Office Managers: We do it All

April 23, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Office managers are apparently still the Jacks and Jills of all trades - at least according to a new online survey by an office supply retailer.

A news release from the Staples Inc., said its online survey of 8,000 office managers from February 19 to March 16 found that many accomplish what would ordinarily be 10 different jobs drawing a total of $90,000 in salary – a hefty 65% more than the actual median pay for the office manager position.

More than half participating in the poll (54%) do the jobs of at least 10 different office workers in any one week, and nearly everyone (99%) performs the job of at least two people, according to the announcement.

The news release said f or most part the office manager job involves some combination of customer relations, IT support, human resources, administrative duties, promotion and accounting.

In terms of their “other titles:”

  • 78% identify themselves as one part “information technology manager;”
  • 74% do the job of a “human resources manager;” and
  • Two-thirds are in part the “secretary to the chief executive officer;”

“Customer service manager” and “purchasing manager” are the most commonly performed, with eight of 10 respondents serving these functions. Nearly three quarters of participants (74%) act as their office’s “housekeeping manager,” and seven of 10 (71%) lay claim to being their resident workplace psychologist.

R espondents listed a variety of unusual tasks also dropped in their laps, including:

  • Picking up the boss’ dog on the way to the airport so the dog could “say” farewell;
  • Releasing trapped bats from the workplace; and
  • Testing 200 phones on a Friday night to ensure they would work on the following Monday.

Staples enlisted compensation consultant Salary.com to analyze the responses and calculate a composite salary, resulting in the figure of $89,137.92. The current median salary for office managers is $53,654.53.

More information is at www.staples.com/myrealjob .

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