Operating Plan

An operating plan is a document that outlines the day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, timelines, and resources an organisation needs to achieve its strategic goals. It translates high-level strategy into specific operational actions, defining how each role in the organisation contributes to the vision.

In addition to naming the individuals responsible for fulfilling the work, clear deadlines for each task and a description of any costs related to the work must be included in the plan. An operating plan translates strategic business practices into specific timelines, identifies existing and missing resources critical to completing the work, and assesses what is feasible in terms of program delivery.

A good operating plan explains the processes and procedures team members must follow. It should be reviewed regularly to make sure it still reflects how the organisation actually works and that any changes are clearly documented.

Attributes of an operating plan

Some key elements are needed to ensure that the operating plan reflects the organisation and continues to meet its strategic goals. Operating plans are generally built on three fundamental principles:

1. time, cost, and people
2. governance, and
3. change management.

Time, cost, and people

The first principle requires identifying the individuals responsible for each program related activity such as fundraising, marketing, or communications. Specific activities the organisation will be accomplishing must be covered in the operating plan, as well as its milestones, timelines, and any gaps in capacity that would require partnerships or hiring staff. In addition, the operating plan must make clear the reporting metrics used to measure success. These elements will help to ensure that any issues that arise are quickly resolved, and the business activities remain on track.

Governance

The second element to include in operating plans is a section about the governance that supports the organisational goals and ensures the successful delivery of the program or project. The board holds individuals accountable by providing oversight and expertise about activities such as fundraising, reporting, data management, and compliance. The plan should describe how they fit into the operational goals and decision making and how progress reporting and program evaluation will support governance work.

Change management

An operating plan is a living document. Things will change — staff turnover, funding shifts, regulatory updates — and the plan needs to keep up. Review it regularly to check whether milestones are on track and communicate changes to staff and stakeholders as they happen.

Steps to creating an operating plan

Start by setting clear objectives and deciding how you will measure progress. Then work through the following steps:

1. Align with strategy — Develop your operating plan with your services, products, and clients in mind. Make sure operational goals connect back to the strategic plan.
2. Define roles and accountability — Set out the responsibilities of each team member, including procedures for how work will be done and how people will be held accountable.
3. Identify resources — Determine the equipment, materials, and personnel needed to carry out the work.
4. Communicate and train — Make sure every team member understands their role, the operational goals, and the metrics that will be used to track progress.

Examples of operational goals

An operating plan can be broken into smaller sections to address specific areas of the business or organisation. For example, you may wish to develop a strategy for financial operations, administrative processes, and evaluation practices. A Financial Operating Plan (FOP) describes the revenue sources and expenses of an organisation or company for a specific period. Creating a FOP involves reviewing past results, revenue streams, and expenses to forecast what is likely to happen in the future.

Each area of the operating plan should identify the goal, the action to achieve it, a metric for measuring success, the person responsible, and a deadline.

Example operational goals

In practice, many not-for-profit boards approve an operating plan at the start of each financial year and review progress quarterly. A common pitfall is creating the plan and filing it away — the most effective organisations treat it as a working document that gets updated as conditions change.

Related terms

Governance

Board Evaluation

Delegation of Authority

Risk Register