Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace 1 The role and qualities of an...

Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

1

The role and qualities of an Administrative Assistant

•Providing organisational skills and support•General office duties … filing, document production, mail handling, reprographics, making travel arrangments•Supervising junior staff•Implementing new systems and procedures

•Possess good organisational skills … able to prioritise tasks and meet or negotiate deadlines•Be reliable and discreet•Be an effective coordinator of activity•Be able to work without supervision•Possess high-level communication skills•Liase well with customers and staff•Possess good ICT skills and be able to compose documents•Making and monitoring financial payments•Preparing and giving short presentation


2

Role and duties outlined in Job Description/Specification

•The role, duties and responsibilities of a post•The person(s) to whom the post-holder is accountable•The person(s) for whom they are responsible

•Organising and carrying out the work of the Office Services Department … reprographics/filing/petty cash/travel•Supervising junior administrative staff•Preparing and responding to correspondence•Using software – word processing/spreadsheets/databases•Preparing for and giving presentations – Powerpoint•Organising and recording meetings•Arranging events – seminars/conferences/meetings•Organising/allocating resources – people/time/equipment•Researching information•Other duties allocated by Administration Manager


3

Skills/qualifications/experience/qualities in Person Specification

•Good level of ability with a range of software … word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation software, e-mail, internet, electronic diary, financial software

•SQA Standard or Higher Grades•College … HND•University … Degree•ECDL … European Computer Driving Licence

•Administrative work in a company or as part of a team•Experience in organising/managing meetings

•Discreet•Good communicator•Well organised•Team worker•Problem solver•Ability to delegate


4

Action Plan and Priorities List

Action required eg tasks

Estimated time for completion

Actual time taken to complete

Notes

Discuss with line manager hotel criteria that should be met

2 hours 3 hours Costs, facilities, distance from airports, train stations, hotels required in each city

Research hotel information

6 hours 9 hours AA/RAC Handbook, Internet, Yellow Pages, Telephone Directories

Tasks should be arranged in the order in which they should be doneNOTE: Order may have to be changed at short notice

An estimate of the time required to complete the task

The actual time required to complete the task

Reminders to “jog” your memory … in effect, brainstorming


5

Setting Targets

Targets should have certain characteristics:

S SPECIFIC – is the target well-defined and does it state exactly what is required?

M MEASURABLE – is the target measurable in quantifiable or qualitative terms?

A AGREED – have you discussed and agreed the targets with your line manager?

R REALISTIC – do you have the necessary knowledge/skills to complete the target set?

T TIMED – have you set a completion date?


6

Areas of strength and areas for development …identified in Personal Development Plan

Date

Areas of competence identified

Areas of development identified

Development required

Target Date

Review Notes

Aug •Constructing Access databases•Sorting on 1+ fields

•Linking databases•Advanced interrogation of information

Access training at Advanced Level

May Course attended and skills put into practice

STRENGTHS … skills employee already has

WEAKNESSES … skills employee would benefit from acquiring

TRAINING … Identify training requirements to turn weaknesses into strengths

Date by which training should be completed

REVIEW … Can be used as part of staff development and review process … STAFF APPRAISAL SYSTEM


7

Monitoring achievement of targets … Control Mechanisms

TARGETS should be seen as:

•An aid to help a worker to receive assistance if necessary

•An aid to help a worker to achieve targets

CONTROL MECHANISMS should establish whether targets are running to the planned schedule:

•Random or sample checks of work … some tasks checked by supervisor, but not all

•Double checks … task also completed by supervisor to ensure results obtained are the same

•Buddy systems … where a more senior member of staff can be called upon for help or advice

•Gantt charts … planning chart of graph which shows at which stage in the schedule a project is at

•Periodic method and systems audits … review and amendment of existing systems to achieve greater efficiencies or improved practices


8

Time Management

Good time-management techniques should ensure that:• The best use is made of the time available• Time-wasting activities are minimised• More time is made available for important/urgent jobs

Problems which can arise with poor time management:• Activity panic … jobs left unfinished … running from

crisis to crisis as deadlines approach• Reactive not proactive … reacting to crises rather than

planning and prioritising tasks methodically and carefully

• Work overload … being pressed for time … a backlog of jobs starts to build up

• Stress … feelings of anxiety and not coping … feelings that work will never be completed by deadline … inadequacy


