Research Summary. Here are some key points about hiring operations managers in the United States:
Before you start to hire operations managers, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire operations managers pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.
You can expect to pay around $76,894 per year for an operations manager, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for operations managers in the US typically range between $22 and $59 an hour.
To hire an operations manager, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire an operations manager, you should follow these steps:
Before you get started with hiring an operations manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.
Before you hire an operations manager, you should also consider the ideal background you'd like them to have. For example, what industry or field they have experience in, what level of seniority or education the job requires, and how much it'll cost to hire a candidate that fits the bill.
The list breaks down common operations manager roles and compares their salaries.
Type Of Operations Manager | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Operations Manager | Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities of companies and organizations. | $22-59 |
General Manager Of Operations | General managers of operations are employed to oversee the overall operations of businesses. Their responsibilities include the improvement of the efficiency of the operations and overall management... Show More | $23-79 |
Manager, Center Operations | The duties of a manager of center operations depend on one's industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing business operations, setting targets, assessing the workforce's performance, and performing corrective measures on any issues or concerns... Show More | $18-46 |
Ideally, you should have the perfect candidate profile in mind before you write an operations manager job description. This means you should have a clear idea of the skill set they need to be proficient in, what their main responsibilities will be, and what kind of background they'll have.
Here are some of the most common operations manager skills:
Here are the responsibilities that most operations managers perform:
Beyond the basics, you should also consider how well a candidate fits into your company culture. In other words, you should think about how your ideal operations manager will live by the company's mission statement and contribute to the team dynamic you already have in place.
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | 3,003 | 29% | $62,981 |
2 | North Carolina | 2,541 | 25% | $75,356 |
3 | Virginia | 2,018 | 24% | $87,526 |
4 | Washington | 1,936 | 26% | $89,736 |
5 | Indiana | 1,841 | 28% | $73,879 |
Including a salary range in your job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An operations manager can vary based on things like:
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | California | $107,162 | $52 | 55 |
2 | New York | $102,034 | $49 | 212 |
3 | District of Columbia | $101,074 | $49 | 78 |
4 | New Jersey | $100,630 | $48 | |
5 | Massachusetts | $94,462 | $45 | 88 |
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | McKinsey & Company Inc | $179,785 | $86.44 | 1 |
2 | Boston Consulting Group | $168,206 | $80.87 | 28 |
3 | Meta | $151,621 | $72.89 | 7 |
4 | VMware | $149,758 | $72.00 | 2 |
5 | WEC Energy Group | $149,673 | $71.96 | 1 |
6 | Airbnb | $144,190 | $69.32 | |
7 | IXL Center | $144,106 | $69.28 | |
8 | Roku | $143,443 | $68.96 | 7 |
9 | Apple | $142,695 | $68.60 | 541 |
10 | $141,868 | $68.21 | 69 | |
11 | BP America Inc | $140,442 | $67.52 | |
12 | Western Digital | $139,885 | $67.25 | 5 |
13 | Chevron | $139,854 | $67.24 | 70 |
14 | PayPal | $139,828 | $67.22 | 50 |
15 | Genentech | $138,413 | $66.54 | 11 |
16 | AstraZeneca | $137,608 | $66.16 | 17 |
17 | Lyft | $137,224 | $65.97 | 12 |
18 | Microsoft | $137,158 | $65.94 | 27 |
19 | Deerfield Management | $136,608 | $65.68 | |
20 | Helmerich & Payne | $134,438 | $64.63 |
An operations manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an operations manager job description:
There are a few common ways to find operations managers for your business:
Post your job online:
To successfully recruit operations managers, your first interview needs to be all about engaging with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
It's also a good idea to ask about candidates' special skills and talents. If you think that a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Once you've selected the best operations manager candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks that you're offering the candidate. It's essential to ensure that your offer is competitive, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it's important to be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new operations manager. Employee Action Forms should be completed by Human Resources and the hiring manager. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.