How to Become a Business Operations Manager

Business operations managers oversee a company’s productivity and output. Their key functions include setting goals, creating budgets, improving processes and encouraging greater efficiency.

Business operations managers maintain a high level of oversight across an entire organization. With this perspective, they can more effectively see and evaluate the business as a whole. Managers in this role have a responsibility to find ways to eliminate inefficiencies throughout the company and introduce new processes that result in more positive outcomes. To do this, they typically manage a business operations team that helps them carry out their goals within each specific department.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), operations managers typically need a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in business or field related to their work. Depending on the company you work for, one type of degree might be preferred over the other for a management position, and your years of experience may also be a factor.

Earning a degree in business or business management, like DeVry’s Bachelor’s Degree in Management or Bachelor’s Degree with a Specialization in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship can be a great start, and help you develop relevant people management, planning skills and understand how to allocate human and financial resources for the best outcomes in companies of all sizes.

According to the BLS, growth for top executives, which includes business operations managers, is expected to grow by about 8% on a national level between 2020 and 2030¹. Keep in mind that these projected growth rates are based on national data, and the growth rate may be higher or lower depending on where you live. The BLS also anticipates that 209,500 jobs will open in this field within the same timeframe. 

Business operations managers need to have a wide range of skills in order to effectively identify and resolve inefficiencies within a company. Many of the skills that are used in a business operations manager’s day-to-day tasks can be learned during a bachelor’s degree.

Here are a few of the skills that you might find useful during a career in business operations management that you can learn at DeVry: