Operational Governance: Bringing Order and Efficiency to Business Decisions

Operational governance is an integral aspect of every company, regardless of its size or industry, though it may not always be explicitly labeled as such. It refers to the strategy and structure surrounding how decisions are made and executed within an organization.

During times of rapid growth and continuous evolution to meet business needs, a well-implemented and intentional governance structure plays a pivotal role in streamlining processes. By defining how decisions are made and identifying decision-makers, operational governance accelerates the pace of progress across the organization.

Governance Model: Core Areas of Focus
North Star: Establishing the infrastructure to determine which initiatives should be prioritized, guiding the organization's focus.
Meetings: Enhancing collaboration and communication among teams, ensuring efficient information flow.
Workflow: Defining the processes through which work is conducted and establishing seamless communication channels between different teams.

The Goals of Operational Governance, Focused and Coordinated Action:
Prioritize, Streamline decision-making processes, ensuring the highest-impact initiatives align with strategic goals and regulatory requirements, balancing global and regional efforts.
Coordinate, Facilitate smooth collaboration between teams and departments, keeping all stakeholders informed and aligned, and guiding decision-making to resolve disagreements effectively.
Operationalize, Create clarity and visibility around operational changes, ensuring smooth assimilation of change throughout the organization. Clearly define decision rights and authority limits for employees and prioritize adoption and rollout strategies for effective implementation.

Understanding business processes and operations facilitates the development of an approach that is fully aligned with goals and quickly adopted by stakeholders. Finally, in operational governance, communication is essential.

Moreover, ongoing monitoring and evaluation are vital components of operational governance. Regularly assessing the implementation of the guidelines allows for course corrections and adjustments to be made, enhancing the overall effectiveness of the governance approach.

While policies may be defined, if they aren't communicated and understood, the problem of failed execution may still exist. The final step is to share the guidelines and then monitor and evaluate whether and how well they have been completed.

To summarize, a comprehensive understanding of business processes and a well-aligned approach are necessary in operational governance. However, successful implementation relies on effective communication of policies, followed by diligent monitoring and evaluation to ensure adherence and effectiveness. By emphasizing communication and evaluation, operational governance can drive positive outcomes and foster continuous improvement within the organization.