Office manager - who is this? Official duties of the office manager

"Plankton", "managery" - all these hard-hitting definitions refer to the work of office workers. But is such work useless? Office manager - who is this? What is the scope of his duties?

Office manager - who is this?

The profession of an office manager is often confused with the profession of a secretary. But there is still a difference between these specialties. So, the office manager - who is this?

The manager of this area is an office manager or administrator. He regulates office work, being an important informative link between employees and superiors, clients and employees, etc.

The more active the activity of an organization, the more problems it has with daily small organizational matters and documentation. Their implementation and provides an office manager.

He ensures that all current documents, as well as orders of the authorities, are properly designed. At the same time, managerial orders must be delivered on time to the firm's employees, all complaints from visitors must be taken into account, and the suggestions of employees are brought to the heads.

Thus, the office work, as well as communications in the company, fall partly on the shoulders of office managers.

Place of work and salary

Office manager is needed in any company that has an office, a manager and at least a few employees. In small organizations, the list of duties of such a specialist is much less than, for example, in a huge corporation. In a large company, office managers can be several, and each of them is assigned to its department.

It turns out that the demand for such specialists is quite high and, probably, will continue to grow. But only there are practically no career prospects. Especially if, in addition to office management, a person no longer owns any profession.

In view of the fact that the duties are not too complicated, competition for one job, at least in Russia, is quite high - 6 people for a job. At the same time, wages are low in the capital - 27 thousand rubles.

In the cultural capital - St. Petersburg - the salary of such workers is lower by about 5-7 thousand, and the competition is several times higher. The farther to the periphery of the country, the lower the salary and the more applicants for the post.

Necessary personal qualities

The orders that the office manager receives usually require urgent and prompt execution. Therefore, the applicant for the position requires, first of all, diligence, promptness and punctuality. Also a good memory and ability to concentrate.

The person holding this position should be friendly and sociable, because in certain situations he acts as a representative of the company.

The office manager must have a competent and logically built speech, as well as own business ethics, as he is often attracted to the organization of business negotiations and corporate meetings.

Useful knowledge, like the telephone number of a good electrician or the delivery service of meals, too, will not interfere. After all, in many companies the order in the office, as well as the satiety of employees are also controlled by the manager.

Required skills of an office manager

1. The first requirement for such an employee is a confident possession of the PC and the Internet. If in addition to Word and Excel, the applicant will own Photoshop or "Office picture manager" - this is another reason to hire him, and not someone else.
2. High speed printing. The ability to quickly type texts is one of the main ones for an office manager.
3. Skills in administrative management, obtained in previous jobs, are mandatory if a person settles in a large company.
4. Skills of conducting office work. Documentation is one of the main responsibilities of this type of specialist, so without basic knowledge, it is indispensable.
5. Confident use of office equipment. Faxes, printers, scanners - all this should be in the competence of the office manager.
6. Skills for literate and diplomatic communication. The office manager should not only competently communicate, he should be able to resolve conflict situations, if necessary.
7. Knowledge of foreign language. In large international companies, an office manager must have at least a basic English language.

General provisions of job description

The office-manager of the instruction is approved by the general director of the company. In different companies, it may differ by some points, but in general its basic provisions do not change. With the working instruction it is necessary to get acquainted even before the signing of the employment contract, so that later do not complain that it was not part of your plans to fulfill certain duties.

The general provisions may specify:

• Who is responsible for receiving the office manager for work;
• Who has the right to release him from office;
• Who obeys the employee;
• Who obeys the office manager;
• Who performs the duties of an office manager in his absence, etc.

As a rule, office managers are subordinate to the general director. In the subordination of the administrators of the office are couriers, drivers, cleaners, etc.

Also, in general provisions can be specified, the employee with what level of skills can be taken for the described position.

Direct responsibilities

The next item in the instructions prescribes the duties of an office manager.

For a resume to apply for a job, applicants are often placed in a separate box, which duties they performed at their previous work in the office. So the employer gets more information about the applicant's skills.

What items can be included in the immediate duties of the office manager?

1. Supervision of telephone calls. The employee must respond to incoming calls, to the best of his ability to answer questions from opponents, and also inform the authorities about the information that they asked to convey.
2. Supervision of documentation. Storage and accounting of documents, control of correspondence, execution of orders, etc. Are the direct duties of an office manager.
3. Reproduction of documents. On the special assignment of the chief the employee performs copying and multiplying works.
4. Registration of letters, requests - i.e. Keeping correspondence with partners, customers or suppliers at the request of the immediate supervisor.

The duties of an office manager may include at least six other types of work. But in each company the load on specialists of this category is determined individually.

Office manager rights

Any instruction of an office manager includes not only duties, but also rights.

1. To provide complete information. To perform certain tasks, the office manager has the right to demand the provision of that amount of information, including confidential information, as he needs.
2. To sound rationalization proposals. If for the organization of office work innovations or additional orders of the director general are necessary, the manager has the right to offer them to enter.
3. Require proper working conditions. If the duties can not be performed due to lack of necessary conditions, the office manager may demand that they be created.
4. To act within the limits of the competence. Having studied the job description, the employee has the right to make decisions independently and give orders, but only within his competence.

This is an approximate set of rights that the office manager has. They can be supplemented or reduced depending on the specifics of the institution.

A responsibility

Office manager is a profession that also assumes a certain responsibility. Its scope and punishment for violation of the rules is determined by each employer on an individual basis. The most common items on which responsibility rests, in job descriptions look something like this.

1. For negligent attitude to their duties. The untimely execution of orders and any other negligence is the fault of the employee for which it is necessary to answer.
2. For the disclosure of confidential information. In labor contracts and job descriptions, you should carefully read the privacy clauses. For her disclosure, you can often lose your job.
3. For violation of the sphere of competence. Actions beyond the sphere of competence of the employee are unacceptable.
4. For violation of labor regulations, etc. Violation of the work schedule, fire safety or safety regulations is also the responsibility of the employee.

Pros and cons of the profession

This profession has, like many others, a number of advantages and disadvantages. So, what are the advantages of working for an office manager?

The feedback of the workers who work on this front, first of all, concerns the high demand for this profession: after gaining some experience in this field, finding a better paid place is not difficult. Those skills of administrative and economic activity that are acquired in the course of work are relevant in everyday life. In addition, work as an office manager allows you to develop your communication skills.

Among the minuses - the increased psychological burden experienced by employees, because in one working day it is necessary to solve a lot of diverse issues. In addition, managers, in addition to direct duties, often burden office managers with personal requests and additional assignments.

Where to study the profession?

Office manager, who it is - is clear from the above. However, where can you learn this profession?

A special faculty that would train office managers is not available in any university. But quite often the head wants to be occupied by a person with a higher education. What kind of education will be, is not always important - the main thing is that the applicant is a graduate of the university. In provincial cities, this post can be taken even after 9 classes of education. Each company decides individually which office manager it requires.

Most of all the employer will be interested in other characteristics of the candidate:

• Whether he worked before in this field;
• How well the computer has power;
• Does the clerical work know;
• Whether he speaks languages, etc.

You can not discount the communication skills of a person. If these indicators are in order - the chances of getting a job increase.