Office Manager

Office Manager
Job Description:

• Office Managers have a lot of responsibility, and this job requires great leadership skills. Whether you’re managing a group of people, you'll need to keep a level head, be able to multitask and have excellent people skills.

 

Office Manager Job skills

• The good news is that your training will teach you everything you need to know to succeed on the job. But here are a few skills you should have from the get-go:

 

•  Leadership: You will have several people you need to supervise in addition to handling general complaints, last-minute schedule changes, kitchen mess-ups and inventory problems. Office managers are leaders and should represent their corporate and themselves well by acting as a role model to the people reporting to them.
•  Organization: There will be a million and one things going on as an office manager and everyone will assume that you have it all worked out for them. You should be able to stay focused during busy times and delegate tasks to employees to keep business running smoothly.
• Recruiting and training: Office managers are usually the ones responsible for recruiting and interviewing quality people to staff your location, as well as making sure these new employees transition as smoothly as possibly into their jobs. You should be a good trainer who tries to help employees who are having difficulty picking up new skills.
•  Being friendly and outgoing: People skills and customer service are a must in this job. Not only will you interact with your employees every day, but you will also need to assist customers when they have questions, concerns or complaints. Put on a happy face and address these issues in a professional manner.
• Staying attentive: This is not a position where you can sit back, forget about the people around you and do your own thing. Your job is to be attentive to your employees by motivating them to succeed and improve. Even if business is slow, keep your staff in high spirits and be as helpful as possible to customers and clients.

 

Expected hours

• Shifts vary depending on the location, but most Office managers can expect to work a full 50-hour week. Availability on nights, weekends and holidays may be also required.
• 6 Days per week; 8 Hours per day

Job myth

“Office managers just shout orders at the employees they manage.”

While this job does require you to take control and delegate responsibilities to other workers, assistant managers get their hands just as dirty as their employees. One of the main requirements for this position is people skills, and ordering people around like servants doesn't fit the bill. You'll be so busy dealing with customers, answering phones, filing paperwork, training new employees, cleaning the store/office and covering shifts when you're shorthanded, you won't have time to sit back and relax while telling other people what to do.