Administrative Office Procedures
Administrative Office Procedures
PROCEDURES
AND MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The twenty-first century ushers in an office environment
that presents innumerable challenges to the office
professionals. Rapid changes in information technology, new
organizational patterns, expanding scope of businesses,
refocusing of business goals, and competition have
revolutionized the role of the office professional. Today the
age of knowledge explosion, he enters a workplace
dramatically different from the office a few decades ago.
Because of the transition, the office becomes a dynamic
center where a powerhouse of professionals fuse their
expertise together in healthy competition and cooperation.
The modern office is composed of people who create,
collect, process, utilize, and store business information
needed to define the object workforce to take action to
accomplish the planned objectives. This underscores the
important role of the office professionals in assisting the
executives who perform their specialized functions.
What is an Office
• generally a room or other area where an organization's employees
perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects
and goals of the organization.
• a place of business, place of work
• a room, set of rooms, or building used as a place for commercial or
professional work.
• an information center which provides information relating to
business transaction.
Kinds of office
• Traditional office
• Office in transition
• State-of-the-art office
TRENDS IN THE OFFICE
ENVIRONMENT
• 1. Modern computer
Technology
The growth of technology
directly results in the
increase of information
and systems available in
business.
• 2.Globalization
More and more businesses in the
country are going multinational in
operation. This means that many
businesses operate both within the
Philippines and in other countries.
These developments created a
need to understand people of
different cultures and backgrounds
and be able to communicate with
them effectively. This development
also exerts pressure for rigid
training and education of the
workforce to enable them to be
globally competitive in terms of
skills and competencies.
• Focus on Quality
TQM or total quality
management is an
approach to
organizational
improvement referring to
a vigorous emphasis on
the quality of goods and
services produced. This
concept demands that the
office professional
understand the
importance of satisfying
the needs of the client or
customer and realize that
extremely high standards
of performance are
essential.
• Corporate Restructuring and
Downsizing
There is a noticeable trend
among business organizations
to reduce the number of
employees to select core
group who receive and enjoy
regular company benefits. For
company projects, outsourcing
is practiced by hiring
employees on a temporary
basis. This arrangement does
not imply that career
opportunities for today’s office
professionals are becoming
limited. Rather, it presents
new challenges for the
individual to demonstrate
excellent skills and attitudes to
merit an established place in
the office.
• Compressed Work Week,
Flextime, and Job sharing
• Data processing is
organizing, storing, and
retrieving numerical data
with the use of computer
software. Such data may
include orders, purchases,
accounts payable, sales
accounts receivable or
inventory. All office
professionals should have
working knowledge of
basic computations and
accounting to handle
simple tasks like handling
petty cash, checking
accounts, and keeping
accounting records.
THE OFFICE PROFESSIONAL
• Despite technological innovations, the office professional
remains to be the most potent force in the office. He has not
and will not be replaced by machines. He provides the
human element in facilitating the office communication of
information. This naturally demands mastery of office skills
and possession of personality requisites of the highest order.
• 4. Time Management
• Because you are a resource for the whole company, it can
feel like your time is stretched across several
departments. To make sure your time is properly allocated
and planned, it’s crucial that you have good time
management. Otherwise, you will potentially stretch
yourself too thin. To be the best resource for your team,
you need to accurately plan your tasks and the time they
will take.
• Strategic Planning
• Similar to time management, admin assistants need the
skill of being able to plan strategically. This means
prioritizing your tasks in order of importance or planning
out processes for the entire office to follow. Planning skills
also come into play when arranging employee and
executive calendars when unexpected cancellations or
changes arise.
• 6. Resourcefulness
• If you already have experience working as an
administrative professional, you already know that you
need to be able to adapt. In business, things can change
at a rapid pace and you need to be able to adapt quickly
to get the job done and assist your teammates. To do this,
admins need to be resourceful in getting their tasks done
through multi-tasking and creative thinking skills. This is
especially important when your boss is unavailable during
a crisis—as an assistant you need to be resourceful in
exploring other avenues to reach a solution.
• 7. Detail-Oriented
• In handling sensitive client or partner communications,
assistants need to be detail-oriented to catch potential
typos and grammatical errors. Furthermore, having an
eye for detail helps with data entry tasks and reporting to
ensure that your work is accurate and trustworthy.
Missing small details in a report or memo leaves a less
than stellar impression on the recipient and leaves room
for further mistakes.
• 8. Anticipates Needs
• The difference between a good assistant and a great
assistant is their ability to anticipate needs and complete
important tasks without needing to be asked. An
amazing assistant will take initiative to support the
business instead of waiting around for approval or
direction. Think the company contact list is out of date?
Update it to show your bosses that you can take care of
the business without needing constant supervision.
