Example Career: First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

Career Description

Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers.

What Job Titles First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Might Have

• Accounting Manager
• Customer Service Manager
• Customer Service Supervisor
• Office Manager

What First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Do

• Supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems.
• Resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures.
• Provide employees with guidance in handling difficult or complex problems or in resolving escalated complaints or disputes.
• Review records or reports pertaining to activities such as production, payroll, or shipping to verify details, monitor work activities, or evaluate performance.
• Discuss job performance problems with employees to identify causes and issues and to work on resolving problems.
• Prepare and issue work schedules, deadlines, and duty assignments for office or administrative staff.
• Recruit, interview, and select employees.
• Interpret and communicate work procedures and company policies to staff.
• Evaluate employees' job performance and conformance to regulations and recommend appropriate personnel action.
• Train or instruct employees in job duties or company policies or arrange for training to be provided.
• Research, compile, and prepare reports, manuals, correspondence, or other information required by management or governmental agencies.
• Implement corporate or departmental policies, procedures, and service standards in conjunction with management.
• Compute figures such as balances, totals, or commissions.
• Coordinate activities with other supervisory personnel or with other work units or departments.
• Participate in the work of subordinates to facilitate productivity or to overcome difficult aspects of work.
• Make recommendations to management concerning such issues as staffing decisions or procedural changes.
• Develop or update procedures, policies, or standards.
• Maintain records pertaining to inventory, personnel, orders, supplies, or machine maintenance.
• Consult with managers or other personnel to resolve problems in areas such as equipment performance, output quality, or work schedules.
• Develop work schedules according to budgets and workloads.
• Analyze financial activities of establishments or departments and provide input into budget planning and preparation processes.
• Design, implement, or evaluate staff training and development programs, customer service initiatives, or performance measurement criteria.
• Keep informed of provisions of labor-management agreements and their effects on departmental operations.
• Discuss work problems or grievances with union representatives.
• Coordinate or perform activities associated with shipping, receiving, distribution, or transportation.
• Monitor inventory levels and requisition or purchase supplies as needed.
• Plan for or coordinate office services, such as equipment or supply acquisition or organization, disposal of assets, relocation, parking, maintenance, or security services.

What First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

What First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Need to Learn

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.