Being an Office Manager is a bit like being a parent, each day throws up new challenges and you either learn quickly, on the go, or you’ll end your day sitting in a corner, hugging your phone.
One day I can be updating our social media, creating a tender evaluation or typing up notes and the next day I might be chasing feedback on a technical enquiry, liaising with builders & electricians with my Project Manager hat on, or learning to be an apprentice coder (yesterday’s job!)
With days in the office currently accompanied by the sound of banging, drilling and sawing, we have really had to make the most of the fully cloud based, remote capabilities Economit have in place. We can literally work from anywhere, access anything and through the use of Skype for Business, we can ‘meet’ and collaborate online. We have various project management tools at our disposal providing us with the ability to track the progress of tasks, record our time and share documents with colleagues & clients, and as this is all in the cloud too, we can do it all from our mobile phones if needed. Our cloud based accounting software enables real time financials to be on hand whenever we need them, we know as soon as an invoiced has been read. We have tools that encourage accountability and we understand that communication in any business is everything.
Every Friday, team members create a ’4 box chart’ which is discussed in detail in our early Monday morning meeting, with the idea that this creates visibility and aids transparency. More often than not, our consultants are on the road travelling to site. The use of our VoIP phone system enables mobility, we can create a conference call, and with our team spread across the midlands, it’s as good as any face-to-face meeting. In a business where everyone is stretched, such capabilities are invaluable.
It is things such as this that enable me to do my job to the best of my ability and not finish the day phone-hugging, never will you hear me say ‘I’ll find out when I get back to the office’ or ‘I’ll just go and dig it out of the file’, with information at our fingertips and a great team, being an Office Manager is officially easier than being a parent. Now, where can I find a cloud based behaviour chart?
