COOs & Operations Leaders’ Role in a Company | COO Recruiter
      COOs & Operations Leaders’ Role in a Company | Top COO Recruiters | Cowen Partners

      COOs and Operations Leaders’ Role in an Organization

      Chief operating officers (COOs) are forward-thinking corporate executives who can see the big picture from a great distance and develop strategic plans to take advantage of business opportunities and position the company for success. The chief operating officer (COO) is responsible for managing the organization’s administrative, operational, and management procedures and keeping all levels of personnel informed.

      Future-oriented COOs are constantly willing to make investments in more efficient and productive working practices. COOs and operations leaders have, however, faced difficulties due to contemporary challenges such as supply chain disruption, high workforce turnover, and uncertain business conditions.

      These issues were broken down in a recent PWC survey report, giving thought leaders like us the chance to proffer solutions.

      Key Findings:

      • 40% of COOs and operations leaders intend to expend more effort on maintaining an optimal workforce in a bid to improve resilience.
      • 50% of COOs and operations leaders plan to increase investment in digital transformation within the next year.
      • 3 out of 4 COOs have plans to increase their digital investments aimed at product development over the next few months.
      • 83% of COOs and operations leaders affirm that global tax is on their company’s radar.

      Role of COOs & Operations Leaders in Reducing Workforce Reliance & Boosting Resilience

      More than ever, COOs are thinking about automation and coming up with new strategies to increase productivity while reducing reliance on staff. The majority of COOs prioritize technology to make up for the labor redundancy, with only 20% of COOs planning to lay off employees to save expenses. Through digitization and digital transformation, they are already accomplishing this. This would increase total workforce efficiency and reduce reliance on physical labor.

      This, however, introduces a new challenge: integrating new technologies into business operations. The skills and knowledge that businesses lack locally are frequently required by digital transformation technologies. As a result, many businesses struggle to acquire the necessary people for their digital transformation and must restructure their current workforce to make room for these new talents. The cost savings from having fewer employees are written off because digital transformation efforts will require a smaller number of highly qualified employees who will want higher salaries.

      Consider your team’s skill level and present workforce capacity in relation to the number of workers you will need to implement your digital transformation plan. Determine which employees are redundant and which areas require recruitment, then make the appropriate adjustments. In addition to increasing the workforce and ensuring efficiency, this would also provide long-term resilience. The management of the company should also take care to avoid firing employees solely as a cost-cutting measure rather than as a way to guarantee overall operational effectiveness.

      Role of COOs and operations leaders in managing investment in digital transformation

      It has previously been determined that digital transformation through automation and digitalization can increase business resilience. Since they can deliver the necessary outcomes in a flash and are long-term cost-effective, this approach is popular among COOs. Within the next year, 50% of COOs and operational leaders intend to expand their investment in digital transformation. The COVID epidemic helped us to learn about unusual methods to adapt to stringent working conditions. Thus, this has been a long time coming.

      Businesses are pushing for a digital-first strategy to employment and are embracing post-covid reality. Over the coming months, 3 out of 4 COOs intend to expand their digital investments for product development. In a similar spirit, measures are being actively taken to improve customer experience and reduce procedures, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Automation is going to be used to accomplish each of these.

      Automation. In a broader sense, COOs are making investments in supply chain planning, marketing, new generation communications, order fulfillment and delivery, legacy system replacement, digital twins, simulations, and optimization. The study revealed extremely high levels of interest in each of these possibilities, demonstrating that COOs are open to participating in digital transformation as they perceive it as a method to increase agility and spur growth.

      Role of COOs and operations leaders in managing supply chain disruptions

      Global upheavals, including post-COVID inflation and inflationary pressures, are causing supply chains to collapse. The epidemic put supply chains’ resiliency and management’s ability to keep them operating smoothly to the test. In most circumstances, businesses must reduce their expectations for future growth while assuming greater supply-related expenses. Here, digital transformation is also useful because it assists organizations in enhancing their product design processes. In order to continue operations and ensure their going concern, COOs view this as an essential issue and have had to act quickly. Recommendations include assessing current product portfolios and design systems to determine the areas that need to be reduced or extended. COOs must develop creative ways to work around constraints.

      Adopt tools that simplify order processing and inventory management. Increasing these areas’ efficiency will help you control the supply chain. Investigate alternate supply routes and be prepared to collaborate with new vendors. Reduce the distance between you and your supplier as much as possible to reduce transportation costs. In dire circumstances, you might think about switching products or simply diversifying your product line. 34% of COOs, according to the report, are considering streamlining their product portfolios. Supply chain disruptions will have a higher impact on you if your products are more diverse, in which case actions to mitigate the disruptive impacts will be less effective because they will be less targeted due to the vast range of your products.

      How can COOs and operations leaders manage the global impact of tax?

      Global tax has an impact on companies’ bottom lines, particularly major enterprises. They should think about the tax implications of their decision as they wind down from the COVID-related arrangements they established and look for any options to lower their tax obligations. This has brought global taxation into view for COOs. According to the report, 83% of COOs and operational leaders say that their companies are paying attention to worldwide tax. COOs are keeping track of trade jurisdictions and prospects that would provide tax benefits to their companies now and in the future. This occurs at a time when businesses are considering extending their geographic reach and real estate footprint, and more attention is being paid to outward expansion.

      Taking into account the tax implications of any financing or investing choice, as well as business choices in general, will help you better comprehend which action will be most advantageous to you. Keep an eye out for new tax law developments and tax-related challenges.

      These identified difficulties are simply broad; firms face a variety of difficulties depending on their size, industry, and legal jurisdiction. The backbone of operations, the COO, should make sure to research these business difficulties and propose unique solutions for their organizations. The majority of firms’ problems can simply be solved through digital transformation, yet even that is difficult to achieve. Before making any decisions, COOs should be confident that they have solid justification before implementing strategies so as to ensure that they only take the best possible course of action in every circumstance.

      Cowen Partners Executive Search | National Executive Search Firm

      At Cowen Partners, our executive recruiters are exceptionally skilled at delivering in-demand candidates, no matter the need and across all industries. Backed by a proven executive recruiting process, we have been the partner of choice for startups, corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and more, meeting unique and critical recruitment needs across the entire C-suite, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CMOs, CIOs, CTOs, CHROs, VPs of sales, other VPs, directors, and several other leadership roles. 

      With our executive recruiters, you get senior partner-led searches, due diligence-run networking, meticulous candidate vetting, and so much more, all geared towards one goal — placing the very best talent as soon as possible, all while ensuring a seamless fit with your company culture, your big-picture objectives, and other factors. Plus, we have one of the highest candidate retention rates in the industry while consistently delivering world-class talent faster than the competition. 

      That’s how Cowen Partners has become a leading executive search firm nationwide, and it’s why our executive recruiters have a reputation for excellence and success.

      Contact us to see why we are continually ranked as one of the best executive search firms around and why we have so many repeat and long-term clients, as well as referrals.

      We also invite you to continue exploring more executive recruiting insights from our team:

      Get in Touch.

      Fill out the email request form to learn more about our approach.