What is the type of work in administration?

Office manager:Job description

1. Job description

Office managers organise and supervise all of the administrative activities that facilitate the smooth running of an office.

An office manager carries out a range of administrative and IT-related tasks, depending on the employing organisation. The work may vary from running the administrative side of a small employer's business as a sole administrator to overseeing the office work of numerous staff.

Although the work of an office manager differs greatly across organisations, they all have the responsibility for ensuring that their office runs efficiently. Job titles vary and office managers are often called office administrators, especially at more junior levels.

Typical work activities

The role varies according to the type of employer, the size of the organisation and the management structure, but activities typically include:

• using a range of office software, including email, spreadsheets and databases;
• managing filing systems;
• depending on the organisation, duties of the role may extend to the management of social media;
• developing and implementing new administrative systems, such as record management;
• recording office expenditure and managing the budget;
• organising the office layout and maintaining supplies of stationery and equipment;
• maintaining the condition of the office and arranging for necessary repairs;
• organising and chairing meetings with your staff - in lower paid roles this may include typing the agenda and taking minutes, but senior managers usually have an administrative assistant to do this;
• overseeing the recruitment of new staff, sometimes including training and induction;
• ensuring adequate staff levels to cover for absences and peaks in workload, often by using temping agencies;
• carrying out staff appraisals, managing performance and disciplining staff;
• delegating work to staff and managing their workload and output;
• promoting staff development and training;
• implementing and promoting equality and diversity policy;
• writing reports for senior management and delivering presentations;
• responding to customer enquiries and complaints;
• reviewing and updating health and safety policies and ensuring they are observed;
• arranging regular testing for electrical equipment and safety devices;
• attending conferences and training.

Personal assistant:Job description

1. Job description

A personal assistant (PA), sometimes called an executive secretary or personal/private secretary, works closely with senior managerial or directorial staff to provide administrative support, usually on a one-to-one basis. PAs help managers to make the best use of their time by dealing with secretarial and administrative tasks.

PAs need extensive knowledge of the organisation in which they work. They need to know who key personnel are (both external and internal) and understand the organisation's aims and objectives.

Managers often rely heavily on their PA, trusting that work will be handled efficiently in their absence. Discretion and confidentiality are therefore essential attributes for a successful PA.

Typical work activities

Personal assistants (PAs) often act as the manager's first point of contact with people from both inside and outside the organisation. Tasks are likely to include:

• devising and maintaining office systems, including data management and filing;
• arranging travel, visas and accommodation and, occasionally, travelling with the manager to take notes or dictation at meetings or to provide general assistance during presentations;
• screening phone calls, enquiries and requests, and handling them when appropriate;
• meeting and greeting visitors at all levels of seniority;
• organising and maintaining diaries and making appointments;
• dealing with incoming email, faxes and post, often corresponding on behalf of the manager;
• taking dictation and minutes;
• carrying out background research and presenting findings;
• producing documents, briefing papers, reports and presentations;
• organising and attending meetings and ensuring the manager is well prepared for meetings;
• liaising with clients, suppliers and other staff.

In addition to supporting managers, their team and departments, many PAs also have their own personal workload and responsibilities. The scope of the PA's role can be extensive and additional duties may include:

• carrying out specific projects and research;
• responsibility for accounts and budgets;
• taking on some of the manager's responsibilities and working more closely with management; 
• deputising for the manager, making decisions and delegating work to others in the manager's absence;
• being involved in decision-making processes.

Some PAs do all the secretarial work themselves, while others take responsibility for recruiting and training junior staff and delegate some of the less demanding and confidential work to them.

Secretary/administrator:Job description

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A secretary or administrator provides both clerical and administrative support to professionals, either as part of a team or individually. The role plays a vital part in the administration and smooth-running of businesses throughout industry.

Secretaries/administrators are involved with the coordination and implementation of office procedures and frequently have responsibility for specific projects and tasks and, in some cases, oversee and supervise the work of junior staff.

The role varies greatly depending on the sector, the size of the employer and levels of responsibility. Most work involves both written and oral communication, word processing and typing, and requires relevant skills such as IT, organisational and presentation skills, as well as the ability to multi-task and work well under pressure. In some cases, secretaries/administrators are required to have high-level qualifications and/or previous experience in specialist sectors, such as law, for example.

The role can often overlap with that of a personal assistant.

Typical work activities

Common tasks for the majority of secretaries/administrators include word processing, audio and copy typing, letter writing, dealing with telephone and email enquiries, creating and maintaining filing systems, keeping diaries, arranging meetings and appointments and organising travel for staff.

Depending on the sector, the role may also include many of the following:

• using a variety of software packages, such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, Excel, Access, etc., to produce correspondence and documents and maintain presentations, records, spreadsheets and databases;
• devising and maintaining office systems;
• booking rooms and conference facilities;
• using content management systems to maintain and update websites and internal databases;
• attending meetings, taking minutes and keeping notes;
• managing and maintaining budgets, as well as invoicing;
• liaising with staff in other departments and with external contacts;
• ordering and maintaining stationery and equipment;
• sorting and distributing incoming post and organising and sending outgoing post;
• liaising with colleagues and external contacts to book travel and accommodation;
• organising and storing paperwork, documents and computer-based information;
• photocopying and printing various documents, sometimes on behalf of other colleagues.

Other duties may include:

• recruiting, training and supervising junior staff and delegating work as required;
• manipulating statistical data;
• arranging both in-house and external events.