Do not confuse an operational business plan with strategic and tactical business plans.
- A strategic business plan deals with two things: long-term goals and the vision of a company.
- Tactical business planning works on the ways of achieving strategic planning.
- And a professional operational plan includes both of them and makes connections between the mentioned ones (strategic and tactical plan). A sound and professional operational business plan is essential for the success of your business.
What is an operational business plan?
Take an operational business plan as a written instructional manual that directs how to carry out your strategic plan in an efficient way. It helps to handle different departments and teams and guides regarding the actions that must be taken to achieve the short-term goals and objectives of a company.
Moreover, it includes the day-to-day task and processes of employees and departments. The operational plan is not limited to regular duties; it also involves weekly and monthly. You make milestones in your operational business plan to achieve your strategic goals you take a “step-by-step” approach.
Benefits of a sound operational business plan
A well-documented and constructed operational plan provides direction and makes others’ work effortless.
A few other benefits of an operational business plan are:
- Enhances the morale of workers: when your worker knows how their contributions benefit the company, they get more motivated and play a very active role. As the operational plan includes the day-to-day progress, the employees link it with the broader goals of a business.
- Appreciable workflow: when all the departments and teams know their weekly and monthly tasks, they can adjust their workflow accordingly.
- Comprehensible guidance: operational business plan provides the departments with actionable steps which help them understand whether they are working fine or need improvements. It also boosts productivity as everyone has a clear direction and guidance.
Types of operational business plans
- A Single-use operational plan: this plan is used when you have a project that does not match any other project. You use this type of operational plan for particular individual projects. And once the project is done, you discard it. A company does not use a Single-use operational plan for any other project or problem.
- A standing operational plan: for repeated tasks and projects, go for this operational business plan. For frequent tasks and projects, the department uses a Standing operational plan. It is convenient and flexible, and the department does not have to reinvent it. Moreover, this operational plan uses a step-by-step approach to problem-solving.
Conclusion
An operational business plan is essential for every business/company. It includes all the elements, such as goals, budget, resources, monitoring techniques, timeline, and tasks. Moreover, an operational plan also highlights the areas of improvement of a company. It is also essential to have effective workforce management.
More must-read stories from Enterprise League:
- What it takes to start a wholesale business from scratch?
- Implement a CRM strategy for your business using this guide.
- Find out everything you need to know about the 10 Ds of entrepreneurship.
- Innovative and profitable business ideas with no employees.
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