Successful Office Management
As an Office Manager, your job is to make sure that the administration and general running of the office is flawless. The staff looks to you to protect them from a shortage in office supplies, jammed photocopiers and a variety of other evils that may occur in the course of any work day.
The first of your priorities is to make sure that everybody has the stationery that they need in order to be able to do their jobs. You have to work within a budget and therefore you will be inclined to favour cheap office supplies over the more expensive brands.
Your next task is to choose the correct office equipment. This includes photocopiers, printers, fax machines etc. For this you’ll have to work closely with the IT department to ensure that the equipment meets the compliance standards of the computers and software that has been installed. Here too you will look for the best deal that will suit your budget.
Next on your agenda is to hire the office support staff. These could include a driver, a tea lade cum cleaner and a receptionist. You will also be required to train them into doing their jobs well and then supervise them as their performance increases. If there are any complaints about their performance you will be expected to sort out the issues that have arisen.
In addition to all this, you may also be required to handle day-to-day tasks such as summoning couriers, preparing the boardroom for meetings, arranging snacks for meetings, ordering lunches for the staff and doing mass photocopying for projects. Your performance will be measured according to how well you handle all the tasks assigned to you.
Occasionally you may need to arrange a special function outside of the office. This could be for a birthday celebration, the launch of a new product, Christmas / year end party, entertaining clients etc. You need to start and maintain a database of good establishments that you can use for these functions. It will be wise to negotiate favourable tariffs with these places so that you can maximise your budget for these functions.
Finally you may be expected to do travel arrangements for staff or clients / other visitors. You will need to book flights, reserve taxis, send out directions to their hotel / the office and make sure that their meals are paid for. This could be rather taxing as people often need to change their travelling plans to keep up with changing deadlines and other schedule changes. It is therefore best to book changeable flights and other transport.
Although it’s a busy portfolio, Office Management is a very rewarding career to follow.