What Does an Office Administrator Do?
Office administrators are responsible for administrative and organizational tasks, and they make sure that employees remain focused on assigned tasks. They prepare meetings, organize office procedures, deal with orders and invoices, compile factual and numerical data, check cash flow and maintain accounts. They utilize modern office communication techniques and diverse word-processing systems.
The key responsibility of office administrators is supervising support workers, such as secretaries and office clerks. Working in different types of business and government offices, they coordinate administrative support activities and ensure that every task is performed efficiently. They often manage the administrative support operations in a large firm and an entire office in a small company. They make decisions on the types of support duties required in their department or company as well as the list of necessary qualifications to perform specific jobs. For example, an office administrator in an accounting firm typically decides whether an applicant needs a bachelor’s degree to work as an accounting clerk. Administrators also deal with promotions, determine salaries and working conditions and assist in hiring administrative support staff. They devise rigorous training programs to hone the skills of new employees. When duties are duplicated in the office, they redefine jobs to attain maximum efficiency. Creating a new job or eliminating a current job are also in the hands of an office administrator.
