Day In The Life Of An Office Manager

Considering a career in administration? You may have heard job roles such as Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant and Office Manager. But what does an office manager do? Office managers can take on board a variety of job duties and work with an array of individuals. A typical day in the life of an office manager will be to oversee the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth running of an office, organising people, information and other resources.

In a small organisation you may carry out most of the tasks yourself, while at larger organisations you could supervise the work of a team.

Job Duties

As an office manager, you’ll need to use a range of software, including email, spreadsheets and databases, to ensure the efficient running of the office. You may also be asked to manage online and paper filing systems, and develop and implement new administrative systems, such as record management or record/manage office expenditure.

Other duties include organising the office layout and maintaining supplies of stationery and equipment, maintaining the office’s condition and arranging for necessary repairs and overseeing the recruitment of new staff, sometimes including training and induction.

Ensuring adequate staff levels to cover absences and peaks in workload, is another task that may be covered in the job role as well as carrying out staff appraisals, managing performance and disciplining staff.

Other duties include:

• promoting staff development and training
• implement and promote equality and diversity policy
• reviewing and updating health and safety policies and ensuring they’re observed
• checking that data protection laws are being adhered to in relation to the storage of data, and reviewing and updating policies

Qualifications

You can become an office manager with any degree subject or HND, but the following subjects may be particularly helpful:

• business administration/business management
• computing and information technology
• human resource management
• management
• public administration

Entry without a degree, HND or foundation degree is possible if you have relevant office experience and skills. Many office managers enter at an office administrator level and work their way up through experience.

Career prospects

The life of office manager isn’t usually an entry-level position, and you’ll typically have previous administrative or managerial experience, often in a related sector, before taking on the job. After gaining more experience as an office manager, there may be opportunities to step up into senior management and progress further to head of department.

The life of office manager can also be a good stepping-stone to the role of chief of staff. In this position, you would typically provide effective management and leadership in all areas of administration, staffing and personnel with responsibility for project management and completion.