Do the Wheels on Your Bus Keep Turning?

Operations teams work behind the scenes, ensuring that everything runs smoothly—from managing processes and people to implementing technology and keeping the wheels turning. If your business is functioning, innovating, and scaling efficiently, chances are your operations team is quietly making that possible.

The “secret sauce” is to have an operations team that runs lean—but powerfully. Invest in cross-training, communication, and hiring the right people. Everyone knows what the others are doing and play to each other's strengths. Create a synergized environment where being a jack-of-all-trades isn’t just encouraged—it’s essential.

That’s why hiring for your operations positions is not just about skills on paper. It's about personality, flexibility, and the ability to adapt. In a small company especially, these roles are shared, collaborative, and dynamic. One person might manage onboarding in the morning and troubleshoot software in the afternoon. This shared responsibility model keeps an operations team lean and efficient, without sacrificing output.

A good operations team also embraces smarter, not harder, ways of working. Trim and streamline processes. Adopt automation tools to speed up repetitive tasks, allowing the team to focus on what matters. And don’t be afraid to ask for help or bring in a fresh perspective—sometimes, an outside voice can be a “quick win” on a project.

Technology is another key piece. An operations team doesn’t just manage tools—they teach others how to use them. This empowers the broader team to be more self-sufficient and creative, knowing that the foundation is covered, because without financial controls, clear processes, or systems to scale, how do you even know if you’re succeeding?

The truth is, a strong operations team allows the rest of the business to do what it does best. They’re the wheels on the bus. Without them, you’re not going anywhere. So next time you're thinking about where to invest in your team, don’t forget about the people quietly keeping it all together.