Professional Image
• 1. Clothing
• First impressions are largely visual. Clothes will not
compensate for weak credentials or poor work habits but a
person who is neat in appearance can open doors for better
career opportunities. Clothes sense is not inborn but it can be
cultivated. A good wardrobe need not be expensive not
extensive. Build around a few items starting with basic outfits
in neutral colors. Mix and match these items to create new
combinations. Add swell-coordinated accessories to project
an appropriately and tastefully dressed picture.
• Use of accessories
• 2. Grooming
• A well-groomed appearance reflects an image of
success and an aura of self-confidence. Grooming
begins with personal hygiene and includes personal
cleanliness, care of the hair, skin, hands, and make-up.
A daily bath routine, use of deodorants and mouth wash
is necessary. Concern for the details of one’s personal
appearance ca indicate carefulness about work-related
duties.
• Consider the use of cologne and perfume.
• 3. Posture and Poise
• An expensive dress can look shabby or
slouching or slumping figure. Check your body
alignment whether you are sitting, standing, or
working.
• Poise is balance and stability. It is the ability to
appear calm, confident, cool, relaxed, and
composed even when you are struggling at
some difficult situation or person. It denotes
ease and dignity of manner.
• 4. Speech
• The quality of your voice has an impact on your
personality. Do you have a pleasant, clear, well-
controlled, attractive voice? Or is yours a low, dull? Is it
loud, shrill or demanding? Strive to correct your voice
and speech defects that make communications difficult
like regional accents. Refinement and good breeding is
reflected on the kind of language you use. Foul
language destroys your professional image. Use a
vocabulary that demonstrates wise an precise use of the
language. Slang expressions are not used in the office.
Personal Attributes
• A. Professional attitude
• Refers to a devoted attention to the job so that it is
performed completely, efficiently, and cheerfully as
possible.
• Accepts suggestions and supervision well
• Complies with office rules and regulations.
• Excellent team worker, pleasant and cooperative,
enthusiastic and interested in work.
• Avoids complaining
• Not moody but tries to be agreeable most of the time
• B. Ethical Behavior
• Possesses the strength of character to do what is right
regardless of the outcomes.
• Refuses to engage in office politics (who you know) but
holds on to one’s value system.
• Strictly observes office hours, does not watch the clock;
does not disappear frequently.
• Accepts responsibilities; does not attempt to pass the
blame to others for errors or shortcomings.
• Maintains honesty and integrity (company
supplies/equipment never taken for personal use).
• Respects the privacy of others.
• C. Loyalty
• Trustworthy; handles sensitive information and keeps silent about
confidential information.
• Understands the objectives of management and defends them if
needed be.
• Supports the executive and his ideas, decisions, projects, or
programs.
• Keeps company affairs to himself, does not discuss with others
anything that might discredit the executive or the company.
• Cost conscious; uses company supplies wisely.
• Committed to quality work on all occasions.
• Willing to exert extra effort or make personal sacrifices when
needed.
D. Flexibility
• Turns out good work under unusual circumstances or in new
environment.
• Responds to sudden changes in instructions.
• Tackles jobs that have not been done before.
• Shows alertness and intelligence
• Learns job requirements quickly.
• E. Self-Esteem
• Has a strong belief on one’s self, one’s competence, once
worth.
• Radiates inner peace; displays confidence.
• Acts decisively in pressure situations.
• Highly motivated to improve job performance.
• Not defensive, critical, or uncooperative.
• Has excellent ability to concentrate on intellectual endeavors.
• Focuses more on accomplishments rather than on failures.
• F. Tact and Diplomacy
• 1. Work hard at listening actively. Set goals for what you hope to
learn.
• 2. Overcome distractions. Drive distracting thoughts from the mind.
Ignore noisy surroundings.
• 3. Be less self-centered but more people oriented. Check if the
other person understands the message.
• 4. Check for nonverbal cues. Pay attention to how others react
when you communicate.
• 5. Do not interrupt. Suspend judgment when the other person is
speaking.
• 6. Do not plan your response while the person is still speaking.
• 7. Eliminate slang expressions and serious speech defects. Use
correct grammar.
• 8. Take notes but write only the main points of the message.
Human Relations skills
• Everyone needs a break from time to time, but do your best to limit them to only a few
minutes once or twice each day.
• It may seem impossible to get through your to-do list in a mere eight-hour workday,
but if you are diligent to eliminate these common time eaters, you may discover that
your day goes much smoother, and you get a lot more accomplished !
8. Disorganization
10. Procrastination
• Trying to avoid an unpleasant task by putting it aside with the
intention of doing it later.
TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE
PRODUCTIVITY
• 1. Establish Priorities
• It is necessary to organize the work to be done so that
the most important tasks are carried out first. In short,
you set priorities.
• Prioritizing is determining the order of priority in which
work will be processed.
• Priority Tasks those that you must finish today.
