what does an office manager do?

Office managers play a pivotal role in administrative environments, ensuring that everyone has the workspace, tools and cultural support they need to do their best work. Equal parts business leader and cheerleader, their top priority is making sure their office — and its people — operate smoothly, day in and day out.

So what does a day in the life of an office manager look like? Although an office manager's duties can vary greatly depending on the size of their team and the office they manage, here are the typical responsibilities of these masterful conductors:

• organizing meetings and other appointments
• managing office budgets
• analyzing financial information and drafting reports and summaries
• handling internal and external correspondence
• collaborating with the HR team on new-hire onboarding
• serving as a key point of contact for vendors, clients and external consultants
• supervising secretarial, clerical and administrative staff
• implementing and monitoring office policies and procedures
• ensuring health and safety protocols are up-to-date
• ordering office supplies, computers and furniture

what are the key skills of an office manager?

With so much on their plates, office managers need an equally diverse set of skills to be successful. At their core, office managers are skilled communicators — whether that's via virtual conferencing, over the phone, through email or greeting visitors in person once it's safe to do so — and highly organized, performance-driven people.

If that sounds like you, then you'll need to start thinking about which skills to highlight on your resume. To make the case for your candidacy as strong as possible, be sure to bring these skills front and center:

• strong written and verbal communication skills
• attention to detail
• teamwork and collaboration
• analytical and strategic thinking
• budgeting/bookkeeping
• adaptability
• leadership skills

how do you become an office manager?

There isn't one single road to becoming an office manager, but having some administrative experience will certainly bring you closer to landing one of the many office manager jobs out there.

Based on the roles posted to job boards in the past year, here are the core requirements to be considered for the role:

• high school diploma or GED (associate or bachelor's degree often preferred)
• anywhere from three to five years of experience in an administrative setting
• expert knowledge of Microsoft Office and related tools like Google for Business
• strong financial and business acumen
• ability to seamlessly manage multiple tasks and meet every deadline

what is the salary of an office manager?

Looking at the most recent compensation data available, average hourly wages for office managers can be bucketed into three tiers, depending on several factors — including your location, market, responsibilities and level of expertise. Here are the figures you need to know for each tier:

How does that translate in terms of annual salary? We've done the math for you:

Want to see more detailed information about office manager compensation across multiple locations or markets? Then be sure to check out our free salary comparison tool, which will give you all of the compensation intel you need before you start hitting the job boards.

key takeaways

We've covered a lot of ground, and hopefully you now have a clearer picture of what it takes to become a great office manager and what you'll be called upon to do once you land the job.

Here's a quick rundown of what we've covered in this article:

• what office managers do
• the essential skills you need to succeed
• the experience and core requirements often associated with the role
• salary expectations for office managers
• ... and a whole lot more!

Ready to start looking for your next office manager role? Begin your search today by taking a look at the office manager openings Randstad currently has in your area.