What is an Operating Committee? (Overview, Roles, and Responsibilities)

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The operating committee leads the organization's strategy while making critical day-to-day decisions to keep the organization moving forward.

The operating committee doesn’t direct the day-to-day operations, but it deals with the operational functions at a strategic level. You should know that joining an operating committee takes careful planning and preparation if you’re joining one.

Keep reading to learn more about the top-line responsibilities and goals of an operating committee.

Operating Committee Definition

An operating committee reviews, oversees, and guides the overall operations of a corporation or business. The committee members develop insight into the business operations and suggest strategic directions for the company and business policy implementation.

Operating committee members meet periodically to discuss and implement company issues. They also provide feedback or suggestions to the senior and executive management.

Since the operating committee oversees a business’s operations from a distance, it’s in a position to compare the performance of various segments. The committee can formulate a long-term strategy and create dispassionate policy decisions from this information.

Different organizations form their operating committees differently. Some draw their members from the board members of senior management. In this case, the CEO holds the position of the chairperson, responsible for overseeing the rules of order of the committee’s meetings.

Another approach is to consult experts from an external environment. This team should provide an unbiased view and provide objective advice.

In the case of joint entities like cooperatives or consortiums, the operating committee can comprise representatives from each member organization. Shareholders then elect operating committee members, or senior managers can appoint them.

Large nonprofit organizations often use a steering committee structure that includes board officers to determine operational and strategic issues between board meetings.

Operating Committee Responsibilities

The general purpose of the operating committee is to be responsible for the company’s day-to-day activities. It also must work with the company management to create margin targets and build a balanced capital allocation policy. Other roles and responsibilities of the operating committee include the following:

Review: The committee is responsible for reviewing company policies and procedures to establish loopholes and gaps they should seal. It also must evaluate performance, identify the areas of operation that need improvement, and provide recommendations as needed.

Advisory: The committee advises the business on financial matters related to business goals and overall financial outlook. It gives recommendations for other areas, including technology, safety, and equipment, while advising and counseling the management.
Oversight: Operating committees have leadership rights in directing individual task groups and teams. This responsibility entails performing evaluation procedures for executive teams. Members facilitate operational meetings to evaluate proposals, methods, and new strategies related to company-wide operations, processes, and policies.
Meeting focus: This team is responsible for analyzing reports, minutes, and research materials submitted by senior management. It also prepares and submits order and delivery forms for resources and physical materials necessary for operations.
Election process: The members are responsible for electing and voting on alternative and regular members. Alternate members replace those who resign and also assume the capacity of absent elected committee members.

Operating Committee Tools

Operating committees serve many roles, and they require the right tools to gain greater efficiency in the boardroom. As technology advances, boards find additional software solutions to enhance their performance as they take on additional duties and responsibilities.

One such tool is board management software. It provides secure digital communication between the committee members, streamlining many standard processes. The tool enables boards to implement best practices for good corporate governance.

In addition to the primary system, the platform comprises solutions for managing meetings, surveys, agendas, secure messaging, and questionnaires.

The committee can simplify communication for more efficiency and convenience with the right board management software. The software saves board chairs, corporate secretaries, and other directors time and money. Users can log into the portal from any device, including smartphones, iPads, or computers, online or offline.

One practical feature of board management software is that users can leverage digital tools to annotate or markup documents. They can download manuscripts and highlight changes or change text colors.

With the freehand drawing tool, they can circle areas of the document and jot down notes. Most importantly, members can share documents, accessing the original or marked-up copies.

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Getting Started with OnBoard

Operating committees have a lot to do in ensuring efficiency, performance, and convenience of operations in a business. The committee’s roles include reviews, advisory, and oversight, all of which don’t come easy. That is why the committee needs the right board management tool to enhance and simplify their work.

Choosing the right board management software can be challenging, given the different models available. Your search for the right board management tool comes to an end when you come to Onboard. We have designed our board management solution to work the way you do. You can address real-world needs without the complexity involved in the process.

Our solution allows boards and leadership teams to be more innovative in their work, move faster, and achieve more for the companies they govern. They can seamlessly streamline time-consuming processes and unify fragmented communication processes. Onboard board management software is the platform that gives leaders and boards a single source of truth for everything, including operations and meeting management.

Onboard is a powerful and effective solution designed to help leaders maximize efficiency and effectiveness. It simply simplifies the tough stuff. OnBoard believes that board meetings should be informed, effective, and uncomplicated.

It’s time for your operating committee to try a solution that empowers members to unlock their full potential. No matter where you or your company are, Onboard empowers your team to achieve more than you ever thought possible.

Power up your next board meeting with our comprehensive guide on Everything You Need to Know About Meeting Minutes.

About The Author

OnBoard Meetings

At OnBoard, we believe board meetings should be informed, effective, and uncomplicated. That’s why we give boards and leadership teams an elegant solution that simplifies governance. With customers in higher education, nonprofit, health care systems, government, and corporate enterprise business, OnBoard is the leading board management provider.