more about how employees complete action plans here.

What happens when an action plan is completed?

When all required action plan items have been completed and submitted, the action plan will be marked as "Complete" and display the date on which the plan was completed.

The due date and agenda completed date fields are not editable after completion.

An action plan's due date is set upon creation, and the completion date is set by Ambition when all action items are marked as "Complete".

The due date can be edited while the action plan is in "Answers Due" or "Pending Approval" status.

Can my employees change their answers after they’ve submitted an action plan?

Reps cannot change their replies after they’ve submitted their action plan, though they can leave comments under each agenda item.

Where can I view completed action plans?

In the left navigation via the Coaching > Action Plans view, any complete action plans will display a completed date and will be quickly filterable though Status: Complete.

The "Pending Approval" status is only applicable to action plans where the external URL agenda item is present and the item is marked as required. When marked as required, the external URL agenda item requires manager approval after user submission, so after the user completes the action plan, the manager has to approve the external URL agenda item before the plan can be marked "Complete".

What if an action plan wasn't completed by the employee?

If any of an action plan's items are not completed by the due date, which is set upon creation, the action plan will move into the status "Expired" and the user can no longer work towards completing the action plan.

If an expired action plan needs to be reopened, access the Reopen option. Through the reopen option, a new agenda due date will be selected and the action plan will be accessible for completion by the employee again.

The action plan's due date can also be edited at any time while the plan is in "Answers Due" or "Pending Approval" status.

If more appropriate to excuse an expired action plan, first access the reopen option and select a new due date. Once the action plan is reopened, you can mark the action plan as excused.

In the left navigation via the Coaching > Action Plans view, any incomplete action plans will display with an "Expired" tag and will be filterable though Status: Expired.