Karen Dilworth: Office Management Tips Karen Dilworth spent more than 10 years of her professional career as an Office Manager, helping companies maintain an organized and efficient office environment that ensured optimal levels of efficiency and customer/patient service. Adept at the numerous and varied duties involved in such a laborious and often complex position, Dilworth quickly established herself as someone more than capable of managing the intense pressures and demands of a busy office atmosphere, creating the foundation her colleagues and employers needed to be of the best service to every incoming client. A seasoned office management professional, Karen Dilworth knows how difficult it can be to control the chaos of a busy office environment. Maintaining a high level of productivity and functionality, as she knows, is no easy task, though adherence to a few basic principles can help the office manager, however experienced, to establish both order and control, and can help to make the manager’s life a whole lot easier. Routines: Define and Stick to Them Performing routine tasks on a daily basis, as Karen Dilworth knows, requires the ability to follow routine procedures. The establishment of routines for such things as managing office systems, handling paperwork and more can help the professional stay organized and maintain smooth office operation. Delegating Responsibility Ensuring that everyone in the office knows what they are responsible for, as well as how to go about accomplishing tasks, is essential to a well-functioning office. Delegating specific tasks to certain individuals not only helps to take some of the burden off the office manager, but also ensures that things continue to run smoothly, and that chaos never has the opportunity to rear its ugly head. Always Update Records Getting a grip on records updating helps ensure your office is always up to speed with customer/patient information and files, as well as to eliminate the possibility of falling behind in areas that may hurt your company down the road. Creating a routine system for updating records helps to make the process a little easier, and can be of huge benefit to your firm many years down the road. Space Management Taking a little time every week to walk through your office can help you determine where certain items may be posing an ergonomical impediment. Properly managing your office’s space helps to make you and your company a little more efficient and a lot more effective. Simple things such as eliminating clutter or maximizing desk space can make all the difference.