From Secretary to CEO: Hana Gray's Office Management Revolution

Hannah Gray joins Jon and Adam for a wide-ranging conversation about the wildly underestimated world of office management. From its roots in old-school secretarial work to the pandemic-era chaos of managing 50 "home offices" at once, Hannah makes a compelling case for why the office manager might just be the most important person in your building — and why almost nobody realises it.

Guest: Hannah Gray, Founder & CEO of The Office Management Group

Listen

Show Notes

About Hannah & The Office Management Group

• Founded in July 2016 (originally as Black & White Office Consultancy, rebranded post-COVID)
• Consultancy, training, community and events business focused entirely on office managers
• Streams include: the Office Management Portal (3,000+ members), live events, the Office Management Show, Office Management Awards, the Office Manager Diaries podcast, and group training

The Biggest Misconception About Office Managers

• Still seen through an outdated "secretarial" lens, undervalued and misunderstood
• The role covers: facilities, events, culture, wellbeing, health & safety, reception, hot desking, hybrid policies and much more
• Predominantly female workforce, which Hannah believes contributes to the undervaluation
• Hannah's rule of thumb: you need an office manager at around 20 staff; roles start to split out at 50–75

How The Business Started

• Hannah spent years at JP Morgan, RBS and City Index before spotting the gap: no one was training or supporting office managers the way they were for IT, legal or HR
• Started from her dining room table, cold calling from a supplier's database (having previously been on the receiving end of those exact calls)
• First client came through a former contact at Berenberg; community grew organically via LinkedIn (now 15,000+ followers, mostly office managers)
• The portal idea came from three separate clients all asking the same question within months of each other: "Do you know of any communities for office managers?"

The Pandemic & Its Impact on the Role

• Office managers became de facto key workers: maintaining buildings, checking rat traps, running Legionnaires' testing while colleagues stayed home
• Many experienced real anxiety about their own safety, with little acknowledgment from leadership
• The role exploded in scope: from one office to managing 50 people's homes overnight
• Hannah's prediction from 2022 was that it would take until 2024–25 to establish a new normal
• Hottest topics in the community right now: culture, wellbeing, and events

Leadership & The Hybrid Mess

• 82% of managers are accidental managers (no formal training)
• Leaders repeatedly failed to make clear decisions, leaving office managers stuck between a rock and a hard place
• Hannah's advice: take options A, B, C and D to your senior team with pros, cons and costs, make them choose, then make them lead by example

Tools & Advice

• Start with the problem, not the solution. Define what you're trying to solve before shopping for tools
• Communication is everything, it's a hypersensitive topic; treat it like a marketing campaign
• Use multiple channels: Teams/Slack, email, noticeboards, town halls
• Track what works and double down on it

Top 3 Skills for the Future

1. Organisation — multitasking, prioritisation, proactive thinking
2. Communication — especially listening (Hannah quotes Hemingway: "I like to listen. I've learned a great deal from listening. Most people never listen")
3. Creativity — thinking outside the box, common sense, problem-solving

AI & The Future of the Role

• Office manager was not on any "jobs at risk from AI" lists when Hannah researched it
• AI will support and accelerate the role, not replace it
• Interesting developments: AI-integrated building management systems for testing emergency lighting, sprinklers etc.; drone window-washing machines
• AI can personalise onboarding videos so that even remote or multi-site office managers can greet every new joiner personally
• The human elements: shadowing, emotional intelligence, cultural reading, it cannot be replicated

Starting a New Role as an Office Manager

• Don't bang the drum immediately, meet people first, ask questions, listen
• Shadow at least one person in each department to understand their pressures and workflows
• Never make promises in the first three months. Build a "long list" and tackle it once you're settled
• Your line manager needs to have your back with a proper intro email from day one

Book Recommendations

• Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
• The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
• Personal Branding for Brits by Jennifer Holloway
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss (half-finished, by her own admission)

Where to Find Hannah

• Website: theofficemanagementgroup.com
• Free portal membership available (upgraded version includes 300+ templates, monthly masterclasses and more)
• LinkedIn: search Hannah Gray
• Book a 15-minute virtual coffee via the contact page on the website