Outcome 3

Mail received in the organisation must be dealt with promptly so that others in the organisation are able to start their day’s work Mail room staff often begin work earlier that others If mail is not received early enough by using normal mail delivery by postman, the organisation may rent a post-office box This allows the organisation to uplift their mail at any time during the day

How do we deal with incoming mail? Open mail (not private, personal or confidential) Remove contents Date-stamp mail (do not cover anything important) Make copies of documents to be seen by more than one person or use a circulation slip Check and attach enclosures Sort mail into departments Mail is then collected by departments (at certain times) or Delivered to individual departments

Main equipment in an incoming mail area Letter opener Date stamp Photocopier Mail trolley for delivering to departments Shredder Pigeon holes/trays for each person/department

How do we deal with Outgoing Mail? Collect mail from departments or Staff deliver mail to mail room by a specified time Check that enclosures have been included, that the letter is signed and that the address on the envelope matches the inside address on the letter

How do we deal with Outgoing Mail (2)? Fold and insert letters into their envelopes Seal envelopes Weigh letters or parcels Stamp or frank envelopes/parcels Record value of postage Sort mail into First Class, Second Class and Special Delivery

Special Category Mail Branch Direct Business Collection Business Reply Cash on Delivery Certificate of Posting Freepost

Special Category Mail (2) Post Office box Recorded Signed For Redirection Service Sameday Special Delivery

Main equipment in an outgoing mail area Folding and inserting machine Letter and parcel Scales (manual or electric) Franking machine Sundries eg stapler, punch, string, tape and scissors

FILING

Information must be: Kept Tidy Kept Safe Stored in an accessible place Able to be found easily and quickly when needed

Quick and simple to use Does not take up too much space Able to meet future needs Located in a convenient place Documents should be safe and tidy

Methods of Filing The method of filing used will depend on the type of organisation and the type of document to be filed. Methods include: Alphabetical – most common method Numerical – Banks file by customer account number Geographical – British Gas/Scottish Power may file records by area Subject – Libraries and Book Shops

Filing Terms Release Symbol Cross-reference cards Out cards Miscellaneous File Pending Papers

Filing Procedures Check staff out trays for documents bearing a release mark File regularly Pre-sort the documents for filing Take each section in turn, place the documents in the appropriate file File papers in chronological order

Customer, supplier and employee details can be held electronically on a database such as MS Access Interrogation Space saving Saving paper Integration Improved presentation Easy to amend Sort order Improved accuracy

In offices many different types of documents have to be copied This is called REPROGRAPHICS

Reprographic Tasks: Making copies of letters, reports, catalogues, posters brochures and booklets Collating and binding pages together Laminating – covering pages of booklets and posters to make them hard wearing

REPROGRAPHICS EQUIPMENT Photocopier Collator Laminator Binder Scanner Printer

Features of a Photocopier Provides exact copy of a document Copies are produced quickly Copies can be made onto card, paper, OHP transparencies Documents can be fed in quickly

Features of a Photocopier cont. Copies can be made in various sizes A4, A3 Copies can be made back-to-back Documents can be collated Original can be enlarged or reduced

Features of a Photocopier cont. Some photocopiers can staple documents Can be adjusted for light/dark copies Can produce colour copies using a colour copier Some photocopiers require an ID code before use

Collator Puts together pages of a multi-page document Often linked to a photocopier so that pages of a long document can be printed off, stacked, then collated into order ready for stapling or binding

Laminator A machine used to heat seal documents inside a plastic coating Useful for producing posters, Staff ID’s

Binder A binder is a machine which holds the pages of a book together A Comb Binder puts a plastic spine on the book A Thermal Binder uses heat to fasten an adhesive spine to the book

Scanner A scanner produces an exact copy of a document or graphic for storage on a computer 2 types - Hand-held and a flatbed scanner

Printer Used to print off copies of documents held electronically Used to print one master copy which would then be photocopied to produce multiple copies Toner cartridges can be expensive

Keyboarding Answering the telephone Filing Handling Mail

Pleasant and polite Neat and well presented Knowledgeable about the organisation Patient, calm and able to cope under pressure Able to get on well with people at different levels Good communication skills

In either case: Check the appointments book Contact the member of staff the visitor wishes to see If available, direct to the appropriate member of staff/office If delayed, ask the visitor to take a seat/refreshment In either case: Ask visitor to sign the Visitors’ Book Issue visitor with a security pass

The Appointment’s Book is prepared in advance and will contain the following details: Names of expected callers (in chronological order) Time they are due to arrive With whom they have an appointment Reason for the visit eg interview Visitor’s pass number

Contact the member of staff the visitor wishes to see To arrange another appointment If another member of staff could help If unavailable ask them: Issue a visitor security pass Direct to the appropriate member of staff/office If available: Since this visitor is not in the Appointments Book he/she must be recorded in the Register of Callers/Visitors’ Book

The Register of Callers/Visitors’ Book will contain the following: Date Name of caller, company address and telephone number Who they are visiting Time they arrived Time they left Visitor’s pass number Car registration number (if applicable)

An organisation chart shows visitors and staff the relationships between individuals eg The chain of command The span of control Who is responsible to whom

Employee Names Job Titles Room Numbers Groupings within the organisation Photographs Telephone Numbers

Employees can see an overall picture of the organisation. The position of the employees within the organisation. Lines of communication flowing up and down the organisation. Lines of authority - managing director to departmental manager. Lines of responsibility - sales director in charge of the work of the sales manager.

Organisations must communicate information efficiently. Information should flow up and down the organisation. The more levels the more chance of information breaking down. Board of Directors Managing Director Sales Director Sales Manager

Line relationships in an organisation show those employees who are in charge of the work of other members of staff.

This section of chart shows the following line relationships Chief Executive -Finance Director Finance Director -Cost Accountant Cost Accountant -Senior Accounts Assistant Senior Accounts Assistant - Accounts Assistant Line Relationship

Lateral relationships exist in organisations where members of staff are directly responsible to the same immediate supervisor or manager.

The Chief Executive is directly responsible for 3 members of staff. The lateral relationship exists between the Finance Director, Marketing Director and Human Resources Director. All have the same level of responsibility. Lateral Relationship

Features: Finds appropriate slots for appointments automatically Sets reminders for regularly occurring meetings or important appointments Can access several diaries at once to schedule a time for appointments Files can be directly linked to database files to provide more information quickly

Advantages: The receptionist is able to access others’ diaries to check for expected callers If appointments overrun or are changed, amendments can be easily made by any user, thereby keeping the receptionist informed of the changes automatically Maintaining the diary is much quicker than manually skimming through the pages of a paper-based diary to find an available appointment for an unexpected visitor