What makes a well-oiled machine?

It could be argued that the operations team of any business represents one of the most important cogs in the ever-running machine that is your brand. The main value of a digital company lies in the people doing the dirty work — your staff. Without a cohesive and well-functioning operations team, it’s safe to say that your brand suffers in all the ways it can. But what makes for a cohesive, well-oiled team of individuals? Fostering a productive and efficient operations team depends on the way your business centralises its work processes.

However, centralisation can be taken too literally at times. It’s less about a ‘fun culture’ and more about setting up a standard of procedure that works no matter where you do it from. The days of cubicles and 9-to-5s are gone, and this age of modern work culture can be encapsulated in a number of ways:

Flexibility = productivity boost

Not everyone’s an early bird in the same way not everyone is a night owl. Everyone has their own preference when it comes to working styles. In today’s world, flexible working hours has become the norm in most companies. Businesses that implement this habit have seen a vast improvement in productivity across all departments. As long as the core structure is standardised across the board, everyone should be able to deliver their deadlines and meet their expectations. The wonders of flexibility within rigidity means you’re encouraging optimum productivity from your operations team instead of hindering them.

Remote working

This may seem counterintuitive to building a centralised team, but the core of a centralisation focuses more on streamlining your operations rather than just the specific location from which your employees work. Creating a flexible environment that cultivates remote working, improves productivity and creates a better balance between work-life responsibilities. Remote working doesn’t just appeal to the work style of the younger generation, it allows for the older generation to stay in the workforce for longer.

More women today chose to be working mothers, and when you recognise the importance of remote working and flexibility for your business, you’re making the best of their expertise without having to make them choose between their families and work. Aside from that, allowing employees to work remotely means they’re freeing themselves from the distractions of water cooler gossip, loud colleagues, and impromptu meetings – all of which leads to loss of productivity.

Right fit + right role = right culture (from an operations perspective)

It goes without saying that you want to find someone who is the right fit for the role. No matter the size of your business or the department, finding the right person with the right habits and personality to fit the expectations and role for your operations team is key. An operations team functions best with a leader at the helm that knows what they’re doing — that takes into account the existing processes, staff productivity, and strives for constant improvement. Developing a well-oiled team doesn’t happen overnight, but the most important part is filling your operations team with people who aren’t afraid to try and try again.