The title office manager brings to mind the secretary or clerk who has worked her or his way up in the office hierarchy to the top supervisory position. While this description is accurate to some degree, the field also includes office management positions that are much more complex and far-reaching.
In a small or medium-sized company, an office manager supervises the day-to-day work of a clerical staff that might include accounting functions such as billing, maintenance of personnel records, payroll, plus all other secretarial and clerical functions. The mail room, telephone switchboard, and duplicating and copier equipment also are part of the office manager's responsibilities. The size and makeup of the office staff varies depending on the company and its requirements.
In a large company, the office manager is responsible for a larger and much more complex office staff, often at multiple locations within the company buildings. With one of many possible titles—director of secretarial support systems, administrative manager, and office administrator—a manager at this level is involved in systems analysis and electronic data processing as well as office systems, procedures, and operations.
A rapidly growing specialty within this field is management of a centralized word processing facility within a company in which trained specialists, specific procedures, and the latest in automatic equipment are combined to handle the clerical needs of a variety of departments. Such a word processing manager coordinates the word processing services with the needs of the user departments and is responsible for staff levels and training, budgets, and design and implementation of word processing systems.
The number of the clerical workers varies from organization to organization depending on the nature of the organization. The greatest concentrations of clerical workers and the managers necessary to oversee their work are in public administration, insurance, finance, and banking. Other large employers are the wholesale and retail fields and manufacturing firms.
Related jobs include accountant, bank officer, civil service worker (federal, municipal, and state), computer programmer, industrial engineer, personnel manager, secretary, and systems analyst.
Places of Employment and Working Conditions
Although the usual office work week is 40 hours, office managers often put in extra hours. The responsibilities of planning and organization plus meetings with executives of user departments sometimes add many hours to the daily schedule.
The entire clerical staff may work under a great deal of pressure at times to meet deadlines and handle busy seasons.
Qualifications, Education, and Training
A successful office manager must have a talent for organization, an analytical mind, and the ability to work with detail. Creativity, resourcefulness, flexibility, self-assurance, tact, and the ability to get along with people are also necessary. Good communication skills and a background that includes clerical skills are solid assets.
A high school student looking forward to a career in office management should include business courses as well as those courses necessary to enter college or a good business school. Work experience in an office in a part-time or summer job is valuable preparation.
A college degree is usually necessary for a person to achieve the top levels in this field. Small businesses that require a degree often prefer a bachelor's degree in accounting, while large companies often prefer a degree in business administration. Some colleges offer a major or minor in office management.
Business schools, trade and technical schools, community colleges, and university extension programs also offer a variety of programs in this field, some leading to a degree. In addition to taking courses in office management, the student should include systems and procedures, data processing, accounting, and personnel management to acquire diversified business training. A number of two- and four-year degree programs offer electives in law or economics and other liberal arts courses to provide a well-rounded education.
Home study programs are also available for office management. The diploma awarded by such programs does not carry the prestige of a college degree, but many people find them convenient for supplementary study in specific areas of business management.
Large corporations often have training programs in office management, but these programs are usually open only to college graduates.
Regardless of educational background, people in this field continue to study throughout their careers. New development in office technology alone would require this. In addition to taking college courses, most office managers attend seminars and conferences sponsored by various professional societies as well as training sessions and workshops presented by office equipment manufacturers.
Potential and Advancement
There are about 1,183,000 office managers. Qualified office managers will continue to be in demand. While there will continue to be a place for the skilled clerical worker who advances through the ranks, the growing complexity of the office communications and data processing functions of even small companies will require more comprehensive knowledge and training than is acquired by that route. The best job opportunities will be for those with a college degree and diversified business experience.
Office managers are already at the middle-management level. In companies where the office administration function is a major component of the firm's service, office managers can advance to top-level executive positions.
Income
Salaries of office managers vary widely depending on size of the company and its clerical staff, responsibilities of the manager, and complexity of its operation. The supervisor or manager averages $40,000 annually.
Additional Sources of Information
American Management Association, New York, NY 10020
Association of Information Systems Professionals, Deerfield, IL 60015
Administrative Management Society, Trevose, PA 19047
