Ultimate Guide to an Operations Manager's Career Path

Roles of an Operations Manager

The operations managers are hired by companies either directly or occasionally as consultants to perform specific tasks. There is a need for an operations manager in a diverse range of industries to analyze the current procedures and recommend the needful changes. They also create strategic plans for the clients in their bigger projects to reach the desired goal within the deadline. In different industries, operations managers have different roles. However, the majority of their roles are common in business operations. Let us quickly review their job roles in the operations manager career path.

1. Inventory

The role is specifically for operations managers working in retail or organizations that market certain goods and deal with inventory management. Here, the operations manager schedules shipments, employees, and deliveries to optimize operations and meet business goals.

2. Processes

The operations manager must impose and maintain the organization’s procedures. Processes involve supporting HR with recruitment initiatives, budgeting, compliance, quality control, planning, controlling inventory, customer satisfaction, supply chain management, risk management, teamwork, and collaboration, including the use of software. The operations manager must be involved from the beginning of the project till its completion to optimize the overall growth and profit of the businesses. 

3. Personnel

The operations of any organization involve a major portion of human resources. An operations manager can be the supervisor of the human division. However, they can also be entirely involved in solving human issues in the company. These roles of an operations manager can enhance and maintain the efficiency of the business, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

4. Finance

An operations manager has a significant role in accounting and finance. Here, they have to manage operational and financial systems, administration, procedures, and internal controls to keep up with the goals of the organization. The operations manager plays a major role in the accounting department, managing and leading stakeholders, managing budget, revenue expansion, and profitability. To support the organizational mission, an operations manager works cross-functionally on projects at the global level.

5. Reporting 

An operation manager is the lead who reports on the performance of the organization. He checks if the plans, policies, and processes are effective or need changes in order to reach the desired goal effectively within the timeline. This ensures that the operations manager plays a major role in long-term planning, reporting ongoing updates, and implying the change in control processes. 

Key Skills and Knowledge Base Required to Become Operations Manager

The operations manager plays a key role in building the status of the company and is involved from the start to the end of the projects. Therefore, they must possess key skills and technical knowledge to excel in the job landscape. Let us explore what technical knowledge and skills are required to make them successful in the field.

1. Organizational Skills: An operation manager must learn how to strongly lead, manage, and motivate employees and resources to perform the task to complete the project. 
2. Presentation Skills: An operations manager must know how to communicate easily with stakeholders and make them understand complex data in simpler form using their perfect presentation skills.
3. IT Skills: An operations manager must have knowledge and keep updated on software, tools, and technologies to incorporate them into their project and increase efficiency and productivity. 
4. Problem-Solving Skills: Thinking out of the box makes an operation manager develop quick solutions to complicated issues and build unique results. This helps reduce costs and time while handling the project.
5. Strategic Planning: An operation manager must know how to plan procedures strategically, make decisions, and allocate employees and resources efficiently.  The skills are necessary to control the business as planned without involving a loss.
6. Leadership: An operations manager must be skilled in leading the team to successfully complete the project. The skills require expertise to motivate employees, inspire them to perform better and give them ideas to deliver the desired outcome. 
7. Data Processing: An operations manager is responsible for processing and organizing data to track multiple corporate operations. This includes cash flow, sales transactions, supply chain management, profit, and so on.
8. Decision-Making: An operations manager must closely observe the project to make decisions. The decisions must be quick, strategic, and based on certain business metrics to encounter challenges and reach the desired goal.
9. Communication: An effective operations manager just has good communication skills to make reports, negotiate with stakeholders, present and transcribe technical data, run meetings, and discuss commercial contracts. The better the communication skills of an operations manager, the higher the chances of profitability and ease of the project.
10. Budget Management: The operations manager must have the ability to complete the task within the budget decided. They must deliver their role perfectly in cost monitoring, revenues, and making forecasts of future production cost and profitability. A potential operations manager must be able to assist in finances so well that the company won't face huge losses over their businesses. 
11. Technical Proficiency: An operation manager must have the knowledge and skills to automate and monitor corporate processes, track cost and revenue production, manage customer contacts, etc.
12. Time Management: The operations manager plays a major role in scheduling deadlines, tracking production milestones, and ensuring the completion of the project by the team within the given timeline. Time management skills are important to deliver tasks effectively and increase the efficiency and productivity of the company.

