Effective Work Samples for Hiring a Commercial Operations Director

The Commercial Operations Director role is pivotal in driving organizational revenue growth and operational efficiency. This leadership position requires a unique blend of strategic thinking, analytical capabilities, cross-functional collaboration skills, and team leadership. Traditional interviews often fail to reveal whether candidates truly possess these competencies or merely talk about them convincingly.

Work samples and role plays provide a window into how candidates actually approach complex commercial operations challenges. By observing candidates tackle realistic scenarios, hiring teams can assess their problem-solving methodology, communication style, and leadership approach in action. This dramatically reduces the risk of hiring someone who interviews well but cannot execute effectively.

For Commercial Operations Director candidates, practical exercises should evaluate their ability to analyze data, optimize processes, implement technologies, and lead teams across departments. The right work samples will reveal whether candidates can translate their experience into tangible results for your organization.

The following four exercises are designed to evaluate the critical competencies required for Commercial Operations Director success. Each provides clear instructions for implementation and evaluation, ensuring a consistent and fair assessment process. By incorporating these exercises into your interview process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and make more informed hiring decisions.

Activity #1: Sales Operations Diagnostic Analysis

This exercise evaluates a candidate's analytical thinking, data interpretation skills, and ability to identify operational inefficiencies. Commercial Operations Directors must regularly analyze sales performance data to spot trends, identify bottlenecks, and recommend process improvements that drive revenue growth.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a mock sales operations dataset that includes 3-6 months of sales data with metrics such as:
• Pipeline conversion rates by stage
• Sales cycle length by product/service
• Win rates by sales rep/team
• Customer acquisition costs
• Revenue by product/service line
• Include some obvious and some subtle inefficiencies in the data (e.g., declining conversion rates at a specific pipeline stage, inconsistent performance across teams)
• Provide context about the fictional company's sales structure, goals, and current challenges
• Allow candidates 45-60 minutes to review the data and prepare their analysis
• Schedule a 30-minute presentation and discussion session

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided sales operations data and company context
• Identify 3-5 key insights or inefficiencies in the current sales operations
• Develop specific, actionable recommendations to address these issues
• Prepare a brief presentation (10-15 minutes) outlining your findings and recommendations
• Be prepared to discuss your analytical approach and prioritization rationale
• Include potential implementation challenges and how you would address them

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide one piece of positive feedback about the candidate's analytical approach or recommendations
• Offer one suggestion for improvement (e.g., "I'd like to see more focus on implementation timeline" or "Consider how these changes might impact the customer success team")
• Ask the candidate to expand on how they would modify one of their recommendations based on this feedback
• Evaluate their receptiveness to feedback and ability to adapt their thinking

Activity #2: Cross-Functional Alignment Role Play

This role play assesses the candidate's ability to facilitate collaboration between sales, marketing, and customer success teams—a critical responsibility for Commercial Operations Directors. It evaluates communication skills, stakeholder management, and the ability to drive consensus while addressing competing priorities.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a conflict between departments (e.g., marketing is generating leads that sales claims are low quality, while customer success reports implementation challenges with recently closed deals)
• Assign 3-4 team members to play department heads with specific concerns and priorities
• Provide the candidate with background information 24 hours before the exercise
• Schedule a 45-minute meeting where the candidate will facilitate a discussion to address the cross-functional challenges
• Brief your role players on their characters' perspectives and pain points

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the scenario and department information provided
• Prepare an agenda and approach for facilitating the cross-functional meeting
• During the 45-minute role play, your goal is to:
• Identify the root causes of misalignment between departments
• Facilitate productive discussion that acknowledges each team's challenges
• Guide the group toward practical solutions that address underlying issues
• Establish clear next steps and accountability measures
• Focus on building consensus while ensuring decisions support overall business objectives

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one aspect of the candidate's facilitation that was particularly effective
• Offer one suggestion for how they could have better addressed a specific challenge or stakeholder
• Give the candidate 5-10 minutes to reflect and explain how they would modify their approach based on this feedback
• Evaluate their self-awareness and ability to adapt their leadership style

Activity #3: Sales Technology Implementation Planning

This exercise evaluates the candidate's strategic thinking around technology implementation—a key responsibility for modern Commercial Operations Directors. It assesses their understanding of sales technology ecosystems, change management capabilities, and ability to align technology investments with business objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario about implementing a new sales technology (e.g., transitioning to a new CRM, adding sales enablement software, implementing a CPQ solution)
• Provide context about current systems, business goals, and challenges
• Include information about team size, structure, and any relevant constraints (budget, timeline)
• Allow candidates 2-3 days to prepare a comprehensive implementation plan
• Schedule a 45-minute presentation and discussion session

