Running an office involves a million moving parts: ordering supplies, troubleshooting, dealing with vendors, maintenance, payroll, etc.
Another important part of a manager's job is helping the office function on a daily basis. And the more efficiently an office is run, the more successful a business can perform.
Here are five tips to follow to keep your office running smoothly.
1. Organize.
Becoming meticulously organized takes time, but so does searching for things amid clutter and chaos. That's why it's best to err on the side of organization. By taking the time to put everything in its place — from food items to office supplies — you'll spend less time looking for things and less time telling employees where they can find things. Be sure to arrange files, paperwork, and supplies in a clear and concise way, and avoid creating clutter by regularly getting rid of items you don't need.
2. Promote self-sufficiency.
Your job is to manage the duties of the office, not serve as other employees' mother or maid. While a large part of your job will be to maintain order and cleanliness, it's important that you don't encourage employees to be helpless. Establish order in the office by laying down ground rules. For example, require employees to load the dishwasher to help reduce the time you spend cleaning up in the kitchen.
3. Put things on autopilot.
Having to remember countless details each day can get overwhelming. This is especially true for minor details such as re-upping on office supplies. To prevent yourself from forgetting to order supplies or equipment, schedule weekly or monthly reminders. And whenever possible, create recurring orders for specific supplies, such as weekly food orders or ink-cartridge replacements.
Services like HP's SureSupply Auto-Delivery take the stress out of keeping track of reorders. With Auto-Delivery, customers get notified when their printer is running low on toner and ink and are given the option to reorder.
4. Become a pro at multitasking.
Office managers are required to put out a lot of fires throughout the day while managing their own workload. To do this effectively it's important to be able to juggle multiple tasks at any given time, such as managing a team of administrators, working with vendors, planning staff meetings, and ordering supplies. Prioritize what you have to do each day while doing your best to not be distracted. (Being able to manage time effectively helps with multitasking tremendously.)
5. Maintain a positive attitude.
Managing an office can be stressful given that there are so many things to do at one time and so many people to please. That's why it's essential to keep a positive attitude when dealing with coworkers. No matter how repetitive questions become or how helpless employees behave, you should try your best to be friendly, approachable, and — most importantly — patient when interacting with coworkers in the office.
Learn more about how to automate your printing supply needs.
This post is sponsored by HP.