• Non-priority tasks are those that can wait for tomorrow or
even day after. They are needed but not immediately.
• 2.Prepare Daily To-do-lists
• 3.Keep Schedule
• Your schedule may consist of:
• Long term schedules such as annual,
semi annual quality schedule
including tax report, meetings or
inventory.
• Weekly schedules will help you set
aside blocks of time for tasks as they
become due.
• Daily Schedules
• Routine Works includes task that
make up a part of every office
professional’s day:ordering supplies,
opening mails.
• Special Work
• 4. Handle paper work as quickly as possible. Read and process the
paper then act on it. Handle the paper once.
• 5.Simplify Repetitive Tasks. Batching technique is one way to
simplify tasks.
• 6.Perform tasks correctly the first time.
• 7.Develop a procedure notebook.
• 8.Utilize slack time. If you have slack time, you may clear away
papers no longer needed, rearrange files, replace worn file folders.
• TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO
INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
• 1. Establish Priorities
• It is necessary to organize the work to be
done so that the most important tasks are
carried out first. In short, you set priorities.
• Prioritizing is determining the order of
priority in which work will be processed.
• Priority Tasks those that you must finish
today.
• Non-priority tasks are those that can wait for
tomorrow or even day after. They are
needed but not immediately.
• 2. Prepare Daily To-do-lists
• Before closing time each day, prepare your
schedule for the following day. As each job
is completed the following day, check it off
your daily schedule. Uncompleted items
can be added to the next day’s list, alerting
you to know how lat you are with the
particular items.
3. Keep Schedule
• Your schedule may consist of:
• Long term schedules such as annual, semi annual quality schedule
including tax report, meetings or inventory.
• Weekly schedules will help you set aside blocks of time for tasks as
they become due.
• Daily Schedules
• Routine Works includes task that make up a part of every office
professional’s day:ordering supplies, opening mails.
• Special Work
4. Handle paper work as quickly as possible. Read and process the
paper then act on it. Handle the paper once.
5. Simplify Repetitive Tasks. Batching technique is one way to simplify
tasks.
6. Perform tasks correctly the first time.
7. Develop a procedure notebook.
8.Utilize slack time. If you have slack time, you may clear away papers
no longer needed, rearrange files, replace worn file folders.
ERGONOMICS AND OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY
Ergos - work
Nomos - natural laws which refers
to how the work place is set
up.
Ergonomics - is the study of all
office equipment and
environmental factors that
contriute to workers'
productivity and job
satisfaction.
The science of designing
machines, operations, and
work environment that best
meets employee's needs.
• Factors to ensure productive
office workplace:
• 1. Color - not only beautifies
an office but also improves
condition under which office
work is performed. It
established that color affects
human emotions, senses, and
thought process.
• yellow, red, and orange create
cheerful environment.
• gray and dull colors induce
office workers to sleep or
make them lazy.
• cool colors like light green, and
blue produce a calm and
tranquil atmosphere.
• 2. Lighting and Ventilation
• Adequate light is essential to the
successful operation in the office.
Many office tasks require much
reading. Good light of sufficent
quantity, diffusion and brightness
should be maintained. Eye strain
which can cause fatigue, irritability
and muscular tension may be due
to improper ligthing.
• The use of draperies and screens
are recommended to diffuse light
and deflect glare.
• It is also necessary that an office
be well ventialted. Air conditioning
helps to control air temperature,
circulation and humidity.
• 3. Acoustics
• Sounds affect the office
productivity. Irritating sounds like
rattling machines and street
sounds can disturb workers and
decrease productivity.
• Wall-to-wall carpeting can be used
because of its sound absorbing
qualities.
• 4. Furniture and Equipment
• Office furniture is vital tool for
office professional. It favorably
influences the behavior of
employees, economizes on the
human exertion required and
reduces the time taken to perform
the necessary operation.
• Modular furniture can ba
arranged in a U-shape or L-
shape providing the worker
additional space on one side of
the desk.
• The office chair is the most
important physical facility in
the office. The posture chair is
designed to tailor fit the
occupant and provides
maximum seating comfort by
means of three adjustments:
the seat height, backrest
height, and backrest horizontal
position.
• 5. Floor Plan/Office Layout
• Office layout means the systematic arrangement of office
equipment, machines and furniture and providing adequate space to
office personnel for regular performance of work with efficiency.
• The efficient management of the work depends on the efficiency of
the general layout. To achieve office layout, one must know the
workflow from one individual to another, special requirements of
employees like space allocation, noise control, lighting, color, and
airconditioning.
• Workflow refers to the movement of people and paperwork through
the office.
Types of layout
• Open Plan for Collaboration
• 1. Scheduling Appointments
• You may record pre-scheduled
appointments either on an appointment
calendar or in an appointment book. You
may make your own calendar. Include
the following:
• 1. name of the person, business
connection, telephone number
• 2. purpose of the apointment
• 3. date and time of the appointment
• 4. where the appointment is to be
held if other than the executive's office.
