Operations Manager Salary & Pay

(Note: Salaries can differ significantly based on industry, experience, and company policies. The above figures are estimates taken from glassdoor.co.uk.)

The operations department is one of the core components of any organisation. A business can only function with the operations department producing a good service for client delivery. Operations managers are the ones who handle things in the operations department and therefore become indispensable cogs in the corporate machine.

The salaries for operations managers across Europe are indicative of their importance. The operations manager can expect steady salary increments throughout their career. Unlike other roles like sales, where performance can be highly variable from one year to another, operations managers usually have more stable performance metrics. Although this means that their maximum increment potential for a year might be lower than the revenue-generating teams, it also means that their increments are more stable and consistent.

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Profit-Sharing, Stock Options, Cash Bonus

Some companies offer benefits through stock options or variable compensation for key executive positions. A senior operations manager can be eligible for such programs in certain companies. Operations managers’ key performance indicators, including efficiency, cost control, mistake rates, safety records, risk management, crisis performance, and other similar metrics, are typically linked to their variable component. In addition to cash bonuses, start-ups may even offer profit-sharing programs to their executives.

The exact bonus amounts differ from company to company and depend on employee performance. They also rely on the performance of the overall team and the company. For most companies, the variable component for operations managers would lie somewhere between 10% to 30%.

Sector-Specific Considerations

There is considerable variation in operations manager salaries across industries. Global Fortune 500 companies with highly complex supply chains and business processes require experienced and well-qualified individuals to manage their operations. The wages that they offer are commensurate with those expectations.

The most lucrative sectors are oil and gas, financial services, insurance, large industrial conglomerates, and tech companies.

Operations manager-type roles exist at almost every medium-sized or large company, and applicants have abundant lateral mobility opportunities. Such movements can often lead to much faster growth in compensation. Professionals working in niche roles have fewer opportunities for lateral movements, which can be an essential consideration for a career spanning several decades.

See also Operations Manager Job Description and Profile for reference here.

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