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What does an operations Manager do? Skills, responsibilities and more

What does an operations Manager do? Skills, responsibilities and more

The major tasks of an operations manager are to supervise everything that is contributing to an organization’s efficiency, including the strategic practices of organization, manufacturing of goods, delivery of goods, development of all the processes and offers, maintenance requirements and a lot more. Operations manager’s job in short is to ensure that the organization is working smoothly.  

They are the leaders of the operations management team which focuses on reducing all the barriers between operational success in the organization. It is a very intense role are they are responsible for efficiency and quality across each department of the organization.  

What is the role of an Operation Manager?

The role of Operation Manager varies from one industry to the other as the operations differ in each industry. Still the primary duty of the manager remains same that is improving the operational system and processes and policies. They play a very important role in log-term planning in any organization, they lead initiated and then attain operational excellence. Let us learn about the potential responsibilities of the manager, but keep in mind that these roles are not just limited to these, they might vary.

  • Operations and Processes: Operations manager’s role is to remove the blockers in the staff, they are responsible for improving the policies and eliminate workflow barriers which then leads to increase in productivity. For example, an operations manager in a manufacturing industry might see that there is a problem in handling the inventory, he might initiate some program through which they will be able to remove the barrier which might solve all the problems.  

  • Production levels inventory: In company that come under manufacturing industry, the job of an operations manager is to check that all the equipment are working properly and the staff is taking utmost care of the equipment. They are responsible for managing the inspections, facilitate repairs and direct the whole process of production.

  • Budgets and Financials: A major part of the operations manager role is to keep the budget on track so that we neve spend more than what was discussed. It is very important to remain cost efficient. It is important to meet the productivity and performance goals, like KPI’s. It is also important to investigate the financial aspect of operations in any organization.

  • Staff requirements: An operations manager is aware of the type of staff it needs. Managers are aware of the qualities and skills they want in any staff member. This brings them at a position of making the hiring. After hiring they are even responsible for the proper training of the employee. A good financial decision with most efficient employee is the goal.

  • Data analysis and report making: In every type of industry, it is very important to make informed decisions, an operations manager must take intelligent decisions that benefit the whole organization in both short and long term. That is why it is important to collect right set of data. An organization should base its progress on the set KPI’s so that they can measure their progress easily.  

Skills in an Operations Manager:

An individual managers role depends on the size of the organization they are working for. But still there are a few factors that are important for an organizations success as operation manager is the one looking at all those works of production and services. Their role is very diverse, from looking into production to staffing to output to revenue.

An operations manager must have following skills:

  • Excellent communication skills
  • Good conflict resolution
  • Decision making skill
  • Close eyes on budgeting  
  • Ability to transform data into actions
  • Leadership quality

Operations Manager’s Educational Qualifications:

There are many skills that are necessary to become an operations manager but other than that we even look at the educational degrees. Not to forget that even the educational qualifications can differ with different industries. But the base level qualification is B.A. Some organizations even look for MBA candidates for the position, if the organization is large enough to handle.  

To qualify for an operations manager’s a candidate need to have five to eight years of experience which is related to the job that is being offered. This can include every department of the organization, be it production, inventory control, supply chain or others.  

Some organization might open the position for candidate with specific certifications, which requires deep individual knowledge and skill. Certifications might include Certified Operations Manager (COM), Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (ICGB) and Project Management Professional (PMP).

How much an Operation Manager earn?

The salary of an operations manager differs from organization to organization and according to the depth of work they perform. According to the report created by U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics the salary is roughly $99,000.  

What is the workflow of an Operation Manager?

It is important for the operations manager be highly collaborative as they work across departments and teams to bring in efficiency. Again, the reporting of Operations Manager might differ, but they usually report to Chief Operating Officers. They are responsible for working close to the HR team, sales team, product team etc. Due to their diverse role, they pay attention to each department whenever they see a barrier, in order to deliver best quality goods and services.  

Where to Operations Manager work?

Any organization can get the benefit of having an Operation Manager, so they work in almost every industry, not to forget healthcare, manufacturing, retail industry and a lot more. Their role in the organization is very serious as they manage the production, maintenance, hospitality management, equipment maintenance and more.  

What is the job growth for Operation Manager?

We will be able to see a 9% growth by 2020 in the operations management field. This growth rate is not at all surprising keeping in mind the impact of this role on the organizations growth. This position brings in more efficiency and energy in the whole organization. This role is even responsible for cutting the cost out, which excites the organizations to bring in tis role.  

What are the tools that an Operation Manager need to succeed?

An experienced and talented Operation Manager would be able to bring in improvement for the whole organization. It is important to bring in profitability for the business. Due to the diversity of this role, there are multiple challenges. Fortunately, we will many tools to help Operation Manager during this time of crisis. We have Asset Infinity’s Asset Management Software which will distribute the whole work of management with a centralized command. The data is remains secured in the hands of Operation Manager. It brings in team efficiency and overall increase in revenue of the organization.  

Asset Infinity’s Asset Management Software is designed keeping in mind various sets of industry. It even has a mobile application for easy access. It is a cloud-based software with real time data. It includes various dashboards for the employees too look at for better coordination and work.  

Regardless of the industry your organization falls in, you need a software as intelligent as Asset Infinity in your premises to help the Operations Manager. It takes the guesswork out of making strong, data-driven decisions, so your already-busy operations manager can focus on what’s important: keeping your organization running as smoothly as possible. 

To know more about how Asset Infinity can help your Operations Team, sign up for a free trial.