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Operations manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

7 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Timothy Edwards,

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Operations managers should have a strong focus on customer service as one of their most important soft skills. Managing customer relationships is a large part of the job, and you should try and emphasize this skill along with communication. You'll also want to demonstrate continuous improvements in operations.

Operations managers also need a number of hard skills to successfully conduct their work. You'll want to show a command of the proper logistics for improving workplace systems. ISO certification, managing inventory levels, and overseeing a department's daily operations are all important hard skills for operations managers as well.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical operations manager skills. We ranked the top skills for operations managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 23.5% of operations manager resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an operations manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 operations manager skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how operations managers use customer service:

Oversee customer service and customer relations; performed daily and monthly regulatory equipment inspections, premise security, and incident management.
Investigate and solved complex problems with customers through innovation and ensured customer satisfaction by providing prompt, quality customer service.

2. Logistics

Logistics is a complete organization and implementation of a problem. Logistics are often considered in a complex business operation, as some works need detailed plannings. Logistics are also used in military action.

Here's how operations managers use logistics:

Established contractual and operational metrics with reverse logistics vendor to continually drive cost and operational improvements further improving asset recovery.
Advised the Afghan National Police in logistics and manpower utilization resulting in a greatly improved logistical infrastructure.

3. Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of improvement of products, services, and processes with the help of innovative ideas. It is an organized approach that helps an organization to find its weaknesses and improve them.

Here's how operations managers use continuous improvement:

Improved operational efficiency by implementing continuous improvement initiatives.
Realized productivity improvements ranging from 10% to 25% through continuous improvement methodology - identifying and eliminating waste in operations.

4. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how operations managers use payroll:

Review payroll records and monitor financial transactions to ensure expenditures versus store revenue contribute to expected profit margin.
Hired and trained steamfitters and electrical technicians, administered payroll, and scheduled installation crews.

5. Project Management

Here's how operations managers use project management:

Directed key project management functions including critical path scheduling, budget management, project tracking/status reports, and quality assurance.
Project management from concept development to realization for foundation activities such as annual fundraiser, and international exhibit viewing trips.

6. Process Improvement

Here's how operations managers use process improvement:

Directed a variety of special projects: ranging from implementing process improvements to deploying technology- based solutions for litigation software clients.
Facilitated process improvement activities to ensure acceptable performance levels for accuracy and timeliness were met for internal stakeholders and PBM vendor.

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7. Oversight

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

Here's how operations managers use oversight:

Provided management oversight for daily relationships with label and artist management and site promotions via content management and asset deployment.
Provided technical oversight during the development of key training plans for mobilization and ensured compliance with established policies and procedures.

8. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how operations managers use customer satisfaction:

Coordinated the operation of the Production and Maintenance Departments to insure customer satisfaction with timely delivery while meeting manufacturing cost objectives.
Lead the Air and Ocean department in all operational disciplines and ensure operational excellence, high productivity and customer satisfaction.

9. ISO

Here's how operations managers use iso:

Contributed to earning ISO 9001 certification including development of training checklists for Safety, Quality and Productivity.
Direct all warehouse/inventory activities along with shipping/receiving ensuring that all processes and procedures follow ISO 9001 requirements.

10. Direct Reports

Here's how operations managers use direct reports:

Managed approximately 35 direct and indirect reports in credit card operations unit that responded to customer inquiries.
Developed direct reports through an individual leadership development plan catered to each individual s specific needs.

11. PowerPoint

Here's how operations managers use powerpoint:

Developed innovative PowerPoint presentations used by organization officials in order to present strategies for generating resources and/or revenues for the company.
Designed company website, PowerPoint presentation, brochure, profile, machinery list & factory production capacity information for marketing purposes.

12. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how operations managers use human resources:

Coordinated with Human Resources to process employment requisitions, disciplinary investigations, performance improvement plans corrective actions and employment termination letters.
Collaborated with a cross-functional team including human resources and facilities management to develop and streamline talent development programming and operational procedures.

13. Financial Statements

A financial statement is a report of an individual or a company that includes all the information about the declared assets, the use of money, income, and also the contribution of shareholders over a certain period.

Here's how operations managers use financial statements:

Analyzed applicant's financial position including personal financial statements and tax returns, credit, and property evaluation to determine creditworthiness.
Budget analysis and presentation of financial statements to upper level management to improve process implementation and drive revenue and profit goals.

14. Inventory Management

Here's how operations managers use inventory management:

Developed and refined logistics procedures and inventory management systems, reducing errors and implementation delays and improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Experienced in cash vault operations including deposit processing, change order processing, inventory management and banking center remote capture.

15. Inventory Control

Here's how operations managers use inventory control:

Conducted quarterly product inventory utilizing computerized inventory control.
Led successful implementation of ERP initiative, including fully-integrated service order processing, purchasing, inventory control, and invoicing modules.

