1. Perform office procedures
Chapter 3
Perform office procedures

2. Learning Outcomes Process a range of office documents.
Draft written communication.
Maintain correct storage and filing systems.
Refer to page 76

3. What are clerical and administrative tasks?
Those parts of the job that require us to process a range of office documents and maintain document filing systems.
Refer to page 77

4. Documents used in the back office
Reservation slips/ amendment forms/cancellation forms.
Group reservation forms.
Guest profiles.
Telephone message pads.

5. Documents used in the back office
Operational reports.
Policies and procedures.
Guest correspondence.
Memorandums.
Agendas and minutes.
Guest registration forms.

6. Documents used in the front office
Guest accounts, guest profiles, guest request sheets.
Source documents.
Front office diary and daily running sheets.
Wake up call sheets.
Operational reports.
Policies and procedures.

7. Documents used in the front office
Agendas and minutes.
Guest correspondence.
Memorandums.
Vouchers.
Telephone message pads.

8. Documents used by concierge
Guest request sheets.
Wake up call sheets.
Luggage storage sheets.
Car key reports.
Operational reports.

9. Documents used by concierge
Policies and procedures.
Agendas and minutes.
Memorandums.
Telephone message pads and guest mail.

10. Documents used by Housekeeping
Room status reports.
Lost and found records.
Room allocation sheets.
Policies and procedures.
Refer to page 66

11. Documents used by Housekeeping
Agenda and minutes.
Memorandums.
Operational reports.
Guest request sheets.

12. Internal use documents
Internal use documents are those documents used only within the venue. E.g.
Memo’s
Operational reports
Reservation slips
Registration forms
Guest request slips
Minutes and agendas.
Refer to page 77

13. External Use documents
External use documents are those documents that are coming into or being sent out of the venue. E.g.
Guest correspondence
Confirmation slips
Vouchers.

14. Office equipment used in accommodation venues
A range of office equipment is required to help us do our job, including:
Switch board
Facsimile machine
Photocopier
Computers
Printers
Filing cabinets
Paging system
Sundry stationery items.
Refer to page 86

15. Use equipment safely
Equipment can represent safety hazards. We are responsible for using equipment safely.
If equipment represents a safety hazard beyond our control, report it to a supervisor.
Don’t use equipment that may cause you or others harm.
Refer to page 90

16. Manage malfunctions
Anything that can go wrong with equipment is likely to at some stage of the equipments useful life. If the equipment does malfunction:
Stop using it
Place an ‘out of order’ sign on it
Report the problem.
Refer to Page 93

17. What is meant by ‘process documents’?
To process a document means we may need to:
Create
Collate
Modify
Save
Store
Bind
Retrieve and/or
Distribute each document we handle.
Refer to page 94

18. What is correspondence?
Correspondence refers to any written communication between the venue and external entities.
It may also be written communication between the venue and employees (letters of appointment, newsletters, etc.).
Refer to page 97

19. Letterhead
Business correspondence is usually written on business letterhead.
Letterhead is pre-printed stationery with the company’s name, logo and address details.
Refer to page 97

20. Business letter layout
There is general uniformity in the way in which business letters are formatted (on the page).
Refer to page 97

21. Business letter layout
Refer to page 98

22. What is a standard letter?
A a pre-formatted letter that contains essentially the same information.
To personalise a standard letter, we add the addressees personal details, the date and any information specific to the addressee.
Refer to page 100

23. What is a template?
A blueprint for text, graphics or letter layout, or a combination of all three.
Templates are frequently used for standard letter creation and letters that contain essentially the same elements.
Refer to page 100

24. What is mail merge and when is it used?
Mail merge is a word processing function that allows us to merge several guests personal details (from a database) with a standard letter.
The guests personal details are first stored in a database in a standardised manner.
Refer to page 101

25. Writing memorandums
Memorandums, or memos, are written when we need to communicate the same information to several people, usually at once.
Refer to page 104

26. Writing memorandums
Memo’s are usually written following a standard layout, from a template and include:
Name of the person or people the memo is for
Who the memo is from
Date
The memo subject
Body of the memo.
Refer to page 104

27. Writing Reports
Reports are written to explain an incident or event (that is unusual).
Some reports have standardised proforma’s.
Other reports need to be generated on a needs basis.
Refer to page 104

28. Writing faxes
Facsimiles, or faxes, are usually written in a standardised way, on company letterhead and from a template. They usually contain:
Name of the person or company receiving the fax (or both)
Fax number of the company receiving the fax
Date
Number of pages being faxed
Name of person sending the fax
Body of the fax.
Refer to page 107

29. Writing guest messages
Apart from telephone messages, which are usually hand-written, guest messages are usually typed, following a standard format, on business letterhead and from a template.
Refer to page 108

30. Rules of good writing
Because we need to regularly write documents, it is useful to be able to do so, quickly, efficiently and in a style appropriate to the venue.
Refer to page 110

31. Rules of good writing Therefore when writing:
Keep it simple and use simple words
Avoid jargon or slang
Keep the tone appropriate to the expected outcome.
Refer to page 111

32. Rules of good writing Be accurate and clear (logical)
Check spelling and grammar
Check sentence structure
Proofread the document.
Refer to page 111

33. Proofreading documents
Proofreading means reading a document – looking for errors and correcting them.
It is considered unprofessional to send correspondence with spelling and grammatical errors.
Refer to page 112

34. What is filing?
Filing is the process of arranging and storing documents according to a particular classification.
Refer to page 113

35. Active or inactive document
Documents are filed according to their current status – active or inactive:
An active document is one that is in current use.
An inactive document is one that is not in current use.
Refer to page 113

36. Filing methods
To facilitate filing (and retrieval) of documents, there are a number of methods filing used:
Alphabetically
Numerically
Geographically
By subject
Chronologically.
Refer to page 114

37. Alphabetical filing
Documents are filed according to the first and subsequent letter of the receivers or senders name, or according to type of document. E.g.
Smith, Mr
Policies
Memo’s.
Refer to page 114

38. Numerical filing
These documents are filed according to a number or other numerical identifier. E.g.
Room number
Invoice number
Employee number.
Refer to page 114

39. Geographical filing
These documents are filed according to region or location or other geographical identifier. E.g.
By country
State
Town
Region.
Refer to page 114

40. Subject filing
These documents are filed according to their subject matter. E.g.
Enquiries
Rates
Menus
Complaints
Capital purchases
Training.
Refer to page 114

41. Chronological Filing
These documents are filed according to date or time order. E.g.
Arrival date
Time of event.
Refer to page 114

42. Why prepare files before filing?
Before filing any (manual) documents it is useful to first prepare them so that:
All relevant documents are filed together
The quality of the paperwork is maintained
Files are cross-referenced when needed
Files are coded when needed
Files are correctly sorted to assist the filing process.
Refer to page 115

43. What is electronic filing?
Electronic filing refers to the filing of documents electronically. That is, on a computer and/or computer disk. The advantages of electronic filing are:
Reduced filing space
Reduced filing time
Easy access and document modification
Document changes readily traced.
Refer to page 117

44. What is record maintenance?
Record maintenance refers to upkeep and updating of files. This may be necessary when:
A guests personal details change
A guest departs the venue (update the guest profile)
When a guest changes reservation details.
Refer to page 118

45. What is record utilisation and transmission?
Record utilisation is the removal of a document from a file to enable use of that document (e.g. may need to change details in a file).
Record transmission refers to the movement of a document from one location to another (usually for use and then returned).
Refer to page 118

46. What is archiving?
Archiving is the practice of removing an active file from every day use and storing it in another location.
Refer to page 119