# How Do you hire a secretary



## hbelectric (Oct 8, 2007)

My wife and no way in hell, i could of got this far without her. I start falling asleep when you put paper work in front of me.


----------



## Ed the Roofer (Dec 12, 2006)

Good post Cat GaAdmin,

But, before you hire a Secretary or Office Manager or part time paper flunky, you need to come to grips with where you are organizational wise.

Is everything in files and folders and do you have a system that someone else can learn without much effort?

Speaking of systems, do you have any Office Task Systems in place currently?

Of course not. You are a contractor and you "Know Where Everything Is" right off the top of your head. It doesn't matter how many piles of paper you have on your desk, you can find it, right?

Take the time out of your schedule to actually see what you do on a daily basis and write it down.

Everything.

Locking and unlocking the door are the first and last items on the list and there is much that goes in between them.

Phone message retrieval.
Answering the phone.
Calling back prospects and taking down their information.
Possibly scheduling appointments for a measurement call.
Possibly scheduling appointments for a presentation call.
Organizing your files and folders and paper laying all around.
Filing in a systematic way that you can find the stuff when He/She is not there.

Computer Literacy?
Accounting program usage for entering and writing and paying bills.
Cutting checks.
Calculating employees time sheets into payroll hours.
Running the payroll each week.

Do you already use an accounting software package?
Every single task and every single step of the way needs to be written down in a procedure manual that *YOU* understand and that is easy to just show to any new person with just minimal direction by you.

Remember, that just like any other employee, their is a possibility of turn over, so make the basics very easy and simple to comprehend, sort of like not re-inventing the wheel each and every time.

Now, as far as candidates, shooot....., probably anyone that applies for the job will know more than you, or at least in my case that was true, regarding how to run an office setting efficiently, but in time, you will observe and become the orchestra leader and be able to have confidence in your guiding direction for any new candidates that take on the position.

They do NOT have to type, or as it is called now-a-days, Key in the data with super fast speed.

You want to see if someone is anal and detail oriented and decent with numbers and correcting mistakes, rather than sweeping them under the carpet to remain undiscovered for a long time.

How is their own check book balance? That would tell you something about how structured they are.

So, where are you currently at in knowing how to run an office? That will be reall key in providing you some more honed in suggestions and advice.

Ed


----------



## Patrick (Apr 12, 2006)

Sadly Ed I have a bachelors in Accounting, yet I have zero interest in the paperwork/accounting side of the biz. I have zero office policies, and would really like to be as lucky as you to have someone come in and create it all for me. I have however been making progress on the other side of the spectrum and have slowly been phasing myself out of working. The last few weeks I have found myself feeling left out on the jobsite, often just wandering around cleaning up which I actually think is a great thing.


----------



## Ed the Roofer (Dec 12, 2006)

I took all of the Accounting classes in college too, but knowing the numbers helps me only in diagnosing the reports and knowing how to properly categorize the entries.

I am speaking more of the issue of Procedure Manuals. The one time start up of the office manual will be an ever-evolving creation.

You will be amazed that there is so much that actually needs documentation on how a certain task is done.

By having the Procedures listed step by step, you eliminate the necessity of having to ONLY hire an upper level candidate for the position.

Many people are qualified to follow a written manual and think their way through it and wind up with good results, but unless they have ever worked in YOUR System before, they will not have a clue if you have no direction and guidance for them to follow.

I went through 3 different secretaries in the early 90's before I got lucky and found one who knew what to do to take charge and whip my office, my accounting procedures, and my filing tasks into shape.

Back in 1993, that wondeful assistant EARNED $15.00 per hour plus some paid time off and was worth more than that.

Now, due to the procedures she started and then the mauals I NEEDED to create when she got a job offer that was right by her home instead of a 45 minute to 1 hour drive each way, I was stuck. I NEEDED to come up with a self defense plan so that I was not left hanging like that ever again.

Once you become dependant upon that person, you will find yourself less and less involved in the daily minutae of the office tasks going on. Thats how it should be. You do not need to oversee every item keyed into the software accounting program after a while.

Make your procedural tasks list that needs to get done in the office and you will be amazed at how much redundancy there is that necessarrily should be getting done by someone else.

Now, when the tasks are documented sufficiently, you do not need to have that higher paid assistant, as you can get anyone reliable and coscientious to do the tasks.

