It doesn’t matter how great your product is; if your teams are out of sync, your processes are clunky, or your tools don’t talk to each other, growth stalls. 

This is the reality for many scaling companies: siloed departments, inconsistent execution, and no clear way to connect strategy to results. The answer isn’t more meetings; it’s better business operations.

Strong operations align people, processes, and platforms so work flows smoothly across every function. And with solutions like revenue operations and intelligence (RO&I) software, teams can move faster, uncover what’s working, and optimize everything from pipeline to payroll. 

While business operations might be influenced by external factors such as market conditions, there are several internal moving parts to consider. These systems determine a company’s competency in developing products and services. 

As a business grows, its operations also need adjustments. Practices such as business process modeling and business process management (BPM) enable companies to accommodate such modifications and ensure efficiency in daily processes. Failing to plan ahead and adapt will result in operational inefficiencies that can lead to catastrophic losses.

A role in business operations is like playing point guard on a basketball court. Business operations specialists delegate and distribute roles and responsibilities to team members. When hiring new employees, it becomes clear that each candidate has a different skill set. Business operations encompass selecting suitable candidates and ensuring their individual roles within the company best suit their strengths.

It’s one thing to have a company with top-tier talent. However, it’s another to ensure that this talent fits into roles that maximize their ability to excel. Business operations are the funnel through which roles and responsibilities are delegated to the right employees. 

Facilitating clear and consistent internal communication

While the assignment of these roles and responsibilities may be specialized and distinct, business operations also include ensuring that specialization doesn’t compromise a company’s ability to function as a unit. 

A pivotal aspect of any company’s ability to function is how its employees communicate internally, from the C-suite to its sales team and interns. Business operations facilitate this communication and, in turn, build a community for a company’s employees. 

Maintaining effective relationships with coworkers is essential to a business where many individuals function as a unit. From using internal communication software to email management solutions, business operations promote effective communication within a company to achieve positive results.

Managing company resources for efficient performance

In addition to delegating roles and responsibilities within a company, business operations are also concerned with smartly managing a company’s resources. A business must maintain the proper equipment inventory to function successfully and efficiently.

Business operations are concerned with finding an appropriate balance of cost and technology to deliver the best performance. Performance, in this case, is both in producing a product and making money. A business can have great engineers, product managers, and salespeople, but can only function well with a well-constructed business operations plan.

Building roadmaps that connect strategy to execution

Business operations are the foundations through which a company executes all the necessary actions to operate successfully. Companies can only work successfully by roadmapping a business plan.

A business roadmap is an essential element that visualizes specific aspects of a business plan in a defined time frame. It enables companies to find the most practical use for their talent and supports successful workers in creating a successful business. 

Enforcing compliance with policies and regulations

Business operations ensure that employees comply with a company’s fundamental guidelines and values. When a business is in the thick of operating, and there are moving parts left and right, compliance with specific regulations, such as an expense reimbursement policy or upholding cultural values, can be hard to track.

By improving business operations, a company can implement such guidelines sustainably for employees.

• Production: Involves creating the goods or services a business sells. This can include sourcing raw materials, assembling products, managing supply chains, or delivering services. Production operations focus on maximizing output, maintaining quality, and minimizing downtime.
• Finance: Manages the company’s money, including budgeting, cash flow, payroll, forecasting, and tax reporting. Finance operations help ensure the business is fiscally healthy and that resources are allocated to the highest-priority initiatives.
• Administration:  Handles internal coordination and infrastructure that keep the business functioning day-to-day. This includes scheduling, vendor management, documentation, and facilities. Administrative operations support every other department by removing friction from basic tasks.
• Sales and marketing: Focus on acquiring new customers and growing revenue. These operations include campaign execution, lead management, CRM systems, sales enablement, and performance tracking. Efficient sales and marketing operations improve conversion rates and shorten sales cycles.
• Human resources (HR): Oversees hiring, onboarding, benefits, employee engagement, and compliance with labor laws. HR operations also shape company culture and support organizational planning as the business grows.
• Customer service: Responsible for resolving customer issues and maintaining customer satisfaction after the sale. This involves ticketing systems, live support, knowledge bases, and feedback loops. Strong service operations help retain customers and improve brand loyalty.

These operational types often intersect. For example, sales depend on finance for pricing support, and HR must collaborate with every team to meet staffing needs. Effective business operations ensure these areas stay connected and aligned.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Start by identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to each area of operations, like cost per acquisition (CPA), employee utilization, customer satisfaction scores, or inventory turnover. Use these benchmarks to spot inefficiencies and track progress over time.

Streamline and automate workflows

Look for repeatable processes that consume time or introduce bottlenecks. Whether it’s onboarding, approvals, or reporting, standardize workflows and automate wherever possible using tools like workflow automation software, project management platforms, or revenue operations systems. This reduces manual work and increases the speed to execution.

Use business intelligence for data-driven decisions

Operational improvement isn’t guesswork; it’s analytics. Business intelligence platforms help visualize data from across departments and surface insights that lead to better planning, resource allocation, and performance forecasting. When paired with RO&I software, teams can understand what’s working and fix what isn’t in real time.

Invest in the right tools and integrations

Legacy systems or disconnected platforms create friction. Evaluate your tech stack regularly to ensure tools are integrated, user-friendly, and scalable. Prioritize platforms that align with your business model and can grow as your team’s needs evolve.

Hire and train with operations in mind

Strong operations need people who understand systems. Whether it’s hiring process-driven team members or upskilling existing ones, training staff on tools, SOPs, and communication protocols ensures smoother execution across the board.

Stay ahead of industry trends

Operational strategies that worked five years ago may not hold up today. Stay informed about trends like AI adoption, hybrid work models, regulatory shifts, and emerging technologies in your space. Proactive adaptation helps your business stay competitive and avoid costly pivots.

Technology: In the tech industry, business operations often revolve around managing digital infrastructure, optimizing product delivery cycles, and supporting agile workflows. This includes maintaining servers, deploying updates, managing sprint planning, and using task management software like Jira or Asana to ensure product teams stay on track.

Manufacturing:  Operations focus on transforming raw materials into finished goods through processes such as procurement, production scheduling, quality control, and logistics. Companies must also manage supplier relationships, inventory turnover, and compliance with safety and environmental standards, often using ERP or business process management software to optimize efficiency.

Retail: In retail, business operations involve inventory management, supplier negotiations, order fulfillment, and in-store or e-commerce experience. Retailers track product availability, manage seasonal demand, and use POS and warehouse management tools to reduce dead stock, increase turnover, and improve margins.

Learn how to protect your business from disruption with G2’s guide to the best business continuity management software.

This article was originally published in 2019. The content has been updated with new information.