There are numerous stages that every startup business must go through before they get to a point where they are solid and ready to make company growth a priority. This means bringing on board a COO and allowing the CEO/founder to take a back seat and focus on the larger picture while leaving the day-to-day running of the company to the COO.
There are numerous questions that are associated with this leap of faith in hiring a COO such as, what does a COO do? Where does one find the best COO candidates? What is the meaning of COO? What are the responsibilities of a COO? And of course, what to look for in a COO?
Bringing on board a COO
Often it is difficult for founders to let go and entrust someone else with the day-to-day running of their company and allowing them to focus on the bigger picture and the growth of the company. Before startup founders get to that point of adding a COO to their team there are a few things that might be worth considering:
· Ask yourself whether you spend more time managing than improving your company
· You need another hand to execute the overall mission and manage people and tasks
· You have reached a point where you cannot meet expectations to scale your company
· You need another face to deal with your investors
· You can afford one and set them up for success
What a COO does or the COO responsibilities 3 models:
· A COO manages the current operations of the business
· Is responsible for driving the future growth of the business
· Is constantly on top of things and knows everything there is to know about finances, the people, the customers, the prospects, and everything that affects those areas
But on another deeper level, what is a COO?
In an organization, the COO is hired by and reports directly to the CEO or the President of the company. The COO is responsible for carrying out company policies and managing the actions needed to reach company targets. The COO is usually held accountable for all areas of the company.
A COO becomes a bridge between the owner and the staff and this allows you time away from the day-to-day running of things to focus instead on the growth and scaling of the company and its future in the market. The COO keeps you up to date on everything and prepares reports on the effectiveness of company policies, operations, and marketing and programs. They are there to help you with your vision and they keep you apprised of the company climate. They identify problems and find solutions, they communicate with the team, vendors, investors, and governing agencies. In addition, they monitor long and short-term goals and projections and recruit new members and manage the existing team to maintain a high level of ethics.
Qualities you should look for in a COO
Depending on the size of your company or what your specific needs are the list of things to look for in a COO might vary from founder to founder or business to business, but there will be certain common factors that will be common to all businesses.
The COO needs to be in tune with the organization and the competition that they should be able to anticipate challenges and trends and needs. Ideally, you should be looking for someone with previous COO experience or someone with really strong skills that you can train to fit your company’s needs. You might choose to elevate someone in the company to that position or bring in someone from outside; both scenarios could work really well provided you find someone who understands the pulse of your company and can help it scale.
In addition, it is important to look for someone who is ingrained with certain values such as integrity, accountability, honesty, straightforwardness, clear thinking, leadership, and dedication to the workplace. The ideal COO candidate must be able to adhere to deadlines, meet targets, and possess strong relationship skills as they will need to build lasting relationships for the company with customers, vendors, investors, and their own team. In addition your ideal COO will need to be a good clear communicator, be administratively competent, and be able to live by the company’s vision and rules.
What you need to consider:
Before you add a COO to the already existing equation of your company, you should be clear as to what it is you want them to do. A clear job description is something that you will need to prepare in advance. A COO is a big role and if your candidate is an experienced one, they are going to want to see that you already have a strong company and a drive to grow and some systems in place that they can build on and improve to take the company forward to the next level and help it scale.
However, most of all, the COO candidate will want to know what exactly you expect from them and this must be put down in writing in a clear COO Employment Agreement. They will want some clarity on their position in the company, what you are growing in terms of a business and why you are growing it especially if they are going to dedicate their future years to the organization.
There is a lot more to consider when hiring a COO and often founders just don’t know where to begin. If in doubt, it is best to leave it to the experts and get help. CoffeMug.ai is an AI networking platform equipped with a highly qualified team of analysts, incubators, accelerators, and mentors with diverse backgrounds. With the help of a vast global network and resources, CoffeMug.ai has successfully managed to support a number of startups through various stages of their business journey including providing access to multiple suitable candidates for C- suite positions, rounds of interviews, funding, and even product development adding significant value at each stage.
FAQs
Q. What qualities should a COO have?
A. An ideal COO should have these top five qualities:
- Excellent communication abilities
- Effective task management capabilities
- Open to learning new technologies
- Strive towards perfection
- Multi-tasking skill
Q. Is COO higher than MD?
A. An MD has a seniority level that is comparable to both a CEO and a COO, and he or she has major legal obligations.
Q. Do I need a COO?
A. A startup’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key part of the C-level executive team. They are in charge of the company’s day-to-day operations and the overall supervisory responsibilities.
Q. What type of person makes for a good COO?
A. A good COO combines a wide range of skills and expertise with the ability to manage strategically. They retain their company’s high-level plan at the forefront of their minds while also comprehending the finer points of day-to-day execution to ensure that what needs to happen does.
