Operations

Over the last month I have covered a few different job roles in the modern workforce. Having conducted interviews, doing research, and formulating opinions on each one of them. So far I have covered sales, customer success, and marketing. Each one with an analogy corresponding to the human body and the role they play in a successful business. This week I will be talking about operations roles and their importance to their company.

To stick with our theme of the human body, I like to think of operations as the brain of the company. The “brains of the operation” if you will. As I compared our other roles to the heart, bones and muscles of a company. Each one of those components couldn’t function properly without something guiding their actions, this is where the operations role comes into play. Operations is exactly what it sounds like, an operations team oversees and guides the operations of a business. Everything from projects to products, from services to servers, they make sure that things run smoothly and the company operates the way it was meant to, hence the name. Although the answer may seem obvious, it's still important for us to ask. Why is an operations department important to a successful business?

It’s often said that power left unchecked is dangerous. While this example may be a little extreme for your everyday company, you have to remember that every department and every employee has some level of power that affects the health of the company. Without someone to oversee, and at times check that power, it can easily be abused or used incorrectly, which will have a negative effect on a business. An operations team plays an important role in keeping things under control. They have oversight in other departments and they have a large say in the day to day actions within the company. However, while this is one of their responsibilities, it's hardly the limit of their importance. Operations managers frequently deal with human resources issues, they are responsible for the proper execution of a companies engagements, they serve a leadership role within a company, they deal with a lot of financing and budgetary concerns, and that only scratches the surface of what comes across their plate.

When I refer to an operations team as the brains behind a company. I say that because they truly serve the purpose that our brains serve us. They oversee actions, they make decisions, they deal with the inner workings of a company, and they handle the overall execution of ideas. With my current knowledge of the main roles inside a business, I would say that in my personal opinion, operations roles are some of the most important to the overall health and success of a company. Without that job being done properly, there isn’t anything or anyone to keep things running smoothly and according to plan. It is an invaluable and indispensable part of a successful business.

-Braden Schmidt 10/27/19