9

Time Management – Time Stealers

• Lack of forward planning• Telephone conversations/interruptions• Unexpected visits from colleagues• Taking on too much work• Taking work home• Not assessing priorities correctly• Lack of self-discipline/shuffling papers• Communication problems• Making unnecessary journeys• Searching for lost papers/not filing properly• Darting from one task to another• Not delegating tasks• Not allowing time for yourself


10

Effective Task Management

• Neat and tidy workstation … free from clutter• Use IN, OUT, WORK PENDING and FILING trays to organise tasks

at workstation• Label all files clearly … implement a good file management

system• Place all completed tasks in the appropriate file• Monitor progress … especially if there is a completion date …

make sure that the task is on target

Useful planning aids might include:• DESK DIARY … paper diary … now quite old fashioned and

difficult to make alterations … can be heavy to carry around• ELECTRONIC DIARY … easy to edit entries, search for available

dates, warns of double booking, can be printed out• REMINDER SYSTEM … electronic diaries come with reminder or

warnings that action is necessary• PRIORITIES LIST/ACTION PLAN … used to break down a project

into tasks in the order in which they should be completed


11

Task Management Skills

• ORGANISATION … looking ahead and planning, monitoring progress and achievement

• PRIORITISATION … deciding on what is important and what is less so

• DELEGATION … deciding when it is appropriate to ask someone else to do some of the tasks

• CONTROL … tackling work calmly and in priority order

• ASSERTIVENESS … being able to say “NO” when necessary

• NEGOTIATION … being able to negotiate deadlines and resources

• RESOURCE MANAGEMENT … using time, staff and equipment appropriately

• EVALUATION … seeking improvement and identifying causes of any problems


12

Benefits and consequences of Time and Task Management

BENEFITS TO INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANISATION

•Increased productivity•Increased quality of work•Good customer relations•Increased competitiveness in the marketplace•Staff have lower stress levels•Good working relationships•Job satisfaction

CONSEQUENCES TO INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANISATION

Poor productivityPoor quality of workIncreased costsDeadlines not metUnhappy customers and suppliersLow level of competitiveness in the marketplaceStress-related staff absencesPoor work relationshipsPoor job satisfaction


13

Team Working

CHARACTERISTICS:

•A shared purpose or goal•Having an identity … sense of belonging to a team•A dependence or reliance on each other

TEAM SIZE:

•4-6 members•Large team … danger of sub-groups forming and breaking away•Small team … danger of one person dominating the team and too few ideas being shared

TEAM ROLES:

•IDEAS PERSON•MOTIVATOR•ORGANISER•IMPLEMENTER•CHECKER•FINISHER•GO-GETTER•TEAM WORKER•SPECIALIST


14

Factors determining Team effectiveness

TEAM COMPOSITIONIf members of a team think along the same lines then they will usually work together effectively. Consideration of age, personality, interests, backgrounds of team members.

TEAM COHENSIVENESSOnce shared sets of standards and values are agreed and adopted, the team will work as a cohesive group and pull together.

NATURE OF THE TASKThe clearer the task, and the more involved the members feel, the more effectively the team will work.

TEAM ENVIRONMENTTeams need to be sited together in the workplace and to take part in activities in and out of the workplace to develop a team relationship.


15

Leadership

A good leader will motivate people to willingly work towards their goals by:•Setting a clear vision or goals for the team•Meeting the needs of the team … good information and communications•Meeting the needs of the individuals within the team … support and training•Meeting the needs of the task … resources, team skills•Liaising between team, management and other work areas•Deploying team skills effectively … keeping conflict to a minimum•Having open and constructive communication•Involving the team in decision-making process•Listening to team members•Encouraging a sense of team ownership/job satisfaction


16

Benefits of effective team working

RISK-TAKING … groups will often take more risks than individuals working alone … the ability to share the risk encourages a team to try out new ideas.

POOLED RESOURCES … more ideas are likely to be generated … the exchange of ideas and shared skills increases creativity which increases motivation.

MORALE AND MOTIVATION …individuals feel a greater sense of job satisfaction, morale and motivation and this results in improved efficiency and productivity.

MULTI-SKILLING … in the absence of one member, the other members of a team can quickly cover their duties between them.

RESPONSIBILITY … effective teams are often self-directing and self-monitoring and take on responsibility for their activity … they require less supervision and this may allow for removal of layers of management.

Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace 1 The role and qualities of an...

Documents

Transcript of Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace 1 The role and qualities of an...