Hints for the Office Manager or the Boss

You need not go around proving you are the boss if you are. So here are some suggestions:

- Don’t order, ask and be polite! It amounts to the same thing, but it sounds – and works- better.

- Remember that people work with you, not for you. People like to be spoken of as associates, not as slaves.

- Keep your promises. It’s important to make note of every promise whether it is something important or something you think less important.

- Criticize, if you must, only in private – and do it objectively. Never criticize anyone in public or in anger. And that goes for the mail clerk as well as for your assistant.

The Secretary

In most companies a secretary is hired strictly for business. If you have so little office work for her that she has time to manage your (or her own) personal affairs, you don’t need a secretary.

If you ask her to do something which is beyond the scope of her regular office work, realize that you ask a favour. However, this puts your relationship on a more personal basis.

Drawing room manners are out of place in an office, and you are not expected to jump to your feet and hold a chair for your secretary every time she comes into your office. But take care not to treat her as if she were nobody.

You should say a pleasant “Good morning” when you come in and “Please” and “thank you” at every opportunity. Don’t expect her to carry in the chairs for your meetings. Show a little interest in her health and mood. When you go out, let her know where you are going, how you can be reached and when you expect to return. She needs the information to fill in for you in your absence.

This is what you should expect of your secretary:

- Polite handling of your telephone calls.

- Courteous handling of your visitors.

When someone has an appointment with you, he should not be kept waiting but should be shown to your office at precisely the time agreed upon.

But if you are really busy, your secretary should go out to your visitor in person, explain your absence, convey your apologies and then give a definite idea of how much delay is inevitable.

If the visitor chooses to wait, your secretary should then make sure that he is comfortable. It is by no means necessary for her to “entertain” the visitor. She should go on with her work as soon as she has seen that he is comfortable.

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