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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

3. Skills/qualifications/experience/qualities in Person Specification
Good level of ability with a range of software … word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation software, , 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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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 done
NOTE: 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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

5. Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace
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?
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

6. Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace
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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

8. Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace
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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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 productivity
Poor quality of work
Increased costs
Deadlines not met
Unhappy customers and suppliers
Low level of competitiveness in the marketplace
Stress-related staff absences
Poor work relationships
Poor job satisfaction
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

13. Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace
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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

14. Factors determining Team effectiveness
TEAM COMPOSITION
If 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 COHENSIVENESS
Once shared sets of standards and values are agreed and adopted, the team will work as a cohesive group and pull together.
NATURE OF THE TASK
The clearer the task, and the more involved the members feel, the more effectively the team will work.
TEAM ENVIRONMENT
Teams 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.
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

15. Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace
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
Admin Services Outcome 1 - Strategies for effective workplace

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