Overview of Office Administration

Office administration is a set of day-to-day activities related to financial planning, billing and recordkeeping, personnel, and physical distribution and logistics, within an organization.

Office administration includes planning work assignments for staff, supervising staff, and requesting new office equipment and repairs on existing equipment.

Office administration is the process of overseeing the day-to-day operations of an office. The task of administration is usually the responsibility of an office administrator or manager. Depending on the general operating structure of the organization, and the complexity of tasks associated with the operation in general, the responsibilities of the manager or administrator may focus on a few core tasks, or involve the management of a wide range of functions.

One of the core tasks associated with office administration is the management of the employees associated with the office. Typically, office administrators are responsible for supervising the office staff, making sure that each employee has resources necessary to competently carry out his or her assigned duties. Administrators also function as troubleshooters, providing support and assistance to employees when unusual situations arise during the completion of an assigned task. It is not unusual for administrators to be responsible for conducting periodic employee evaluations, recommending pay increases, or providing employees with remedial or cross training as a means of assisting those employees to improve their relationships with the employer.