What is an Office Manager?

An Office Manager is a varied and all-encompassing role, focusing on ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of an office environment. A strong Office Manager is a lynchpin within an organisation, responsible for implementing and maintaining processes and procedures to ensure that the team (as a whole) can work in the most efficient way possible. The role typically involves administrative organisation and management responsibilities. The position is broad and plays a key role in all types of organisations, regardless of size, industry or sector.

Gone are the days where Office Managers are there to load the dishwasher or fix the printer; they are crucial for employee happiness, efficiency, retention, health and safety and more. It is a highly rewarding and well-respected role in an organisation with fantastic progression opportunities.

 
What does an Office Manager do?
Although the day-to-day duties of an Office Manager may vary depending on the type of organisation and size of the business, typical Office Manager duties can be seen below:

• Meeting and greeting guests and clients on arrival at the office
• Assisting with PA/EA duties such as managing diaries and inboxes, booking travel and accommodation, preparing reports and meeting agendas
• Managing meetings rooms, ensuring they are kept tidy, providing refreshments, and ordering catering
• Ordering of office equipment, furniture, and consumables
• Implementing office policies and procedures – such as onboarding documents, CRM systems, annual leave/holiday management etc
• Organising meetings, client events, and social activities for the team
• Managing the office budget/expenditure
• Getting involved with employee engagement, rolling out benefits, assisting with training and development
• Assisting with HR duties
• Liaising with building maintenance, dealing with vendors and contracts, as well as Health and Safety

The Office Manager role typically suits someone comfortable getting involved in all different levels and duties, whether big or small.

Interested in finding out more? Check out our Office Managers Pillar page for information on Office Manager salaries, How to become an Office Manager and Office Manager recruitment agencies.