How to Become an Operations Manager?

Knowledge comes with the completion of a course related to the field. However, key skills play a major role in making an effective operations manager. To build a career as an operations manager, an individual must follow the operations manager career path mentioned below.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Field

To become an operations manager, one must have a bachelor’s degree in business-related fields such as business administration, finance, accounting, management, etc. As per a report, 62% of operations managers possess a bachelor’s degree. However, 17% possess an associate degree. The technical skills of an operations manager, like statistics and mathematical modeling, come with education. 

• Experience in the Related Field

Operations managers are selected for multiple-level positions such as entry-level posts, junior, senior, and so on. They get enrolled in jobs based on their experience along with a strong degree. The higher the experience, the greater the knowledge of the field. Thus, the greater the demand and salary of an operations manager in the organization.

• Consideration of Master’s Degree

Many organizations consider hiring operations managers with higher degrees like master's. As per a report, 9% of operations managers possess master's degrees in business-related fields. An individual must go for a master's program in project management, supply chain management, business ethics, project management, and more to have advanced knowledge of business functions. This ensures higher chances of getting hired as an operations manager by top-ranking companies.

• Certifications

If you are looking to become a potential operations manager in a top-ranking company, you must take certain certification courses. This provides a competitive edge by validating your key skills to the hiring companies. You must first check the skills that are in demand and join online certification courses. Certification courses must be top-ranking, valuable in the business field, and taught by professionals. 

• Skills Development

To become an effective options manager, you must build certain key skills required to perform the role. The skills mentioned above are key roles that must be considered and learned to excel in the field. These skills turn an ordinary operations manager into a high-credit professional whom top-notch companies want to hire.

• Enhance Your Resume and Prepare for an Interview

Having knowledge and learning skills is a waste if you are not trying your best to get a valuable job as an operations manager. You must start by making a strong resume. Stay updated with the demands of an organization and prepare an interview accordingly. No matter how strong your degree and experience are, if you fail to perform well in the interview, your chances of getting hired will be low.

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The Future of Operations Management

As per the report of Times of India, 6% of the operations manager jobs are estimated to increase by 2030. Managing the operations of the organizations’ projects has evolved with the involvement of advanced technologies, software, and tools. Nowadays, employers hire candidates with strong degrees and experience are not enough. Employers filter out candidates who are skilled enough to perform their projects. Thus, a certification course helps candidates build their careers as successful operations managers. 

Are you looking for a top-ranking course related to operations management? Simplilearn’s Post Graduate Program In Project Management teaches you theoretical and practical field knowledge. You can be a potential operations manager in just 6 months. What are you waiting for? Enroll now. 

FAQs

1. What is the average salary progression for an Operations Manager? 

The average salary for an operations manager is INR 11 lakhs per annum. In India, an operations manager has an average additional cash compensation of INR 1 lakh, ranging from INR 50,000 to INR 2 lakh. Whereas in the United States, the average annual salary for the same is around $120,016.

2. How does one transition from Operations Manager to an executive role?

An executive role requires certain skills and responsibilities. If an operations manager develops the necessary skills, cultivates a strategic mindset, and understands the business objectives like long-term goals, latest trends, and processes to keep align with the organization, they have the potential to make this transition successfully.

3. What are the most sought-after skills for an Operations Manager?

An operations manager just possesses the necessary skills to lead and manage the process of the project to meet the desired outcome. The most sought-after or in-demand skills in the operations manager career path are coordination, planning, collaboration, and budgeting. These skills hold importance in building other business-related skills required in an operations manager in diverse fields.