What is business as usual?

Business as usual is a term that describes how your day-to-day operation functions, including:

• Staff members completing their daily tasks, as defined by their job description
• Outcomes or deliverables your company works on each day
• Tasks that are foundational for your business to operate 
• Tasks carried out to fulfill terms of contracts or agreements

Any change to BAU could lead to resistance from employees. This could happen for many reasons, including concern about how it will affect their roles or daily routines. For example, employees may not understand the changes or need time to adjust.

Clearly explaining why you’re making changes and showing how they improve upon existing systems can help encourage buy-in and keep employees motivated. 

Examples of common changes to business as usual

Any change to normal working practices could be considered a change to BAU. Some examples of changes an organization might need to make include:

• Changes to employee shift patterns to reflect new opening hours
• Changes to employee responsibilities, such as a helpdesk team that typically handles phone calls expecting employees to start answering live chat tickets as well
• New workflows or procedures, such as adding a QA step in the middle of an existing manufacturing process

Employees might find adapting to change challenging for various reasons:

• Employees may have chosen their position because of a specific shift pattern that fits around their personal routines and family responsibilities.
• Some Help Desk Staff may feel more confident handling phone calls than in a position that requires them to be fast typists.
• Experienced members of the Manufacturing team may have concerns that the QA step may delay or disrupt the production workflow.

Thinking about these concerns and addressing them clearly can be important for helping team members accept the new business as usual.

How to get your team to embrace a new business as usual

Ensure employees feel supported throughout the transition to a new BAU by giving them access to resources, encouragement and a sense of community. 

Here are some ideas to help bring employees on board with a new BAU:

• Role and responsibilities alignment: Establishing an understanding of how each person in the organization contributes to success and how these changes will help them
• Communication: Making sure departments communicate with each other to refine the new processes and methods
• Employee advocates: Nominating experienced team members who may be affected by changes to BAU to offer feedback from the perspective of front-line staff, be trained in the new processes early on and use this knowledge to help others in their department adapt to the changes
• Departmental input: Speaking to the appropriate department and making sure they’re prepared to manage the change
• Collaborator involvement: Asking for feedback from people who are involved with the current BAU and getting a good understanding of their current workflows to avoid potential problems early in the process

The difference between BAU and project work

BAU and project work represent separate elements of your business operations, with some key differences. 

Project work:

• Introduces a new or changed product, such as a company-wide rollout of new technology
• Produces the product in a set time period, such as a company setting a deadline for a company-wide rollout of new technology
• Delivers specific output once and is then complete, such as a one-off large-scale tech installation project that doesn’t become part of BAU

Business as usual:

• Seeks to maintain the same action steps day-to-day, such as daily routines and processes
• Produces products or deliverables as part of everyday operations, such as a factory that produces only one type of product
• Aims to continue to improve the output produced by normal business operations
• Delivers the same general output every day

Organizational culture and change

A strong organizational culture can be a major support during times of change. It helps your team remain focused on common goals and maintain a sense of familiarity and consistency. 

When employees understand and feel connected to your company’s values and goals, they’re more likely to stay motivated and productive. Even if routines or workflows shift, they know the underlying culture is stable. A shared culture can also help build trust between employees and leaders, making it easier to communicate updates and explain new expectations. 

Best practices in BAU

Best practices involve a data-driven approach to decision-making, commitment to improving and a strong focus on customer needs. Regularly analyzing key metrics and seeking opportunities for improvement can support growth and help you and your team adapt to changes in the market. Prioritizing ongoing learning and development also helps individuals and organizations remain resilient and competitive.

Measuring success in BAU transition

Measuring the success of a BAU transition includes evaluating revenue growth, customer satisfaction, employee engagement and the outcomes of innovation efforts. Ultimately, measuring success ensures that changes to BAU deliver real value to the organization and the communities it serves, supporting a brighter and more secure future.