Office manager is an English term used to describe the job of administrative manager or executive assistant. Indeed, the office manager assists the general manager in managing their departments.
Therefore, they play a key role in human resources, as well as in administration, management, and even commerce. The office manager is a jack-of-all-trades who can do everything.
The office manager is responsible for connecting employees and managers. Their primary role is to implement a management policy within the departments. However, often working in a small or medium-sized business, they must possess cross-functional skills.
A company will recruit an office manager to assist employees with all administrative aspects. They also play an important role with the accounting department, as they will be the one to pass on important information to this department.
With experience, the office manager becomes the key player in the company. They're the ones who implement all the management's decisions. In some companies, they may even manage the company's finances.
This person will manage the deployment and oversight of the company's projects once they have been approved by management. The success of a very small business or a small to medium-sized business depends directly on their skills.
An office manager should have:
- Understanding hierarchy,
- A great capacity for adaptation,
- Interpersonal skills to be as much the ear of the employees as of the boss.
- Good verbal communication skills,
- An excellent understanding of the challenges facing the company,
- Skills in team management,
- Proficiency in software suites such as Pack Office,
- A good ability to prioritize tasks to be performed,
- An ability to understand and manage a budget.
The office manager often holds a 2-year degree in one of the following fields:
- BTS (Advanced Vocational Diploma) in management, support for managerial action (BTS SAM),
- BTS (Advanced Vocational Diploma) in accounting,
- BTS (Advanced Vocational Diploma) in SME-SMI management assistance,
- BTS (Advanced Vocational Diploma) in management.
- DUT GEA (business and administration management).
Holders of a Bachelor's degree (Bac+3) have often completed professional training in one of the following fields:
- Professional degree in organizational management
- BUT GEA (business and administration management),
- Management degree
- Management degree.
There are training courses available to become an office manager, allowing you to apply for an executive assistant position with just a high school diploma. However, without qualifications, it will be very difficult to access this type of position, due to the range of skills required.
Gross €24,000 per year at the start of a career, i.e. a net salary after tax of around €1,527. With experience, an office manager can earn up to gross €48,000 per month, i.e. around €2,760 net after tax.
In large companies, the office manager can negotiate the payment of a 13th month's salary, and sometimes even a 14th month's salary!
What if you became a freelance office manager?
Today, freelance office managers have many tools to structure and develop their business. Platforms like Plateya play a key role by facilitating access to assignments that match their skills, while also offering a space for exchange and skills development. Thanks to these accelerators, freelance office managers can expand their network, refine their professional approach, and access strategic resources to meet the expectations of companies effectively and flexibly.
With experience, the office manager can aspire to the position of administrative and financial director of a company, head of general services or head of the legal department.
The range of possibilities is wide, as the office manager has developed solid cross-functional skills. Their career development will directly depend on their favorite areas.
Written by our expert Cyril SCHWASTIAK
November 22, 2022
