Headhunter for Chief Operation Officer Positions

COO – Chief Operating Officer

A Chief Operating Officer, or COO, is one of the most intangible and misunderstood positions in a company.

COOs are responsible for the day-to-day operations of a company. This individual oversees the administrative and business functions of an organisation and works with the CEO to ensure that the company runs smoothly.

This is a potentially tricky aspect of the COO role - it can be difficult to distinguish their duties from those of the CEO. Furthermore, depending on the company and its stage of development, a COO may have a variety of tasks. As a result, it can be quite difficult to fill and maintain the role of COOs.

We find the appropriate COO for you

CareerTeam specialises in top executive search and recruitment for vacancies in this field. Thanks to a specially developed algorithmic multichannel search, we achieve the fastest possible hiring as well as a high cultural fit match for a COO.

Sustainable personnel management is of utmost importance, especially in top management, as personnel fluctuations in this area can severely slow down organisations. Thanks to an extensive and active network of more than 600,000 specialists and managers, our recruiters find suitable candidates for the position of CEO in the shortest possible time. We also take the "hidden candidates" into account in our search.

COO - detail-oriented, savvy and organised 

The role of COOs is to oversee the operations of a company and ensure that everything runs smoothly. This includes making sure that the company's resources are being used effectively, that employees are achieving their goals and that customers are satisfied with the products and services offered. Furthermore, COOs are often also responsible for marketing, sales and human resources.

This means that COOs have a very broad range of tasks that they have to master and pay attention to. They therefore need good organisational skills to be able to coordinate the various processes in the company. They also need a good knowledge of human nature to be able to lead and motivate employees in the best possible way.

Furthermore, the ability to make quick decisions and to keep an overview even in hectic situations is essential for a COO. They must also always keep an eye on the financial aspect and ensure that the company is profitable. All these skills and competences make a COO an important figure in a company.

COO vs. CEO

COOs and CEOs have a direct link, as COOs are the deputy CEOs and second in the company hierarchy. Depending on the size of the company, the scope of the two positions will vary. With smaller companies comes more operational activity, which is taken away from a CEO in larger companies by the COO (Chief Operating Officer). 

A COO ensures that operational processes are optimised and takes care of everyday business. In concrete terms, it is about the quality and competitiveness of products and services. A COO ensures that processes run smoothly and reports to the CEO, while strategic decisions are the responsibility of the CEO.

Key strategic priorities for COOs

COOs focus on strategy, especially in the areas of new technologies, customer retention, corporate governance, growth and, of course, corporate strategies. Current key priorities of COOs are as follows:

People-centric focus

COOs do not only focus on processes, but a steadily growing part of their work is directed at people. After all, employees are the most important asset of any company. The concept of the "people experience" states that systems must be designed with people at the centre. COOs need to pay attention to this because these systems bring significant benefits.

For one, these systems help give people more time to do meaningful tasks. This gives them time to help customers and innovate. Banal and unnecessary tasks, for example, are eliminated through automation. On the other hand, your employees can better concentrate on the needs of your customers instead of simply working through tasks every day.

Artificial intelligence, innovation and automation

Emerging and modern technologies such as artificial intelligence in particular is a topic that COOs need to follow. Artificial intelligence is one of the most important technologies for people experience systems, and also plays a key role in predicting consumer trends or personalising marketing.

Automation and reducing the workload of employees provides a breeding ground for innovation. After all, the ability of companies to innovate is becoming an increasingly influential factor to be competitive in the future.

Cybersecurity

Another critical technical aspect is cybersecurity. This involves direct attacks on the organisation, its corporate or customer data, or even its supply chain. According to a survey, 65% of consumers lose trust in companies after data breaches. And such loss of trust and reputational damage is difficult to fix. COOs work closely with CIOs (Chief Information Officers) on this.

Excellent service

CareerTeam offers a comprehensive executive search for the digital economy. As a recruitment consultancy, we use software-supported interview and selection processes throughout the entire hiring process, which also covers end-to-end candidate journey management. Furthermore, we ensure the cultural fit, which is a critical feature, especially in the field of executive search. Employer branding, active sourcing and direct search are also included in our range of services. To find out about the full range of our services, please contact us - we look forward to hearing from you.