What Is an Operations Associate? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

Operations associates support business operations and the needs of operations managers. Here’s what to know about an operations associate’s needed skills, salary and how to become one.

What Is an Operations Associate?

Operations associates provide business and administrative task assistance for a company. They can be involved in multiple projects or tasks at once, giving them a wide-ranging perspective on areas for process improvement within a company.

What Do Operations Associates Do?

Operations associates perform administrative tasks like scheduling, tracking and maintenance to support general business operations and management.

Operations Associate Responsibilities

• Carry out daily administrative and clerical tasks. 
• Organize documentation and information like employee schedules, payrolls and project progress.
• Provide suggestions and feedback on business processes.
• Collaborate with operations managers and project managers to determine task assistance needs.

Operations Associates Within a Company

Operations associates can exist in various departments within a company, including areas of finance, HR and IT. They tend to report directly to a team’s operations manager or project manager.

Importance of Operations Associates

Operations associates cover routine, foundational administrative tasks that can affect every company employee. They ensure that overall procedures are running smoothly and as intended, accounting for any operations management gaps that may exist.

What Skills Are Needed to Be an Operations Associate?

Qualifications to Be an Operations Associate

• One or more years of experience in operations, business, customer service or similar roles.
• Ability to organize and prioritize task components based on company needs. 
• Ability to communicate procedural concerns and suggestions.
• Fluency in Microsoft 365 and/or Google Workspace applications.

Operations Associate Prerequisites

• GED or bachelor’s degree in business, marketing or related field.

Operations Associate Hard Skills

• Experience with productivity software tools (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).
• Knowledge of database management system software (Microsoft Access, MySQL, Oracle Database).
• Familiarity with data entry and documentation.
• Basic mathematics knowledge for business use.

Operations Associate Soft Skills

• Analytical skills.
• Customer service skills.
• Detail orientation. 
• Verbal and written communication. 

Tools and Programs Operations Associates Use

• Google Workspace
• Microsoft 365
• MySQL
• Oracle Database 
• SQL

How to Become an Operations Associate

Operations Associate Education and Experience

Depending on the needs of each company, an operations associate may require a GED or a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing or related field. 

Operations associates are often expected to hold knowledge of general business operations and practices, data entry and organization, productivity software (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365), database management software and basic mathematics. 

Operations Associate Certificates and Courses

• Accounting: From Beginner to Advanced!
• Bookkeeping Basics #1: Understand the Fundamentals
• SQL - MySQL for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
• SQL Nanodegree Program

Operations Associate Career Path

Professionals will likely need to gain entry-level business or operations experience before stepping into the operations associate role. After associate experience, professionals can move into roles like operations specialist, operations manager and eventually director of operations.

Operations Associate Salary and Job Outlook

Operations associates are expected to see below average job growth within the coming years, according to Zippia.

The full compensation package for an operations associate depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average operations associate salary.