There are many companies and organizations that are looking for an office manager. In recent years, the description office manager, also written as office manager, has been used increasingly in vacancies. The profession of office manager is a combination of a secretary and a management assistant. There is even a special higher professional education course in office management. The salary of an office manager can amount to approximately 3200 euros. In recent years, the term office manager has been increasingly used in the labor market. Sometimes it is also written as Office Manager. This term was initially mainly used in the business world, but later also found its way into the government sector and the non-profit sector. There is sometimes some confusion about what exactly is meant by an office manager. The profession is usually a combination of a secretary and a management assistant. However, these terms are used interchangeably in job vacancies. An office manager can also be used to refer to someone who is in fact a personal assistant. In that case, the office manager provides support to one or more directors within a company. In the most ideal situation, an office manager is someone who directs and is responsible for office operations. It could be a person who manages an entire department or someone who is the only office employee.
Activities of an office manager
An office manager is partly responsible for streamlining the various processes in a department. Sometimes he or she is also part of a management team. This can be useful because the office is often the place in a company where most lines come out. The office manager is therefore usually the person who has the best overview of what is happening in a company. An office manager’s day starts with prioritizing the daily activities. Subsequently, all kinds of questions and requests from customers or other departments within the company are followed up.
Working as an office manager
The advantage of an office manager is that they can work in almost any sector. This can vary from a ministry to a fleet. There are some competencies that are usually required of the office manager. For example, someone must be able to withstand stress. A lot is asked of an office manager and a lot of balls have to be kept in the air. Because someone has contact with many different departments and customers, an important competency is that someone is customer-oriented and has good communication skills. Furthermore, there are often many administrative processes, so someone must also be able to work accurately. Finally, it is important that someone must be able to set priorities. This is because there is a lot of work involved and someone must be able to indicate what is important and needs to be handled as a priority.
The salary and training of an office manager
Increasingly higher demands are placed on an office manager. Initially, the required level in vacancies was usually at intermediate vocational level, but organizations are becoming increasingly complex and larger and therefore the profession of office manager has also become more comprehensive. Job vacancies also increasingly require that the office manager speak good English. This is because companies are becoming increasingly English-speaking. In addition, a good knowledge of the Dutch language, spoken and written, is also required. Usually administrative or commercial training is required. There is now even a special higher professional education course for office management. The salary is usually between 2200 and 3200 euros. An office manager can grow into a communications officer or project officer. Sometimes separate further training is required.