The Real Driver Behind Office Productivity

The future of work has been a hot topic in recent years. Companies are grappling with how to increase productivity and improve retention levels, turning to automation, swanky office interiors, and employee perks to create the ideal working environment and maximize efficiency.

Chatbots, in-office meditation, and conference room design aside, there is one straightforward and proven way to help workers achieve higher levels of productivity: empower your office manager.

The domino effect of distraction

Why is the office manager so important? Well, the responsibilities they assume free up their colleagues to focus on the job they were hired to do. Office managers are critical time-savers, ensuring engineers aren’t attempting to fix dishwashers and marketing managers aren’t greeting people at the reception desk.

An AtTask survey conducted by Harris Poll found that among enterprise companies of 1,000 people or more, the average employee spends only 45% of their time on their primary job function. The rest of their time is consumed by emails, meetings, administrative tasks, and interruptions. Additional research by the Harvard Business Review indicates that office workers spend a great deal of their time — an average of 41% — on discretionary tasks that offer little personal satisfaction and could be handled capably by others.

That same Harvard Business Review study proved that simply delegating or outsourcing lower priority tasks would make us more productive. When workers were able to choose which responsibilities they wanted to keep based on what mattered most to them and their organization, they were able to free up one-fifth of their time to concentrate on higher-value work.

Taking off some hats

Office managers are often accountable for an office’s share of administrative tasks, but as responsibilities pile up on their plate, they could use a productivity boost themselves. In a recent survey of Managed by Q clients, we found that office managers enjoy improving office processes, planning office events, booking office services, and supporting the Human Resources department. However, they are equally responsible for several other tasks that could be delegated or outsourced, such as organizing the office, reception, file management, and receiving packages.

If we view this through the lens of the Harvard Business Review study, outsourcing certain administrative duties would vastly improve the typical office manager’s ability to provide HR support, bolster office processes, and plan events. And in turn, with increased office manager bandwidth, other employees can shed office management or HR responsibilities that are not necessary to their job function.