Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring a Business Operations Manager

The Business Operations Manager role is pivotal in driving organizational efficiency and aligning day-to-day operations with strategic objectives. When hiring for this position, traditional interviews alone often fail to reveal a candidate's true capabilities in analyzing data, implementing process improvements, and collaborating across departments.

Work sample exercises provide a window into how candidates actually approach the challenges they'll face on the job. For Business Operations Managers, these exercises should test analytical skills, strategic thinking, communication abilities, and process improvement expertise. By observing candidates in action, hiring teams can make more informed decisions based on demonstrated skills rather than self-reported experiences.

The best Business Operations Manager candidates combine analytical rigor with practical implementation skills. They can translate data insights into actionable strategies and effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders. Work samples allow you to assess these capabilities directly, reducing the risk of a costly hiring mistake.

The following exercises are designed to evaluate the essential competencies for a Business Operations Manager: analytical acumen, strategic thinking, effective communication, and cross-functional collaboration. Each exercise simulates real-world scenarios the candidate would encounter in the role, providing valuable insights into their potential performance.

Activity #1: Operational Efficiency Analysis

This exercise evaluates the candidate's ability to analyze operational data, identify inefficiencies, and recommend practical improvements. It tests analytical skills, strategic thinking, and the ability to translate data into actionable insights—core competencies for any Business Operations Manager.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a dataset showing operational metrics for a fictional department or process (e.g., customer service response times, production throughput, or sales cycle length).
• Include some obvious inefficiencies and some more subtle issues that require deeper analysis.
• Provide context about the fictional department's goals and constraints.
• Allow candidates 45-60 minutes to analyze the data and prepare recommendations.
• Have a senior operations leader or the hiring manager review the analysis with the candidate.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided operational data and identify key inefficiencies or bottlenecks.
• Analyze the root causes of these issues using the available data.
• Develop 3-5 specific recommendations to improve operational efficiency.
• Prioritize your recommendations based on potential impact and implementation difficulty.
• Prepare a brief presentation (5-7 minutes) explaining your findings and recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, the interviewer should provide specific feedback on one strength of the analysis (e.g., "Your identification of the bottleneck in the approval process was insightful").
• The interviewer should also provide one area for improvement (e.g., "I'd like to see more consideration of implementation costs in your prioritization").
• Give the candidate 5-10 minutes to refine their top recommendation based on the feedback, focusing on the improvement area.

Activity #2: Cross-Functional Collaboration Role Play

This role play assesses the candidate's ability to navigate competing priorities across departments and build consensus—a critical skill for Business Operations Managers who must regularly collaborate with diverse stakeholders to implement operational improvements.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a process change that affects multiple departments (e.g., implementing a new CRM system, changing the product development workflow).
• Assign 2-3 interviewers to play the roles of department heads with different priorities and concerns.
• Provide the candidate with a briefing document 24 hours in advance that outlines the proposed change and each department's general stance.
• Allow 20-30 minutes for the role play followed by 10 minutes for discussion.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the briefing document about the proposed operational change.
• Prepare to facilitate a discussion with department heads to address concerns and build consensus.
• During the role play, demonstrate active listening, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills.
• Work toward a solution that addresses the key concerns of each department while still achieving the operational improvement goal.
• Be prepared to make trade-off decisions if complete consensus cannot be reached.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, interviewers should highlight one effective collaboration technique the candidate used (e.g., "Your approach to acknowledging the marketing team's timeline concerns before proposing solutions was effective").
• Provide one suggestion for improving their cross-functional leadership (e.g., "You could have more directly addressed the underlying budget concern from the finance department").
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to explain how they would incorporate this feedback in a follow-up meeting with the stakeholders.

