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The Office Administrator

Why is it that when people hear the job title Office Administrator, they tend to think that the person’s only duty is to sit behind a desk and answer the telephone? Not even a receptionist has that few duties.

Well for those of you who may not know, we office administrators also referred to as office managers, administrative managers and by other titles, do more than answer a telephone. As a matter of fact, we are the core of every successful business.

The role of the office administrator is supportive in nature and duties and responsibilities are wide but varied within different organizations.

Five basic functions of office administrators are those of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. The characteristics of these functions are very extensive.

  • Planning involves determining what is to be done, who will do it and what resources will be needed
  • Organizing is the determining of who is best qualified for a particular job and assigning the appropriate person
  • Staffing is the selection and training of individuals for specific job functions
  • Directing involves giving instructions, guiding, counselling, motivating and leading other employees of the organisation to achieve organizational goals.
  • Controlling is where anticipated results are compared to actual results and taking corrective action if required

An office administrator’s knowledge ranges in, but is not limited to

  • Records management
  • Date processing
  • Word processing
  • Mail services
  • Job analysis and job evaluation
  • Office equipment
  • Office layout
  • Productivity improvement

As I work in a small organization my duties may not cover every single aspect of the above mentioned functions, but I surely cover most.

Working in a public relations company, in addition to performing the above tasks, my duties extend to media monitoring, through clipping of newspapers, listening to the radio and scouting the internet for mentioning of clients, event planning and the writing of a weekly blog to share knowledge and ideas on the company’s website.

So before you judge the amount of work someone does or how hard you think they work, take time to consider what goes into performing that job and ask yourself if you could get it done.

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