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What Is a Business Operations Manager?

Effective businesses have streamlined processes and structures that allow them to operate smoothly, often resulting in successful revenue and lead generation. Behind such productivity is a business operations manager 鈥� sometimes referred to as a business ops manager 鈥� who is working behind the scenes to ensure operational functions perform optimally. 

This role is often found in mid-sized companies and large corporations, and it is imperative to reaching the highest levels of efficiency that increase both productivity and profitability. It might sound similar to business management. However, business operations management is more niche as it focuses solely on processes and logistics in areas including but not limited to budget, production, inventory, quality management and strategy.  

If you鈥檝e got a passion for turning over a profit and solving problems, a career in business operations may be the right fit for you. This is your unique guide to all you need to know. 

What Does a Business Operations Manager Do?

Disorganized and inefficient business practices can, unfortunately, affect a company鈥檚 bottom line. To ensure this isn鈥檛 the case, a business operations manager鈥檚 responsibilities include but aren鈥檛 limited to: 

• Conducting efficiency audits and assessing potential areas of improvement 
• Developing plans to address operational and/or cross-departmental gaps and bottlenecks 
• Identifying logistic approaches and streamlining workflows 
• Managing budgets and allocating resources appropriately 
• Collecting performance metrics and presenting them to upper leadership is ideal for an individual who embraces a variety of responsibilities with an interest in all aspects of business.

Why Choose a Career in Business Operations Management?

Working in business operations management allows you to make a difference and influence a business鈥檚 success. Through your education and experience in this career, you gain versatile and transferable skills and satisfy a hunger for solving problems. You can work in various industries like technology, retail, healthcare or logistics. Plus, career potential can lead to executive leadership roles. 

Skills Needed for Success in Business Operations Management

To have an impactful business operations management career, you must have a set of hard and soft skills as well as knowledge of commonly used tools and platforms.

Key Hard Skills for Business Operations Management:

• Data management: From cash flow and sales transactions to performance metrics and inventory, you are continuously collecting, processing and analyzing information, which allows you to make data-driven decisions. 
• Budgeting: It鈥檚 critical that you have strong statistical and financial mathematics skills that allow you to appropriately allocate resources, create production cost forecasts and compile your approach in a digestible financial report. 
• Process optimization: A knack for efficiency, organization and detail orientation all integrate into building smooth processes that keep a business running successfully. 
• Risk analysis: Overseeing components of a business that are mission-critical is a great responsibility, so the ability to assess whether a new direction or optimization is a worthwhile risk is a paramount skill to have. 

Key Soft Skills for Business Operations Management:

• Communication: When you鈥檙e integrating change constantly and in a leadership role, you need clear and effective communication skills that inspire buy-in and motivation from fellow team members as well as cross-functional teams and stakeholders. 
• Leadership: Management requires leadership skills, which can look like initiation, project oversight, collaboration, mentoring, supervising and more. Plus, you want to be someone that team members look to for direction because you鈥檙e able to establish trusting relationships. 
• Time management: You鈥檒l wear many hats, and this means you need to manage time well so you鈥檙e not only able to get tasks done but complete them in a high-quality and thoughtful manner. 
• Problem solving: You鈥檙e the go-to leader for solving problems and resolving conflicts. Business process optimization and workflow management can be challenging to implement, and it鈥檚 integral to be equipped and motivated to identify and address issues that come along. 

Real-World Examples of Business Operations Management Skills

Education Requirements

There are various educational pathways to follow to become a business operations manager that equip you with the skills and knowledge you need. Here鈥檚 a list of common requirements and beneficial programs and certifications. 

• 叠补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚 degree: business administration, management, finance or similar 
• 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 degree (optional, but supports career advancement): business administration, project management, business operations or similar 
• Certifications: Six Sigma, Project Management Professional (PMP) or similar 
• Additional options: Internships and/or on-the-job training 

Tools and Platforms to Know

Because business operations management prioritizes efficiency, there are commonly used tools and platforms that can support your work. 

• Excel: This tool allows you to utilize spreadsheets, which come in handy when managing large quantities of data and budgets. It also offers integrations that allow for calculating, assessing and presenting information. 
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems: This kind of software helps manage day-to-day operations like accounting, project workflows, risk assessment, supply chain management and more. 
• Data analytics tools: These tools are specialized spaces where you can automatically collect and analyze data and create digestible reports. 
• Customer relationship management (CRM) systems: These systems often integrate with other operational business tools to create seamless cross-departmental workflows where customer insights can drive operational decisions. 
• Project management platforms: These tools allow you to manage and oversee your project management in one place. 

Business Operations Management Salary and Job Outlook

Business operations managers have a unique opportunity to work in different sectors like healthcare, technology, education, finance and more. You鈥檒l also have versatile skills and education that apply to other areas of business including product, logistics and/or general management. 

Regardless of industry, these positions are full of growth potential that comes as you gain continued education and experience. For example, your progression can evolve from business operations manager to senior manager of business operations to director of operations and, ultimately, to vice president of operations or chief operating officer. 

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