Office Manager Responsibilities

An office manager's role and responsibilities vary from organization to organization. However, the basic nature of their work remains the same i.e. undertaking certain jobs such as supervision of the employees, which will help in running a business efficiently. Given below is a list of duties performed by an office manager in any given organization.

Administration
The foremost duty of an office manager is to maintain proper office records. For this, he should have a good knowledge of the various filing systems. An office manager has to see to it that the security and safety of all the official records is strictly maintained. This is especially true in case of hospitals and nursery homes. It is one of the most important responsibilities of an office manager to ensure that sensitive patient information is not leaked. Besides this, in a small organization, he might be expected to perform certain secretarial duties such as taking phone calls as well as typing important documents.

Maintenance and upkeep of the internal and external office structure, such as office furniture, electrical appliances, office building, etc. also fall under his job responsibilities. The office manager ensures that these things are in order so that the employees can work without any interruption.

Purchase
An office manager has to ensure that there are sufficient supplies in the office such as files, stationery, cleaning and bathroom supplies, etc. In a big organization, the office manager just has to make a list of things needed and give it to the purchase department, who in turn, orders for them. In a small size company however, it is the office manager himself, who does the ordering.

Accounting
Certain accounting works fall under the office manager's job description as well. An office manager is expected to maintain a record of office expenditures. He has to maintain a record of the working hours, leaves, etc. of the employees, which is then used to calculate their salary. An office manager is responsible for writing salary checks and then distributing them among the employees.

Recruitment, Training and Appraisals
In a big organization, it is the human resources department which undertakes hiring and training of new employees. But in small organizations, this business function falls under the office manager's job description. Thus, he is involved in recruitment, right from the time advertisements are placed in the newspapers inviting candidates to apply, to the interviews and until the final selection. Thereafter, an office manager undertakes training of the new recruits, making them familiar with the office policies and procedures. In some organizations, the office manager's inputs are taken during appraisals to evaluate the employees. Thus, an office manager has a big say in the employees salary hike or promotion as well.

Communication
If there are any changes in the office schedule, policies or procedures, it is the office manager's duty to communicate the same to the employees. Also, he has to ensure that the employees are following them in their day-to-day work. Besides this, any important notice or information, which has to be communicated to the employees by the management, is conveyed through the office manager.

To carry out these responsibilities, a person needs to have good people's skills, organizational skills, decision-making skills, communication skills as well as mathematical skills. The salary, in the initial phases of one's career, is not much, but with experience, it certainly becomes one of the most lucrative careers around. In America today, an office manager can expect anywhere around $55000 yearly salary after five years of experience. So, all those who want to get into this profession, start planning today as a graduate degree in either management, marketing or finance, is mandatory to become an office manager.