Free Operational Plan Guide
- 5 Step process for effective operational planning
- How to create an operational plan?
Posted by: Mansour Baker
Creating an effective operational plan is essential for turning your organization’s strategy into actionable results.
Operational planning is a key component of the annual strategic planning process that provides a link between the department’s strategy and the day-to-day efforts of its people.
Definition of Operational Planning
- Outlines the actions necessary to accomplish the goals and objectives in the Strategic Plan
- Creates a set of annual plans for governance, adjudication, and administration entities
- Establishes performance measures to track progress against actions
- Aligns actions to budget
Purpose of Operational Planning
- Helps managers identify organizational priorities and capabilities
- Establishes tasks, performance expectations, schedules, milestones, and resource needs
- Focuses departments to organize resources against performance targets
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The 5 Step Process for Effective Operational Planning
Step 1: Review Strategic Plan
Creating the operational plans begins with reviewing the strategic plan and its mission, vision, goals and objectives.
Objectives
- To create an understanding of the Strategic Plan in preparation for identifying current department initiatives that align to its goals and objectives
Activities
- Planners carefully review the Strategic Plan and educate their unit on the mission, vision, goals, and objectives
Outputs
- A more comprehensive understanding of Strategic Plan
Step 2: Identify Each Department’s Initiatives
Next, each Working Group member will engage staff to articulate the unit’s initiatives.
Objectives
- To create a streamlined list of each department’s current activities
Activities
- Each planner will engage his or her employees in listing the department’s current initiatives
- The planner will then meet with the facilitator to review and refine the list
Outputs
- List of department’s current initiatives
Step 3: Align Initiatives to Strategic Plan Objectives
Working Group members will align the initiatives to strategic plan objectives and draft the operational plan.
Objectives
- To create a link between the department’s current daily activities (and initiatives) and the Strategic Plan objectives
Activities
- The planner will work with department staff to determine which Strategic Plan objective is related to each initiative
- The Implementation Team will then compile the information from each unit to create draft Operational Plans
Outputs
- Initiatives aligned to company’s objectives and goals
- Draft Operational Plans
Step 4: Develop Performance Measures and Targets
Each member will develop performance measures and targets for all of the unit’s initiatives.
Activities
- The planner will review draft operational plans and work with the implementation team to develop performance measures and targets for each of his unit’s initiatives
Outputs
- Performance measures and targets (added to draft operational plans)
Step 5: Align Operational Plans to Budgets
Finally, the operational plans will be aligned to the Department’s budget.
Objectives
- To create a link between company’s budget and the department’s initiatives that support Strategic Plan objectives
Activities
- Estimate and identify available resources for implementing operational plan initiatives
- Communicate budget adjustments to Finance and update budget accordingly
Outputs
- Budget estimates for each initiative (added to draft operational plans)
- Financial performance targets
How to create an operational plan?
The [Department] oversee administrative functions related to [list primary functions]. It consists of [a number of] sections which collectively are responsible for providing [type of services/products] to the company. These sections and their primary responsibilities are outlined below:
- Section 1: Primary Responsibilities
- Section 2: Primary Responsibilities
- Section 3: Primary Responsibilities
- Section 4: Primary Responsibilities
Business plans have been created for each of the Departments listed above. Each business plan is organized as follows:
- Department Mission and Contribution to the Company Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals.
- Structure, Roles and Key Processes
- Operating Expectation: Metrics, Targets and Results
- Budget and Actual Expenditures
- Analysis of Risks and Opportunities
- Initiatives to Change and Improve the Department’s Performance
Department Mission and Contribution to the Company Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals.
Department Mission
1 – 3 sentences explaining:
- Why the department exists
- Who are its primary customers?
- The key services / processes for which it is responsible
Contribution to the Company Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals
1 – 3 sentences explaining how the department contributes to the company’s:
- Mission
- Vision
- Strategic Goals
Structure, Roles and Key Processes
The [Department] is led by [Title of Manager/Director], who reports to [Title of Direct Report]. The [Department] structure is:
Insert Department Organization Chart
The [Department] consist of [a number of] sections. Each of the Department’s sections have key processes for which Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) exist or will be developed. These are listed below:
- [Name of Section]
- List the Section’s key processes for which SOPs exist or will be developed.
Operating Expectation: Metrics, Targets and Results
For each section list the following:
- Section
- Metric
- Target
- Rating
Budget and Actual Expenditures
Business Activities: Included core business activities for each section.
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Analysis of Risks and Opportunities
The [Name of Department] has identified the following risks and opportunities based on an analysis of the above operating metrics targets, budget results, and findings expressed in the Department’s Quarterly Performance Report.
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These initiatives are described in further detail in section 6 below. The Rough Order Magnitude (ROM) budget for these initiatives is already captured in the planned 20XX budget table in section 4 above.
Initiatives to Change and Improve the Department’s Performance
This section presents a summary of all the initiatives undertaken by the [Name of Department] in order to improve performance and/or implement requirements established by the Strategic Plan. It is presented in four sections:
- Total Number of Initiatives
- 20XX: Open Initiatives
- 20XX: Closed Initiatives
- Proposed 20XX Initiatives and Details
1. Number of [Name of Department] Initiatives by Start Date
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2. 20XX [Name of Department] Open Initiatives
- Role
- Initiative
- Strategic Plan Objective Alignment
- Start Date
- End Date
- Performance Measures
- Operating Metrics
3. 20XX [Name of Department] Closed Initiatives
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4. Proposed 20XX [Name of Department] Initiatives and Details
Description
- Insert 1-3 sentences describing this initiative
Benefits
- Insert bullets of all benefits of implementing this initiative
- Support Objectives
Cost Drivers
- Staff Salaries
- Hardware/Software
- Office Equipment
- Facilities
- Training
- Vendor Support
- Miscellaneous
Contributing Organizational Sections
- Indicate which Department section will contribute to implementation of this initiative, description of the contribution
Performance Measures & Targets
- Initiative Outputs
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