As an office manager, your knowledge of the office is top notch – you know who to call and when. Whether calculating payroll or hiring new employees, you must perform your duties with the upmost accuracy for a business to perform well. Everybody knows that office managers must be multi-taskers, but here are five other skills that are equally as important to be an efficient office manager.
1) Exceptional Communication Skills
There is no denying that miscommunication can lead to terrible problems for a business. So in order to combat this, it is important that as an office manager, you listen well and provide clear input, answers and advice. This goes further than face-to-face conversation, as written communication is just as important, especially in an office environment. With emails, you want to incorporate the most important information up front as the recipient is probably going to pay more attention to the words that they read first. Re-read your email before you send it. If you think you’ve sent something misleading or confusing to a member of staff– just pick up the phone or visit their desk to explain.
2) Organisation and Time Management Skills
Tracking your time over the duration of a few days will help you assess exactly how long a task takes. If you and your staff understand how long a task takes to complete – you can schedule your time more productively and accurately. This carefully links into organisational skills as they are both critical in completing tasks on time and making sure your day runs smoothly. Keep items and documents in their proper places to allow easy access by any staff member who needs them. This will get rid of ‘wasted time,’ when an individual is busy looking for something particular rather than being able to work.
3) The Ability to be an Innovative Thinker and Have a Creative Mind
As the office manager, there are going to be difficult situations that you can’t control, as well as challenges that you need to overcome. The best way to overcome these difficult situations is to approach them with an innovative mind-set. You should try and think outside of the box as often as you can – you should constantly expose yourself to new ideas and industry trends to continue to develop your creativity and innovative mind. This will bring increased positivity to your office environment.
4) The Ability to Stay Optimistic
Sometimes in a stressful situation, it can be easy to forget to smile and stay happy. Using humour in the workplace, smiling and embodying a positive attitude will lift morale in the team. This means you should be able to keep the positive attitude on your bad days. Being an office manager – you need to continue to motivate your members of staff regardless of personal circumstances or bad situations so remember to stay optimistic.
5) The Want to Continue Learning
Nobody is perfect. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the top of the ladder – you can still learn. The best office managers know this and embrace the chance to continue learning. Seek related education and work experience, find courses that may be relevant and read everything and anything! You should also be open to learning from your staff members - accept that sometimes they might know things that you don’t – and that’s okay.