If managing an office were an easy task they wouldn’t dedicate an entire role to doing it, now would they? In fact, an office manager is much like a ship’s captain, and if you are the lucky individual that has the responsibility of making sure the office is run without a hitch, the following tips can help you run the tightest ship possible.
Set out your expectations and enforce them consistently
If you want to be the sort of office manager that doesn’t have to be on top of everybody for little issues like being tardy or messy, it’s best to set our what you expect from people at the very beginning, and then keep to these consistently.
That doesn’t mean you have to come down on people like a tonne of bricks everytime they do something wrong, though. In fact, sometimes a quiet word in someone’s ear can be enough to warn them to change their behaviour for the better. However, this technique only works effectively if you also have set expectations for your employees, as then they know exactly what is expected of them. Something that makes it much easier for them to comply.
Ban gross and inappropriate office behaviour
There has been a lot in the media recently about inappropriate behaviour at work, and it’s definitely worth reminding everyone of what is OK, and what isn’t in the workplace with regard to harassment and bullying.
In addition to this, it can be a good idea to identify the worst office habits that your employees have such as leaving bins emptied over the weekend, or not clearing up after themselves, and nip these in the bud. Otherwise, you risk making the office environment an unpleasant and even unhygienic place for you and everyone else to work. Something that can be particularly bad for motivation as well as health and safety.
Don’t mix business with pleasure
While it’s lovely to go to work every day and be surrounded by your best buddies, in reality, life isn’t like that. In fact, you can as office manager do yourself a disservice in trying to be friends with everyone, as it can make it a lot harder to actually discipline them when they need it.
After all, no one wants to have to tell their best mate that they are doing a subpar job, or they made a major mistake on their last project. That is why to run a tight ship, it can be a lot better to keep things on a pleasantly professional level in the office and keep your real friends for outside of the workplace.
Organisation is always worth investing in
Last, of all, it’s essential that you maintain the best organisation of your office space as possible. For some folks, this is not a big ask at all, as they love nothing better to put everything back where it belongs before they head off for the weekend. However, for others that are less naturally gifted with organisation skill, you may need to help them out by making your filing and organisation system very easy to follow to ensure that you run a tight a ship as you possibly can.