Activity #3: Process Improvement Case Study

This exercise evaluates the candidate's ability to identify inefficiencies in existing processes and design improved workflows—a fundamental responsibility for Business Operations Managers focused on continuous improvement.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a detailed description of a flawed business process (e.g., customer onboarding, inventory management, approval workflows).
• Include a process flow diagram, relevant metrics, and descriptions of pain points from users.
• Provide any constraints that solutions must work within (budget limitations, technology constraints, etc.).
• Allow candidates 60-90 minutes to analyze and redesign the process.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided process documentation and identify key inefficiencies and pain points.
• Map the current process and identify specific steps that could be eliminated, automated, or improved.
• Design an improved process that addresses the identified issues while working within the stated constraints.
• Create a simple implementation plan that outlines key steps, potential challenges, and success metrics.
• Prepare a 10-minute presentation of your analysis and recommendations.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, the interviewer should acknowledge one particularly valuable improvement the candidate identified (e.g., "Your suggestion to automate the approval routing would significantly reduce delays").
• The interviewer should also suggest one area where the solution could be strengthened (e.g., "I'd like to see more consideration of the change management aspects of implementing this new process").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to expand on how they would address the feedback, focusing specifically on the improvement area.

Activity #4: Operational Strategy Development

This exercise assesses the candidate's ability to develop strategic operational plans aligned with business objectives—a higher-level skill essential for Business Operations Managers who must translate company vision into executable operational strategies.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a brief case study about a fictional company with clear business goals (e.g., expanding into new markets, improving customer satisfaction, reducing costs).
• Include relevant information about the company's current operational capabilities, challenges, and resources.
• Provide high-level financial and operational metrics that would influence strategy development.
• Allow candidates 2-3 hours to develop their operational strategy (this can be assigned as pre-work).

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the company case study and identify the key operational capabilities needed to achieve the business goals.
• Assess gaps between current capabilities and what's needed for success.
• Develop a 12-month operational strategy that outlines:
• Key initiatives to build necessary capabilities
• Resource requirements and allocation
• Implementation timeline and milestones
• Success metrics and monitoring approach
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation of your operational strategy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, the interviewer should highlight one strategic insight that was particularly valuable (e.g., "Your identification of the need to build data analytics capabilities before expanding into new markets shows good strategic thinking").
• The interviewer should also provide one area where the strategy could be strengthened (e.g., "The timeline for implementing the new inventory management system seems optimistic given the complexity").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to refine one aspect of their implementation plan based on the feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time should we allocate for these work samples in our interview process?

The full set of exercises would require significant time commitment from both candidates and your team. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises most relevant to your specific needs. The data analysis or process improvement exercises work well as take-home assignments, while the cross-functional collaboration role play is most effective in person.

Should we use real company data for these exercises?

While using real data creates authenticity, we recommend creating fictional but realistic datasets to protect confidential information. The scenarios should closely mirror actual challenges your Business Operations Manager would face, but with anonymized or modified data.

How do we evaluate candidates consistently across these exercises?

Develop a structured scoring rubric for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies in your job description. Have the same evaluators assess all candidates using this rubric, and conduct a calibration session before beginning interviews to ensure consistent standards.

What if a candidate has limited experience with the specific tools or processes in our exercises?

Focus evaluation on the candidate's approach and thinking process rather than familiarity with specific tools. A strong candidate might not know your exact systems but should demonstrate sound analytical thinking, strategic approach, and learning agility. Consider providing a brief overview of any specialized tools they'll need to use.

How should we incorporate these exercises into our broader interview process?

These exercises work best as part of a comprehensive assessment that also includes behavioral interviews and culture fit evaluation. Consider using one of the shorter exercises (like the data analysis) earlier in the process as a screening tool, and saving more involved exercises for final candidates.

Should candidates have access to resources or the internet during these exercises?

For take-home exercises, candidates should have access to resources as they would in a real work environment. For in-person exercises, providing access to basic tools like Excel is appropriate. The goal is to assess how candidates would actually approach these challenges on the job.

The hiring process for a Business Operations Manager should be as strategic and well-designed as the operational improvements they'll implement in your organization. These work sample exercises provide a practical way to evaluate candidates' abilities to analyze data, improve processes, collaborate across functions, and develop operational strategies.

By incorporating these exercises into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' capabilities than traditional interviews alone can provide. This approach helps ensure you select a Business Operations Manager who can truly drive operational excellence and contribute to your organization's success.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find more information about the Business Operations Manager role in our comprehensive job description.

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