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Operational planning isn't glamorous, but it's a must for any small business. Without a roadmap, you’ll get lost when you set out to accomplish a goal.
But where do you begin with an operational plan? It sounds complicated, and in some ways it is. But you don't need to be a business genius to draft one.
An operational plan is about understanding your vision, creating goals, and laying out the concrete steps to realize them. This handy guide will help you get it right.
Operational planning refers to the creation of an outline of what activities a department or organization will focus on in the coming months.
An operational plan is the "how" to any organization's long-term vision. It lays out how a department will accomplish a specific project that is part of a larger effort in the company's vision.
A strategic plan sets big, grand goals for a vision, with major tasks you must complete over time to get there, while an operational plan serves as the blueprint for how a department will complete each task.
An operational plan differs from a strategic plan in that the latter is more about your organization's vision, while the operational planning dives into the nuts and bolts of how that's going to play out day to day.
A strategic plan looks at long-term goals five years into the future or more, while an operational plan looks at what you will work on for the next, say, six months to a year.
An operational plan is also more department-focused than the strategic plan, which concentrates on organization-wide goals. The time involved may vary; annual operational planning is common, but an organization may just draw up a plan for the next three or six months.
Organizations that don’t spend time on operational and project planning are often winging it, which means they run into obstacles along the way and fail to achieve overarching goals. Here are three main benefits to doing this planning correctly:
Setting ambitious goals is important as an organization, as it gives you something to drive toward. But you won’t realize those goals without a practical, realistic plan. Drafting an operational plan makes it more likely the organization will succeed.
With an operational plan in place, everyone has a role and teammates aren’t stepping on each other's toes. The plan lays out who is responsible for what and sets expectations on how and when these tasks are achieved.
Everyone is more productive when they have proper guidance on what they should be doing. An operational plan provides that direction to your team.
They’ll know what’s expected of them and understand the deliverables. They'll just flat out be more motivated to do the work when they understand and believe in the vision.
You’ll likely use two types of operational plans: single-use and standing.
A single-use plan is an operational plan relates to a particular project, and it’s discarded once the project is complete. Use this when the project doesn't match another project or isn't likely to be used again later. You can customize it to fit the individual project.
A standing plan is an operational plan that’s used repeatedly. A department will use this for projects or tasks that crop up frequently. Having these plans in place means you won’t have to "reinvent the wheel" each time, but you will sacrifice some flexibility.
An operations plan is straightforward, but devote sufficient time to draft one -- don't cut corners. These five basic steps can help you create your own:
Any organizational project is a steppingstone to achieve a larger vision, so know and understand that vision before initiating any project. What is your organization trying to accomplish at a macro level?
Talk to leadership and find out what they consider important. Then think about how your project fits into that bigger picture.
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Now that you understand where your tasks fit into the big picture, figure out what the goals of this specific project should be. Then draft a strategy on how you'll get there as a department.
At this point in the operational planning process, draft a scope of work and identify stakeholders.
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With vision, goals, operations strategy, and project scope handled, now you can get into actually planning the activities. You must be very specific, laying out what concrete plans to reach the end goal. Break these into small steps.
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Next, assign roles and responsibilities to team members. Select and assign people to tasks based on their skills. Lay out communications strategies so you’re all on the same page. Be specific about team member reporting structures and deadlines you expect them to meet.
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Monitor progress and adjust as necessary to ensure everything is on track. Hold your team to the deadlines you set, and if you miss a deadline, adjust the plan to keep from getting off track. Draft work reports throughout the project so you can properly analyze team performance.
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The bottom line is that an operational plan is not rocket science, but you've got to put in the work. A good operational plan will be mapped out in great detail, spelling out manpower, resources and specific steps you must take.
This isn’t something you can whip up in a half hour on your lunch break. Set aside hours or even days to do the legwork, meet with stakeholders and leadership, and draw up a strategy, with detailed action steps.
It may seem like a lot of effort, but it will pay off in the end when your department completes a praiseworthy project on time and on budget.
Our Small Business Expert
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