An office clerk fills in wherever needed around the office.
A clerk provides support in an office or business environment through the completion of a variety of tasks on an as-needed basis. Many of these tasks are tedious and repetitive and would use up time other staff members need for the completion of their own tasks. A clerk's tasks are also important to the overall operation of the office or business. No formal education is needed to work as a clerk, though computer skills are an asset. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2008, clerks in an office setting earn between $16,030 and $39,880 per year.
Phone Communication
Businesses often have one or more people answering client calls on the phone.
In a busy office or business, phone communication often starts as soon as the business opens and doesn't end until the close of the day. Clerks often assist with making client calls, calling to remind people of appointments or meetings and answering the phone to provide information, directions or respond to questions. The clerk may work as a phone operator, taking calls and redirecting them to the appropriate person. When a staff member is unavailable, the clerk will need to take a detailed message so the call can be returned at a later time. Proper phone etiquette is a very important part of answering the phone, as the clerk may be the only contact a customer has with the company.
Updating Records
When payments, sales records or invoices come into an office, they are often placed in an appropriate file or work bin until there is time to take care of them appropriately. The clerk will file some of these documents and use others to update written and computer records. The process of updating records is vital to the company. If sales records aren't updated, a company may run out of inventory and have to turn sales away. Additionally, as the clerk updates payments made by customers and payments sent by the company, she assists the accounting department so they know which customers need a payment reminder and which outstanding bills still need to be paid.
Organization
In order to run efficiently and effectively, an office or business environment must be organized, clean and in order. Organizing office supplies, putting things away or delivering documents and other materials to other departments are all tasks that can pile up and take a lot of time to complete. These tasks are often assigned to the office clerk. She may assist with organization by cleaning and organizing the staff lounge, straightening desks, delivering office supplies to different people and distributing mail to different departments. As she completes these tasks the office clerk provides support to other staff members around her.
Tags: office business, office clerk, answering phone, assist with, business environment, clerk provides
