How to Build a Strong Operations Team

How do you nurture a high-performing team that can drive your business forward. Building a strong operations team is essential for driving efficiency, innovation, and overall business success. In this post, we’ll explore key strategies for creating a cohesive and effective team that can propel your business forward and lay the foundation for operational excellence and sustained growth.
- Define Clear Roles and Responsibilities
- Clarity and Accountability: Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each team member. This ensures that everyone understands their specific duties and how they contribute to the overall goals. Clarity fosters accountability and helps avoid overlap and confusion.
- Recruit the Right Talent
- Skills and Experience: Hire individuals with the right mix of skills and experience that align with your operational needs. It can be hard to source people with all the skillset you need and who tick all the boxes. Look for candidates who demonstrate problem-solving abilities, strong analytical skills, and a willingness to adapt and learn. Sometimes that will be outside your industry. Don’t be afraid of that. Different perspectives can provide invaluable innovation.
- Cultural Fit: Ensure that new hires align with your company’s culture and values. A cohesive team that shares common values is more likely to collaborate effectively and achieve success. I have seen some toxic environments where the problem stemmed from individuals who didn’t fit with the rest of the team. You need to be ruthless. If you have a 6 month probationary period and the person doesn’t seem to be a good fit move them on. It is much harder once they are outside their probationary period. I’ve had to tell organisations in the past that I wouldn’t be taking the contract with them as I felt I couldn’t solve their problems because they had hired two or three people who were not a good fit and as a result the team dynamics had become toxic. Better to be upfront about it. As a consultant I could move onto the next job. But the company were left with a toxic environment.
- Provide Comprehensive Training
- Onboarding: Develop a robust onboarding program to acclimate new team members to your processes, tools, and expectations. Effective onboarding sets the foundation for their success. Plus, you get to set the standard from day one. If you rely on them learning on the job then there is a danger that they will learn bad habits and ways of doing things. And don’t just train your new employees. Invest in ongoing training and development programs for all. Encourage team members to pursue professional development opportunities to stay updated with industry trends and best practices. Don’t be afraid that if you upskill them they will move elsewhere to a better job. You need to evolve to become an employer they see as the better job.
- Foster a Collaborative Environment
- Open Communication: Create an environment where open communication is encouraged. Regular team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and feedback loops help ensure that everyone is heard and can contribute their ideas. Encourage communication and collaboration across different departments. Cross-functional teams bring diverse perspectives and can lead to more innovative solutions.
- Set Measurable Goals and KPIs
- SMART Goals: Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals for the team. Clear goals provide direction and a framework for measuring success.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define KPIs to track progress and performance. Regularly review these metrics to identify areas for improvement and celebrate achievements.
- Empower Your Team
- Delegation: Empower team members by delegating responsibilities and giving them the autonomy to make decisions within their roles. Trusting your team fosters a sense of ownership and accountability. Provide the necessary support and resources for your team to succeed. This includes access to tools, technology, and mentorship. If you feel you can’t trust them and need to micromanage them then you will burn out and they will leave. I did work for one company that required two signatures from management on every change in production. This instruction came from the plant manager, who was not one of the signatures as a kneejerk reaction to a mistake that had been made 2 years before. But it was a 24/7 operation. Middle management would get phone calls at 3am or 4am looking for them to sign off a change in production. Not surprisingly the turnover rate in middle management was huge. And the thing was they generally approved the change because the operators knew best. All the rule did was dis-empower the operators and burnout the middle management.
- Encourage Innovation and Improvement
- Continuous Improvement: Foster a culture of continuous improvement. Encourage team members to identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements. Small, incremental changes can lead to significant enhancements over time. Create an environment where innovation is encouraged. Reward creative thinking and experimentation that leads to process improvements or new solutions. If an idea doesn’t work so be it. Celebrate the fact that the idea was presented and the mindset that encouraged the team member to step forward. Next time their idea might be better and you don’t want them to keep it to themselves.
- Recognize and Reward Performance
- Recognition Programs: Implement recognition programs to acknowledge and reward outstanding performance. Celebrating successes boosts morale and motivates the team to strive for excellence. Offer incentives that align with your team’s goals and performance. Financial rewards, career advancement opportunities, and other incentives can drive engagement and productivity. Operations may not be as high profile or well paid as sales, or finance etc. But without a good operations team none of those roles will exist.
Feel free to reach out to PlanPotential to discuss how we can collaborate and enhance your operations team.