Ed


----------



## CFO (Dec 4, 2007)

I remember the last time I hired a secretary.. I put an ad in the local paper with the hours and hourly rate.. I got three responses in a week.. So I scheduled three different interviews for three different days..

My strategy for the interview was to leave a $100 bill on my desk, and leave the room to see if I can trust them.. Well, the first interview didn't go well, as when I left the room for a few minutes and came back, both woman A and the $100 were gone..

The next day, I was a little leary about doing the same thing, but thought, even if I lose $300, I will of avoided hiring someone that could cost me much more.. So I did the same thing and by some bad luck, when I returned to my office, woman B was gone too, as was my $100..

My last interview was much better.. I left the room and came back to find woman C and my $100 still there.. I shook her hand and told her I'd let her know..

Two days later, when I was about to make my easy decision, woman B came to my shop.. She gave me back the $100 and apologized profusely about her conduct and had hoped that I would still consider her..

Eventually I made my decision and ended up hiring the one with the biggest chest..


----------



## Thewoodman (Aug 30, 2006)

I finally got smart a year ago and hired a part timer office manager. It was a little slow to start as we worked out what to have her do and how to do it. But we would meet one day a week and fine tune her job. I was able to set her up on gotomypc.com so she does alot of the work from her home linked to my office computer. She stops by the office two or three times a week to pick up papers in her in box. 

I got an personal answering service for the office phone. They answer 24hours a day/7 days a week /365 days a year. They then text my office manager and she either deals with the call or texts it it me.

I have her do:

1.Payroll hours
2.Accounts payable and account recievable. ( I still sign the checks.)
3.All of my scheduling
4.Info customers when to expect us at the job site.
5. Opening and dealing with office mail ( workers comp,bills, ect)
6.She puts a file together for the jobs I am bidding with the proper info and job bid check lists
7. Sends out invoices and call when they are behind.
8. Sends out any marketing mailers.
9. Does all the data entry stuff. ( Quickbooks)
10. Orders all office supplies.
11.Make my life easy

Anyway as you can tell from my long rambling post, An office manager is a must if you want to run a tight business and have more free time for yourself.

Mark


----------



## ruskent (Jun 20, 2005)

Thewoodman said:


> I finally got smart a year ago and hired a part timer office manager. It was a little slow to start as we worked out what to have her do and how to do it. But we would meet one day a week and fine tune her job. I was able to set her up on gotomypc.com so she does alot of the work from her home linked to my office computer. She stops by the office two or three times a week to pick up papers in her in box.
> 
> I got an personal answering service for the office phone. They answer 24hours a day/7 days a week /365 days a year. They then text my office manager and she either deals with the call or texts it it me.
> 
> ...


How many hours a week does she work and what does she get paid?


----------



## George Z (Dec 23, 2004)

Our office person was sick today.
there was no way in hell we are able to manage all these
voice mails, e-mails, schedulling. A few callers hang up the phone too.
I am wondering if he was sick to prove a point :whistling (I am just kidding, he was sick).
How did we ever manage without him?
Did we, or we thought we did?


----------



## ruskent (Jun 20, 2005)

George Z said:


> Our office person was sick today.
> there was no way in hell we are able to manage all these
> voice mails, e-mails, schedulling. A few callers hang up the phone too.
> I am wondering if he was sick to prove a point :whistling (I am just kidding, he was sick).
> ...


What kind of volume are you doing?


----------



## George Z (Dec 23, 2004)

ruskent said:


> What kind of volume are you doing?


Maybe half a million in sales,
Our average residential job is about $3,000. 
The lead volume can support over a million in sales,
but the sales capacity, admin and production can't come close 
to what marketing is doing.


----------



## Thewoodman (Aug 30, 2006)

Ruskent

My office manager works 8 to 10 hours a week and I have her at $14.00 an hour. She has been with me for about a year and in that one year my company has become very efficient. We are landing more jobs and managing to survive this downturn we are in. 

For all those of you out there that are saying " I do not need an office manager, or I can't afford one". You can't afford not to hire one. Get out there and do what you are good at. Pay someone else well to do the other stuff. Do not be afraid to hire someone thats knows more that you.

If you get a chance read the article that I wrote for Professional Deck Builder. It talks about this topic. You can read online at 
http://www.deckmagazine.com/abstract/140.html 


Mark


----------

