munication needs of the company, that the deliveries are received and distributed to the right individuals in a timely manner, that broken equipment is repaired promptly (and at as little cost as possible, which means tracking warranty information), and that communication between employees is facilitated.
Office managers work with every department within an organization as well as with a variety of outside vendors and customers. Working with the purchasing department (in larger organizations), the office manager participates in office equipment decisions and handles any failures that occur. Working with the shipping and receiving department (in larger companies), the office manager makes sure that the company is using the most effective and efficient carriers for its own products, and receiving products in an equally efficient manner. In small companies, the office manager handles these responsibilities with little or no assistance; in larger companies, these tasks require considerable coordination.
Critical Success Factors for Office Managers
Office managers must possess the following skills: facility strategic and tactical planning; financial forecasting and budgeting; real estate procurement, leasing and disposal; quality management, benchmarking and best practices; and, telecommunications and technology. It is also critical that office managers understand the various personalities at the company in which they work as well as the office politics of the organization. Because the office management function is associated with traditional "perks" (such as office allocation or cubicle assignment), the office manager can be a particularly influential and powerful individual within the organization.
Because of the many roles that the office manager has, and because of the many people with which the office manager interacts, it is critical that the office manager be well versed in the corporate culture of a particular organi...