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the technology implementation scenario and company context
• Develop a comprehensive implementation plan that includes:
• Strategic rationale: How this technology supports business objectives
• Implementation timeline with key milestones
• Resource requirements and team structure
• Change management and training approach
• Success metrics and ROI measurement
• Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
• Prepare a 20-minute presentation of your plan
• Be prepared to discuss your prioritization decisions and implementation approach

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, highlight one strength of the candidate's implementation plan
• Provide one challenge or consideration they may have overlooked
• Ask the candidate to revise their risk mitigation strategy based on this feedback
• Evaluate their ability to think on their feet and incorporate new perspectives into their planning

Activity #4: Team Performance Coaching Simulation

This simulation assesses the candidate's leadership and coaching abilities—essential skills for developing high-performing commercial operations teams. It evaluates their approach to performance management, feedback delivery, and talent development.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a fictional team member with specific performance challenges (e.g., a sales operations analyst who produces good work but consistently misses deadlines, or a sales enablement manager who creates friction with the sales team)
• Provide background information including the employee's role, performance history, and team context
• Have someone role-play the team member during a coaching conversation
• Brief your role player on how to respond to different coaching approaches
• Schedule a 30-minute coaching session

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the information about the team member and their performance challenges
• Prepare for a coaching conversation aimed at improving their performance
• During the 30-minute role play:
• Establish rapport and create a constructive environment
• Discuss specific performance issues with clear examples
• Listen actively to understand underlying causes
• Collaborate on solutions and development opportunities
• Establish clear expectations and follow-up mechanisms
• Your goal is to address the performance issue while maintaining a positive working relationship

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, provide feedback on one effective aspect of the candidate's coaching approach
• Offer one suggestion for how they could have better addressed the team member's concerns or resistance
• Ask the candidate to demonstrate how they would modify their approach in a follow-up conversation
• Evaluate their adaptability and emotional intelligence in handling feedback

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Each exercise requires 45-60 minutes of direct interaction with the candidate, plus preparation time. We recommend spreading these across multiple interview stages rather than conducting all in one day. The Sales Operations Diagnostic and Technology Implementation exercises work well as take-home assignments followed by in-person discussions, while the Cross-Functional Alignment and Coaching exercises are best conducted live.

Should we use real company data for these exercises?

While using real data creates authenticity, we recommend creating mock datasets that mirror your actual challenges but don't expose sensitive information. This approach protects confidentiality while still testing relevant skills. If using real data is important, consider having candidates sign an NDA before participating.

How should we evaluate candidates across multiple exercises?

Create a standardized scorecard for each exercise that maps to the key competencies for the role. Have each interviewer complete their assessment independently before discussing candidates. Look for consistent patterns across exercises rather than focusing too heavily on performance in any single activity.

What if we don't have team members available to participate in the role plays?

The role plays are most effective with multiple participants, but you can modify them if resources are limited. For the Cross-Functional Alignment exercise, one interviewer can play multiple roles, or you can simplify to a discussion about how the candidate would approach the scenario. For the Coaching Simulation, any team member with some acting ability can play the role effectively with proper briefing.

How do we ensure these exercises don't create a poor candidate experience?

Be transparent about your process and the time commitment required. Provide clear instructions and adequate preparation time. Schedule exercises at convenient times for the candidate and respect time boundaries. Most importantly, provide thoughtful feedback regardless of hiring outcome—candidates appreciate the development opportunity these exercises provide.

Should we compensate candidates for time spent on take-home exercises?

For extensive exercises requiring significant preparation (like the Technology Implementation Planning), consider offering compensation, especially for senior roles. This demonstrates respect for candidates' time and expertise while ensuring they can dedicate appropriate effort to the assignment.

The Commercial Operations Director role is too critical to rely solely on traditional interviews. By incorporating these practical work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' capabilities and make more informed hiring decisions. These exercises evaluate not just what candidates know, but how they apply that knowledge to drive commercial success.

For more resources to enhance your hiring process, explore our AI Job Description Generator, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator. You can also find a comprehensive job description for the Commercial Operations Director role here.

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