What's the biggest challenge of a Operations Manager job?
Biggest challenge associated with operations management, is having the right people in the right places. If the right people are not in the right positions then the operation will not perform at its optimum capacity. Operations is a team effort and if the team is not positioned properly then adjustments need to be made in order to get the right people in the right position where they can contribute at their highest level. Operations Managers are only as strong as the teams they build!
Coordination/Communication In my opinion the major challenge of an Operations Manager is the multi tasking involved in being part of a much larger team. Sometimes, but not always a project manager will be assigned to help with the 'herding of cats' ( managers in marketing/finance/administration/IT /Inventory/Shipment et. al as in most cases many are dependent upon others to accomplish their piece of each transaction/project. Different departments with different responsibilities and goals need to all buy into the timelines needed for the ultimate goal - process/project completion to the satisfaction of the customers. This includes internal customers (stakeholders) as well. Effective communicators and those with influencer skills will do well in this role.
Right now with what is going on with the economy the company I was working with cut my position because of budgeting reasons, and now because of the economy I’m have a really tuff time getting a new position.
THE biggest challenge, as many have mentioned already, is having ADULTS to work with. Too many children in adult bodies out there. These days, 1 in a hundred qualify to work for me and it’s getting worse
Dealing with employees. That is a daily challenge .
Operations Managers need to be highly organized and natural multi-taskers. Some of the job functions are predictable but a lot of your daily task load changes with the daily need of the business and you need to be ready to pivot without much notice. Someone who often procrastinates, is forgetful and/or disorganized would not be able to keep up with the ever-evolving workload. In my opinion the best Ops Managers are women, but I've known men who are great too! Men just more often delegate out the tasks once they understand what's needed, whereas women just get them done themselves.
Communication and all the different personalities of each employee you are responsible for, Always listen and remember they have things going on in their lives you no nothing about. Just be fair.
communication and outstanding organization
coordination and communication and financial oversite.
I would support Michael’s answer (which evolved around human dynamics) but would add budget restraint as well. Keeping people motivated through continuous training ( setting up career paths) and paying them properly to keep them in the company.