What are the duties of a COO?
Did you know that a COO earns an average yearly salary of $157,563? So, let's look at the responsibilities they have on their plate to land this paycheck.The duties of a Chief Operating Officer differ for every company—depending on the industry, the company operations, size, and business goals.Here’s a list of all the key responsibilities and duties of the COO position:2. Budgeting and financial planning
Unless a company has a Chief Financial Officer, the COO oversees the financial side of things as well. They engage in financial review and strategizing plans to reach the company's revenue benchmarks.The COO's role as interim CFO becomes more important when the CEO lacks financial expertise. This Operations Officer also looks into the purchase and sale of assets, industrial alliances, and investments.3. Administrative decision-making
The COO works with senior management and the board of directors to gauge the company's performance and plan for the future. They analyze every department to identify areas of improvement for increasing productivity.The COO is also responsible for building partnerships with key stakeholders. They interact with clients, investors, and partners, to unite and inform them about the company's progress while empathizing with their viewpoint.4. Business-critical travel
There will be occasions when the COO needs to travel in order to represent the company. This could be for top-level corporate sales meetings, investor meetings, acquisition planning, or perhaps executive meetings if your business is globally distributed.TravelPerk is a fantastic resource to be in the hands of any COO. The user-friendly app for booking business trips gives your COO total control over their trip. At the same time, they’ll have a bird-eye view of the rest of the team if the team is traveling too.What is the ideal skillset of a COO?
Individuals in the COO position bring years of extensive experience and often a highly academically qualified skillset. That being said, there’s hardly any career path that can train you purposefully for this role.If you want to become a Chief Operating Officer, or are looking to hire one for your business, here's a list of skills you need to know about.3. Decision-making abilities
Another key part of the Chief Operating Officer's responsibilities is strategizing. They offer intelligence and support to the CEO when making plans for the future. So, it’s important for them to have critical problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and understand the consequences of their decisions.COOs have to cultivate a knack for decision-making to efficiently face every challenge the business faces, head-on.4. Communication and coordination
A large part of the Chief Operating Officer’s duties lies in delegating and supervising. Communication plays a primary role in this task.Together with effective leadership skills, the COO should also possess great communication skills. They have to create consensus, resolve disputes, bring people together, and build collaboration between teams.In fulfilling these responsibilities, the COO builds the company culture and maintains a team bond and morale while working remotely or in person.