• follow the preference of the executive in
schduling appointment.
• Remind the boss of his commitment
daily.
2. Avoiding Unkept Appointment
One of the most difficult tasks of the office professional is to prevent
overlapping or conflicting appointments.
The affected visitor is given priority in rescheduling.
3. Refusing appointments
Explain to the visitor the the executive has a heavy schedule.
Indicate politely that you will relay the visitor's message to the
executive as soon as possible.
4. Cancelling appointment.
Notify out-of-town visitor imediately
Local visitors should be notified by phone.
The office professional owes the affected visitor an honest explanation
for the cancellation.
COMMUNICATING BY
TELEPHONE
Telephone is an indispensable tool in every
organization, large or small regardless of the
nature of the business in today's organization.
Telephone provides inexpensive, convenient,
rapid and dirct means of verbally
communicating information. Despite the many
telecommunications devices now available,
management and office professionals believe
that with the telephone, verbal contact with
individuals both within and outside the office is
an essential activity for an effective and and
efficient office performance. Therefore, the
office professional has to develop and practice
effective telephone techniques.
Advantages of Using Telephone
• 1. A real conversation betwen two person in which
information can be exchanged, ideas expressed in
friendly or business-like discussion.
• 2. Telephone is like an office personal visit, not
appointment is needed, each person remaining
comfortable in the office.
• 3. Can be used for preparatory discussion in
making arrangement of meetings and appointment.
• 4. Telephone is effective in reducing traveling cost.
• 5. effective in increasing sales, handling volume
accounts, and contacting delinquent accounts.
• 6. Good telephone practice aid in building the
goodwill of any enterprise and help get work
accomplish.
• Many impotant matters of minor importance can be
settled by phone satisfactorily and in a minimum of
time.
• 1. Telephone Techniques:
• 1.1 Develop a pleasant voice
See that voice is alert, natural,
distinct, and expressive. Develop a
voice with a smile.
1.2 Speak distinctly.
1.3 Be helpful and considerate.
1.4 Be discreet
1.5 Ask questions tactfully
1.6 Take messages completely and
accurately.
1.7 Be attentive
1.8 Say thank you and you are
welcome.
1.9 Use the caller's name
• 1.10 Transfer calls properly
• 1.11 terminate Call Courteously
• Express Post
• International Express Mail Service (IEMS) is the fastest means of
sending time-sensitive items to addresses abroad. Any articles such as
documents, samples of merchandise and goods, not specifically prohibited
by regulations, can be sent via IEMS. Currently, the Philippines has a
bilateral agreement with 45 countries for the reciprocal exchange of EMS
items.
• Domestic Express Mail Service (DEMS) is the fastest means of
sending urgent messages, business documents or goods to addresses
within the Philippines. Generally, DEMS items are delivered the next day
after the date of mailing provided that they are posted on or before the
prescribed cut-off time. Currently, the service is available in all major cities
and towns nationwide.
• Express Pouch is a next day delivery guaranteed to time-sensitive and
important documents. It is a guaranteed next-day door-to-door delivery to
selected areas either by land or air.
• Letter Post items include letters and post-cards weighing not more than 2
kilos which can be accepted in post offices and postal stations for delivery
locally or any part of the world.
• Letters are first class mails which are either ordinary, priority or registered
• Ordinary Mail includes all unrecorded items which are charged the basic
postage and delivered through the regular delivery channels. Mails are
classified into first, second and third class.
• Priority Mail is a next-day delivery of unrecorded mails in Metro Manila
and selected cities and towns nationwide if posted on or before 3:00PM.
• Registered Mail is accorded mail security with the entire process being
recorded from acceptance to delivery to the addressee. As proof of delivery,
the sender may attach a registry return receipt to be signed by the recipient.
Indemnity is paid in case of loss or damage of registered mail.
• M Bags are defined as direct sacks of printed matters sent to a single
addressee at a single address. There are three types of M-bags: Airmail M-
bags, International Priority Airmail (IPA) M-bags, and International Surface Air
Lift (ISAL) M-bags.
• Articles that meet the definition of Printed Matters include newspapers,
magazines, journals, books, sheet music, catalogs, directories, commercial
advertising, promotional matter, and the likes.
• Small Packets are specially provided for the transmission of goods
(including trade samples), whether dutiable or not, in the same mail as Printed
Papers, with a limit of two (2) kilograms and below.
• Parcel Post is a convenient means of sending non-perishable foodstuff,
handicrafts and other merchandise to addressees within the country and
abroad. This service is available in all post offices nationwide. Parcel may
be sent via air or surface means.
• PHLPost offers domestic and international money transfer services to meet the
demands of different sections of the society.