ADD ADVICE TO FAVBusiness manager
Business managers monitor anything from a project to an entire organisation and analyse its general health and efficiency. They suggest and help implement changes.
What business managers do
- review current organisational effectiveness and make recommendations for improvements
- monitor the effectiveness of specific projects to see whether or not their objectives are being met
- work on various initiatives with members of the management team, with a view to controlling costs or generating new streams of income
- recommend ways of improving the use of staff, materials, equipment and other resources
- analyse any factors that affect business performance and predict possible outcomes and remedial measures.
Key skills
- good problem-solving skills
- creative thinking (particularly regarding how to make money)
- a strong focus on targets and objectives
- ability to work well with other management professionals
- good communication skills (particularly the ability to sell the benefits of organisational change to others)
- a proactive attitude: the ability to implement recommendations
- the ability to develop other people.
Training to be a business manager
Becoming a business manager often follows experience in other management areas. However, there are some graduate training schemes offering direct routes into this function. These schemes usually last between 12 and 24 months and include a mixture of on-the-job training, residential courses and professional qualifications.
Salaries
Graduate training schemes usually offer a starting salary in the range of £18,500 to £28,000.
Professional bodies
- Chartered Management Institute
- Institute of Leadership and Management
- Institute of Management Services
