The office, the clerk and the functions they perform is one of the organizational structures that have become widespread throughout the world. An operational space with a human resource and defined functions make serving a specific audience more feasible.
Today there are clerks and offices for all kinds of needs, institutions with multiple offices, including family offices and even virtual ones. Before we tackle our topic today on office functions, let's break down the concept and take a tour of the office and its representative, that is, the clerk.
What exactly is an office?
Etymologically the word in question comes from the Latin "office". An office is understood to be a space, room, room, annex, where a specific function or service is provided.
An office in turn can be distributed among others. For example, if we go to the Ministry of Education to obtain information on something in particular, we will get hundreds of offices within the same unit. These are called an office, and vary according to the activity of each worker, each of them will have its own workplace and well-defined functions.
Is everyone in an office clerks?
An office can work from one person to as many as the space allows. Not all have the same functions and the same hierarchy. In these there may be a boss or manager, a secretary or assistant, a messenger. The owner or entrepreneur himself has his office together with those of his dependents.
There are very small offices and some very large where several people interact, each with its space and defined functions. This distribution of the office is an organizational advantage, because when each worker has their space, it improves quality, motivation and productivity. In the same way unnecessary conversations are avoided between workers and that prevents loss of time.
Small office, overcrowding vs interaction
In the case of offices that are smaller, confrontations could be generated but also a lot of cordiality in the midst of a noisy environment that forces its members to share space and furniture. In these cases, the manager or director has the possibility of controlling or supervising them more easily without having to travel to larger areas.
Where do the offices work?
Offices can be found anywhere: There are commercial complexes that rent office space, there are offices in public and private institutions. An office can work in the annex of a house, in a factory and in hundreds of places where reality requires it.
But what exactly is an office worker?
Each company or agency has a kind of functional structure or organization chart, that is nothing more than what is known as work planning. In theory clerks are all those who work in an office, even when they have certain positions, functions and appointments, they all work in an office.
The success of this group is in the fulfillment of the office workers even when they occupy different roles within the firm. As is the case of those who have Administrative functions, which is why they are called "Administrative employees" and having greater contact with the beneficiaries of this service.
Office worker functions
An office worker can have multiple functions, their roles can be very varied according to the type of office where they perform their functions. An office worker keeps track of the file, either in virtual folders or in the so-called "physical" files or shelves where documents of interest are ordered, classified and protected and which will be consulted at any time by authorized persons.
An office worker requires a profile, that is, he must know and handle certain skills required for the performance of his position. From customer service until conflict resolution, including reliability management.
An office worker must learn to take notes or follow directions quickly. Either orally or in writing. It is important that you carry an agenda and notes of tasks and details to remember.
Likewise, it must contribute to the organization of the space, office is also synonymous with "order", which is why this order is the task of the clerk and the rest of the members of said team.
Sometimes clerks must make requests or requests, for which it is necessary that they learn to structure texts of this type. Correspondence writing is key in this role.
In the same way, the handling of correspondence is important.: Receive, register, deliver, classify and respond to these. To later file documents.
In the past, being a clerk required the use of certain manual technology such as typewriters and fax machines, today replaced by computers and emails. The clerk keeps accounting records or, failing that, annotations of income and expenses.
The office a space to grow
Beyond the function that an office fulfills and the roles that those who make life in it fulfill, this space constitutes a territory or area of learning and training. For an individual, being in an office represents the possibility of being able to fulfill themselves as an individual who has the ability to develop skills, knowledge, abilities, attitudes and work habits that allow them to achieve satisfactory positions in life.
When many successful managers and entrepreneurs tell their story and their success at the helm of a company, they confess that they started as a clerk in that or another department.
An office worker is also an official and even an executive
The importance of an office is not only the employment it generates for those who work there. Let's imagine for a moment that a service company needs to open an office and rent a place in one of the many streets or communities in the city.
Undoubtedly the first benefit and the most important is the creation of new jobs in the place where it is established, with which the living conditions of those who enter could be improved since they allow to increase their income and with it the ability to satisfy their needs.
However, there are other benefits, generating traffic in that sector, attracting visitors, investors or potential clients who, as a result of their stay in that place, require other services such as: food, transportation, stationery, among others.
How much does an office worker earn?
As for the salary earned by those who serve as an office worker, these will always be very varied. They will depend on the type of company, on the quality of the clerk to be hired.
On some occasions, the office requires a lady who knows how to handle a computer and file, but there will be occasions where the company requires a bilingual clerk, both can never earn the same salary. Remuneration also varies by job who performs, responsibility. However, these people in turn will have other office workers under their responsibility.
The XNUMXst century office
Things have changed so much that some companies use virtual offices and store all their files in what is known as a digital cloud, this contributes to saving space and personnel expenses. Likewise, today's offices point to more striking decorations and more efficient management of resources, that is, the demand is increasing.