Hire an Office Manager Before You Hire a Project Manager

Business and its terms are constantly changing.  I've worked in offices and have been an office manager much of my career.  Before project managers, office managers handled a good majority of the tasks that might be considered projects in today's business world.

It was fine by me, but I've been asked to do certain tasks that a seasoned office manager could definitely do.  And at the end of the project (smile), I asked if they had someone internally that usually did that type of work.

In some of the conversations, it turned out that a company thought they were saving money by having someone come in for a short period of time; rather than hiring someone who had a general knowledge of the needed support. That approach works for some people.  However, some companies would be better off spending money hiring an office manager or specialist either full time, or as a contracted service.  For small and independent companies, I think a good rule of thumb would be:

• If the project you are working on is outside of what the business normally does, a project manager would be appropriate.  Otherwise, hire a skilled office manager.

For example, if you are about to run a major awareness campaign, and marketing isn't your primary business, then by all means, hire a project manager to run the campaign.  But if it's something routine,

like creating monthly posts on your website or creating a newsletter for your clients and customers, consider hiring a good Office Manager who can blog and create content.   With additional training, they can convert their ability to write and draft correspondence into creating content for your website.

In my opinion, every company needs someone who can manage an office (an office manager).  They could answer and make calls, interact with the public, schedule meetings, book travel, prepare letters and spreadsheets, and in today's setting, yes... even do some social media posting.  

Hiring an Office Manager, remote or local, to manage the above tasks and duties would be a good investment. If you are an independent, sole proprietor or entrepreneur, it would be an even better investment!  You'll have someone familiar with how your company operates, and in the long run can help bring your vision to fruition.  Plus, having someone on your team that understands office procedures, recordkeeping and business concepts will allow you to focus on what you love and are good at doing. 

Project managers are great at specific tasks.  And should be hired for those tasks.  However, businesses will still need to give some input about how the tasks are to be completed and when.  So even though you've hired a Project Manager -- and possibly a team, you will still need to be involved.  And the right office manager can help you with that decision.

Oh, last thing.  You should pay your Office Manager well.  I've seen where Project Manager salaries are way higher than Office Manager's, which is very interesting…but that's a topic for a different time.