Why your administration skills are so valuable for operations management
Finding a career pathway beyond administration is something many consider at one time or another. Those who take the initiative to convert and upgrade their skills to be valuable in a new role are the most successful at making the transition.
It can seem as though the options are somewhat limited for those in an administration role. However, this is frankly not the case. There are many pathways for someone with a background in administration. One pathway many choose is an administration operations career and the potential to progress into the role of operations manager.
What is an operations administrator?
The role of an operations manager is broad and varied across all industries. Some duties may vary depending on the field, but the overall tasks remain the same. In a day-to-day scenario, operations managers are involved in the administrative and organisational support of a business. Their job is to ensure that operations are running efficiently, allowing the other areas of the business to perform at peak potential.
A business operations administrators job description will include things like:
- Planning, delegating and coordinating the operations of staff
- Formulating policies to be followed by staff
- Assisting with roles in human resources
- Overseeing the day-to-day operations of their team
- Finding and allocating business resources
The role is diverse and wouldn’t be considered a purely “administration” role but instead pulls from all departments from admin to management, personnel, purchasing, human resources and more.
What is the Difference Between Operations and Administration?
What skills does an operations administrator or manager need?
Understandably there are many skills needed for a role like this. The good news is that if you have an administration background, you will likely have some form of these skills, even if they are at a foundation level.
Some of the most valuable skills are:
Critical Thinking
In a busy and fast-paced environment, you need to identify weaknesses and strengths in all situations. You need to be able to do this quickly but effectively to ensure that problems are solved in a way that won’t disrupt productivity. The ability to think on your feet can be learned over time as confidence and industry knowledge is developed.
Time Management
The role of operations administrator or manager needs to be across your schedule as well as the schedules of your team. You need to manage your time wisely and know how to help your team best manage their time. You will need to be effective at time management in areas like setting and running meetings, delegating tasks, and ensuring punctuality.
Interpersonal communication
You will need to communicate with a wide range of people, and being able to adjust the way you communicate to suit each person is imperative. Short courses with role-playing scenarios are helpful to develop your interpersonal skills. Finding a mentor in this area is also a smart career move.
Management of Financial Resources
It’s possible that in a role like this, you will need to manage some of the financial resources of your company by setting budgets, managing expenses and negotiating supplier contracts. You will need to understand how your company manages and receives money and where money needs to be spent. An understanding of how to interpret financial accounts will be required at higher management positions.
Management of Personnel Resources
A vital role of your job may be motivating people to be the best they can be at their job. You’ll be helping direct staff in their careers and develop skills to better the way they do their job. Depending on whether your organisation has someone in the role of a human resource, you may be required to hold performance reviews and be a mediator when needed.
Do you need to get a diploma to work in operations?
If you think some of the skills you have may need improving or are concerned that you may not have all the skills required, completing a qualification will give you the extra knowledge and confidence you need to give yourself a leg up.
The Diploma of Business (Operations) (BSB50120) may be precisely what you need. A new course to the College of Adult Learning, this diploma offers you a wide range of business-related subjects to help you into a business operations career. Some of the units on offer include, but are not limited to:
- Business resources
- Lead communication in the workplace
- Manage meetings
- Develop critical thinking in others
- Business operational plans
Get the right advice
Deciding on a career pathway for yourself can be challenging when you can’t see a clear direction forward. If you’ve come from an administration background, you may do well to move into the world of operations and operations management. The great news is you will probably have a solid foundation of skills and knowledge to build upon that will see you in good stead and help you move into the world of business operations.
A perfect place to start is with the right advice from career professionals. Talk to one of our learning consultants about the Diploma of Business (Operations) (BSB50120) today.