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What skills help Operations Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on operations manager resumes?

Dr. Timothy Edwards

Professor, Interim Director, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Writing and research skills. Analytical and critical thinking skills. Technical skills such as web design, graphic design, audio and video production skills. Employers are interested in potential employees knowledge, intelligence and skills.

What soft skills should all operations managers possess?

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Professor of International Business, San Francisco State University

-Languages beyond English (fluency in written and oral)

-Ability to work collegially in a diverse cultural setting

-Ability to identify good problems on which to work in a competent manner

-Ability/flexibility to interact/work productively with people who have serious constraints on their time owing to other work or personal commitments/issues

-Some of my answers to Q1 above would also apply here

What hard/technical skills are most important for operations managers?

Bruce Heiman Ph.D.

Professor of International Business, San Francisco State University

-Analytical skills (ability to gather data, clean it, analyze it, write-up results and present on what the meaning of the analysis suggests for action (the last one is most important--"what does it really mean?"

-Some experience and skills with coding in any language (at the moment, Python or C++ are preferred, though Ruby on Rails is also good)

-Deep spreadsheet skills (pivot tables and macros, as examples).

-Relational database skills, including programming (e.g., MySQL)

-Data mining

-AI/Machine Learning experience

What operations manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Steve Wages Ph.D.

Director, Cloverdale Center for Youth and Family, Faulkner University

I recommend they use this time to fill in the gaps, no pun intended, in their program of studies by expanding their knowledge base. All educational programs have gaps in the training, content areas which are not addressed adequately. For example, my counseling program was highly regarded, yet I had little to no content related to aging studies, parenting, or personal finances, etc. Further, the content of counseling programs is problem-centered or remedial, conceptually focused on tertiary prevention.

Consequently, graduates are not exposed to a large body of research and literature related to human development, individual wellness, and family strengths which would greatly inform and enhance their assessment and intervention strategies employed in counseling. I believe the more we can do to strengthen our understanding of healthy individual and family wellness, the better equipped we will be to address unhealthy relationships and family dynamics. Put another way, being well grounded in primary and secondary prevention will further equip the pastoral counselor's efforts at intervention. Again, use this time to acquire relevant knowledge and content that most counseling programs do not address extensively.

What type of skills will young operations managers need?

Patrick Scott Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Economics, Louisiana Tech University

I think the importance of critical thinking and reasoning skills cannot be overstated enough. In this area, economics shines. Additionally, analytical and quantitative skills are more important than ever. Businesses continue to make the shift towards data-driven decision making. The ability to quickly analyze data and correctly assign an interpretation or meaning to that data is an important job market skill. With just a little bit of economic intuition, combined data science skills, business economics majors are uniquely positioned for success in the job market of tomorrow.

What technical skills for an operations manager stand out to employers?

Kerem Cakirer Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer, Indiana University Bloomington

The labor market is not so different than any market with demand and supply. The demand from employers will shift towards more technical (software, coding, computer language programming) and analytical (problem solving on your own) skills than social skills overall. Being capable of writing or/and understanding computer languages will be a must have skill in the very near future. Communication skills over online platforms or social media platforms will play a huge role when employers are making a hiring decision. The data supports that businesses are using more online platforms than ever. I am projecting that there won't be any business travels or on-site client meetings in the near future. Exceling in different types of software, and being able to learn a new one easily, will become more important than people skills in businesses. Employers will seek for candidates, who are capable of achieving tasks in a more off-site (outside the office) environment through a deadline, and who can utilize multiple different softwares at their hand to solve business problems. As far as how the hiring process would go, we might see employers using artificial intelligence to make hiring decisions over some online platform soon. Essentially, this means that the candidates will be assessed with a more quantitative measure than ever. An evaluation measure by the AI, which will take soft and digital skills more into account.My final words are: The pandemic is still a burden to the humankind but the world will prevail. This year could be the inception of a new era in terms of how businesses run.

Do you want to know more?

List of operations manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an operations manager resume and required skills for an operations manager to have include:

Customer Service
Logistics
Continuous Improvement
Payroll
Project Management
Process Improvement
Oversight
Customer Satisfaction
ISO
Direct Reports
PowerPoint
Human Resources
Financial Statements
Inventory Management
Inventory Control
Loss Prevention
Performance Management

Quality Standards
Sigma
Front Desk
Performance Reviews
Corrective Action
Training Programs
Business Development
Disciplinary Actions
Business Operations
Cost Reduction
POS
Warehouse Operations
Office Operations
Equipment Maintenance
Store Operations
Customer Complaints
Performance Evaluations

FDA
Customer Relations
HVAC
QA
Cost Savings
Financial Reports
Sortation
Labor Costs
Operational Systems
Excellent Planning
Customer Issues
Strong Management
LTL
Deductive Reasoning
Excellent Training

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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