This position, straight out of the Anglo-Saxon countries and more and more widespread in France, is now becoming an essential in small and medium-sized companies. The Office Manager is the central point of a company and coordinates the various departments through different key missions. He/she is often attached to the general management, which generally relies on him/her to focus on the commercial and managerial side of the company.
As the company's Swiss Army knife, he or she is above all a privileged interlocutor between the managers and the employees, who mainly manage all administrative matters. More generally, he or she is responsible for the overall smooth running of a company.
Main missions
Assistance to the general management
The main mission of an Office Manager is to assist the general management on a daily basis on various subjects. The management generally discharges various responsibilities that it entrusts to him. This key position is frequently solicited for missions related to logistics, administration and sometimes to the company's relationship.
Management of budgetary resources
Depending on the size of the company in which he/she works, the Office Manager can supervise the budgetary part (find out how to reduce your company's business travel budget in this article). He will then take care of the budget, whether it is for the implementation of projects that he will supervise or even the management of expense reports (we show you the best expense report management solutions in this article) and payrolls in certain cases.
Internal communication
He or she is also responsible for internal communication between the company's management and employees. This interlocutor between the different departments allows to keep a certain balance throughout the year.
Administrative management
The Office Manager is in charge of all administrative aspects of the company. Whether it's diaries, mail or the purchase of supplies, he or she manages all the little office hassles in order to offer the best possible working environment to all departments.
External Communication
In addition to being responsible for the smooth running of internal communications, he also handles external communications, since he is generally in contact with customers, suppliers, or even banks.
Typical profile
Required diplomas
There is no Office Manager training per se, however employers looking for their new nugget generally require a minimum of 2 years of higher education at the interview stage. There are certain training courses that provide the necessary skills, such as the BTS in assistant management (find out more in this article) or the DUT in business management. For the more financial side which is more and more in demand in small and medium sized companies, it is possible to go through a BTS in management accounting. A Master's degree in management is obviously a plus, especially for a possible interesting career development.
Technical skills
The Office Manager is a real Swiss Army knife, so he/she must bring with him/her to a company various technical skills. The mastery of office software is the main skill to have in this position. Nevertheless, he must also have very good writing skills and potentially master several foreign languages if he evolves for example in a larger company. Accounting knowledge will allow him/her to take on more financial responsibilities and management training will allow him/her to properly manage the liaison between the different departments.
Interpersonal skills
As technical skills are not the only ones that are important, an Office Manager must have different interpersonal skills. First of all, he or she is one of the focal points of all teams, so he or she must be extremely flexible. In order to ensure that all employees continue to work properly without any problems, it is essential for him to have excellent interpersonal skills with all departments, from management to the trainee. He has to be constantly listening to his employees in order to contribute to the general harmony. Also, in view of the various tasks entrusted to him, whether on the administrative, financial or communication side, he must be skillful and agile in order to move from one mission to another in a minimum of time. He/she will be constantly solicited, but will have to show a lot of autonomy since it is generally a single post (depending on the size of the company). Finally, an Office Manager must be curious, interested in different projects and not hesitate to make proposals.
Career and evolution
The salary can vary depending on the Office Manager's background and previous studies. The average salary for a junior is between 26K and 32K per year. The intermediate salary will generally be between 32K and 35K while that of a senior will be more around 35K to 50K.
There are many ways to evolve within a company. An Office Manager can for example become a general secretary, an administrative and financial manager or a general services manager (discover this position in this article). Since this is an extremely versatile position, he/she will be confronted with different opportunities during his/her career, depending on the company in which he/she finds himself/herself.
To conclude
The Office Manager nowadays has a truly central role in companies. Even if he is mainly there to assist the general management on certain subjects, his position offers him the possibility to evolve on different subjects, whether on the relational, administrative or financial part.
