General supervisor vs operations director

The differences between general supervisors and operations directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a general supervisor and an operations director. Additionally, an operations director has an average salary of $104,050, which is higher than the $78,650 average annual salary of a general supervisor.

The top three skills for a general supervisor include continuous improvement, production supervisors and oversight. The most important skills for an operations director are customer service, continuous improvement, and oversight.

General supervisor vs operations director overview

	General Supervisor	Operations Director
Yearly salary	$78,650	$104,050
Hourly rate	$37.81	$50.02
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	80,113	114,993
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a general supervisor do?

A general supervisor supervises and oversees the daily performance of workers. They are expected to set goals and deadlines for their company. They may also have to organize employees' workflow and ensure that they understand their duties. They also monitor the productivity of employees and give constructive feedback.

What does an operations director do?

Operations directors oversee all company operations. They have the power to set the direction, change the course of the organization, and reform strategies to ensure efficiency in how the company operates. Operations directors manage business operations effectively by constantly analyzing company data and by anticipating any challenge that may come their way. As such, they make sound business decisions and recommendations that will help strengthen the organization. Operations directors oversee finances, quality control, and even human resources. They ensure that all aspects of the business are considered in making business operations decisions.

General supervisor vs operations director salary

General supervisors and operations directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Supervisor	Operations Director
Average salary	$78,650	$104,050
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $104,000	Between $65,000 And $164,000
Highest paying City	Atlantic City, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	Southern California Edison	Airbnb
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between general supervisor and operations director education

There are a few differences between a general supervisor and an operations director in terms of educational background:

	General Supervisor	Operations Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General supervisor vs operations director demographics

Here are the differences between general supervisors' and operations directors' demographics:

	General Supervisor	Operations Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8%	Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between general supervisor and operations director duties and responsibilities

General supervisor example responsibilities.

Lead in the development of an organize inventory POS system.
Maintain A/R and A/P, sales reps commissions, and manage the collection process.
Train and manage FOH staff and improve overall quality, organization and professionalism of restaurant and bakery.
Co-Authore and continually improve the POS system.
Complete a QC sheet on all VOIP and CATV technicians indicating a pass or fail status.
Need to qualify for ISO with a facility that have no manufacturing or quality processes in place.

Operations director example responsibilities.

Manage KPI reports from all warranty companies to ensure increasing sales and productivity.
Spearhead governance, security and compliance initiatives to achieve SOX and PCI compliance.
Manage a PMO style team to implement any changes across the global contact centers.
Develop all marketing strategies and materials as well as personally managing key OEM and national accounts.
Manage multiple vendor relationships for RFP development and review, contract negotiation, contract terms management, and accounts payable review.
Provide leadership to manufacturing organization by aligning overall KPIs to achieve near term and long term business objectives.

General supervisor vs operations director skills

Common general supervisor skills

Continuous Improvement, 13%
Production Supervisors, 9%
Oversight, 7%
Corrective Action, 7%
Safety Procedures, 7%
OSHA, 6%

Common operations director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 5%
Human Resources, 4%

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General Supervisor vs Operations Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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