The primary responsibility of the Chief Operations Officer (COO) is the day-to-day oversight of agency processes. S(he) typically reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and works closely with all departments heads — Account Service, Creative, Media, IT, Accounting, and Traffic.
The COO may also be known as the Director of Operations and, in some smaller agencies, carry the simultaneous title of President. The role of COO is highly situational, varying from company to company and industry to industry
The COO aids in the development, design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the agency’s products (e.g. Accounting and workflow management systems, IT tools, etc.). S(he) helps ensure that business operations are efficient and effective. This is accomplished by overseeing the proper management of resources, distribution of goods and services to customers, and ongoing analysis of systems.
Other COO responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Developing and conveying the agency’s mission statement to lower-ranking staff
- Implementing appropriate reward and recognition programs
- Maintaining and monitoring staffing requirements for meeting agency goals and expectations
- Recommending corrective measures for aligning personnel with company goals
- Carefully prioritizing customer, employee and agency needs
- Helping to define and monitor performance measures for the overall agency
- Maintaining a strong, trust-based relationship with the CEO and other top-level executives
- Driving the agency to achieve (and surpass) sales, profitability and cash flow goals and objectives
- Conducting regular meetings with department heads to ensure that priorities are clear
- Facilitating the resolution of issues between departments
Through these actions, the COO fosters a success-oriented, accountable environment within the agency. S(he) conveys this atmosphere to outside clients, investors, and business partners as well.