FF01 General management and executive lead managemententerpriseindustry

Chief Operating Officer

Also known as: COO · Operations Director · Head of Operations

Holds end responsibility for operations, scales processes, capacity and quality in line with strategy, and balances cost against delivery reliability across the business.

The chief operating officer sits on the executive board beside the chief executive and runs the delivery column, from production and logistics to service and planning. The difference from an operations manager is that decisions here span multiple sites and capacity investments. Selection often fails because only process improvement is tested, while this role must intervene in staffing levels and the investment agenda, at times against the wishes of site managers.

Competencies to measure

These are the behavioural and ability constructs in this profile. Each one shows which hrmforce questionnaire measures it.

Competencies to measure	Target level	hrmforce instrument	Assessment method	Behavioural anchor at target level
Decisiveness Competency (50-framework): Decision-making ability Knockout	N5	Big Fifty, 360 Feedback	Situational Judgement Test	Decides on irreversible matters with major consequences, records the trade off and sets which decisions others may take themselves.
integrity and dependability Competency (50-framework): Integrity Knockout	N5	Big Fifty (Integrity Scale), 360 Feedback, Structured interview	Personality questionnaire	Sets the organisation's integrity standards, enforces them also with influential parties and explains the resulting choices publicly.
Developing vision Competency (50-framework): Vision Knockout	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback	Assessment centre	Formulates a multi-year vision for the whole organisation, underpins it with scenarios and uses it as a test for investments.
Persuasiveness Competency (50-framework): Persuasiveness	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback	Assessment centre	Wins board and external parties over to a far reaching change of course and sustains that support when resistance increases.
organisational awareness Competency (50-framework): Organizational Sensitivity	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback	Situational Judgement Test	Sees through relations between organisational units and external parties and steers decision making by organising support at an early stage.
Entrepreneurship Competency (50-framework): Entrepreneurship	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, Career Interest, 360 Feedback	Assessment centre	Sets up new activities or ventures for the organisation and carries the responsibility for investment and result.
Taking difficult personnel decisions Competency (50-framework): Decision-making ability	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback	Assessment centre	Decides on far reaching reorganisation and dismissal cases, weighs legal and human consequences and accounts for the choice to board and works council.
Stress tolerance Competency (50-framework): Stress resilience	N5	Big Fifty, 15PF, Mental Resilience (4C)	Personality questionnaire	Keeps the organisation workable in crises, takes decisions under high uncertainty and sets the standard for composed action under pressure.
Market orientation Competency (50-framework): Market Orientation	N5	Big Fifty, Competency Check, 360 Feedback	Assessment centre	Translates market developments into the strategic agenda of the organisation and repositions the offering for the longer term.
Dealing with ambiguity Competency (50-framework): Flexibility	N5	Big Fifty, Mental Resilience (4C), Competency Check	Situational Judgement Test	Sets direction under high uncertainty, makes the remaining uncertainty explicit and keeps the organisation moving until a decision can be taken.

Short profile

The ten heaviest skills in this profile. The full profile with every skill, behavioural anchor and assessment method is in the download.

T	Skill	Target level	Weight	Knockout	Assessment method
G	Decisiveness	N5	5	yes	Situational Judgement Test
V	Stakeholder management	N5	5	no	Assessment centre
G	integrity and dependability	N5	5	yes	Personality questionnaire
G	Developing vision	N5	5	yes	Assessment centre
V	Process management and optimisation	N5	5	no	Work sample test
K	Reading and interpreting financial reports	N5	5	yes	Knowledge test
V	Risk assessment	N5	4	no	Work sample test
G	Persuasiveness	N5	4	no	Assessment centre
G	organisational awareness	N5	4	no	Situational Judgement Test
V	Change management	N5	4	no	Assessment centre

See all 27 skills in the full profile

Assessment instruments for this job

17 measurable constructs

Competency Check

Behavioral-Level Competency Assessment

11 measurable constructs

360 Feedback

Multiple assessments based on behavioral anchors

10 measurable constructs

Big Fifty

Personality questionnaire, 150 items, 25 factors

7 measurable constructs

Work sample test

Representative work sample under standardized conditions

5 measurable constructs

Knowledge test (client-specific)

Professional knowledge test, customized for each client

3 measurable constructs

Structured interview

Behavioral interview with a fixed structure

2 measurable constructs

Mental Resilience (4C)

Mental Resilience According to the 4C Model

2 measurable constructs

Portfolio

Evaluation of prior work against fixed criteria

1 measurable constructs

Big Fifty (Integrity Scale)

1 measurable constructs

Pulse Survey

Periodic measurement at the team and organizational levels

1 measurable constructs

Career Interest

Career interests, aligned with the RIASEC framework

1 measurable constructs

Ability Scan

Aptitude Test: Verbal, Numerical, and Abstract Reasoning Skills

1 measurable constructs

15PF

Personality Profile, a shorter alternative to the Big Fifty

1 measurable constructs

Career Orientations

Career Anchors and Work Values

1 measurable constructs

Development Review

Structured development interview