Admin Assistants Flashcards
What are the benefits of out-sourcing administrative services? (9)
- May not have staff to do particular job therefore have to employ specific staff to do the job
- Frees staff for other tasks
- Work may be completed to a higher standard
- May be more cost effective
- Experts/specialists handling the work
- Company can concentrate on their own core activities
- No interruption to workflow
- Cost of outsourcing may be less than doing the work within the organisation
- Reduces staff costs as no need to employ permanent staff
Justify the decision to employ an Administrative Assistant on a fixed term contract. (6)
o May only be required for a short period of time
o May be needed to fulfil a specific task/busy period
o Allows the line manager to ascertain skills and qualities – trial period
o May have a limited budget so can only employ short term
o May be company policy not to give out permanent contracts
o The AA knows how long the contract will last and can make plans
What are the essential skills/qualities a Senior Administrative Assistant should possess? (8)
o Patience to be able to work with other staff
o Tact/discretion when dealing with sensitive situations
o Organisational skills to ensure that targets are met
o IT skills to provide training/support to less skilled staff
o Motivational to ensure that staff are encouraged to meet targets
o Delegation to allocate tasks fairly/take account of skills
o Time Management to ensure deadlines are met
o Communicate with people at all levels in the organisation
What’s a Notice of meeting
Tells those eligible to attend the meeting where the meeting is to be held, the date and the time – often combined with an agenda – a set period of notice has to be given between issuing the Notice and the meeting - sent to all attendees in advance
What is meeting agenda and why have it?
List of topics to be discussed at meeting - some items are standard items and are always on the agenda, eg AOCB – allows attendees to prepare for meeting – decide whether or not to attend
What are Minutes of meeting?
Record of what was discussed at a meeting - the decisions taken and proposers and seconders are noted - Minutes are the official record of the meeting – normally written in the past tense and third person – a record is not made of everything that was said at the meeting – minutes usually recorded in the same order as the items appear on the agenda
What are the tasks that an administrator may have to undertake to organise a meeting effectively (12)
- Create a Priorities list to ensure all tasks are completed
- Contact all managers to confirm attendance numbers
- Confirm that the Boardroom is still available.
- Book suitable equipment required for the meeting eg IT resources
- Establish any special requirements for attendees eg dietary or disability
- Organise video or web conferencing facilities for remote attendees
- Liaise with manager to finalise Agenda
- Word process/copy meeting documentation
- Scan or copy the meeting documents and circulate to attendees
- Create an attendance register
- Catering for dietary requirements, necessary for the length of the meeting
- Parking – effect on attendees’ timekeeping
Why would you use an e-diary in the organisation of a meeting? (7)
- Use of e-diary to invite possible meeting attendees/ attendees can accept or decline/immediacy
- Other diaries can be checked before a date and time is chosen in order to ensure that most people can attend before sending notification/meeting request
- Attach meeting documents to save on postage/speed
- To Do list- deadlines attached, colour coding, prioritise, allocate to other people, view progress, flagging for attention
- Reoccurring monthly meeting is entered with a reminder
- Using notes section to give more detail
- Reminders/alarms to action tasks or to countdown to meeting
Discuss the use of an e-diary when organising meetings.
Automatic invites can be sent out to all attendees at the same time - giving an instant acceptance or decline
Automatically set recurring meeting dates into the diary and diary of others
Set reminders to prompt people in advance of the meeting
o Reduces the chance of non-attendance
Can be used on a network/synchronised with other diaries to check availability before selecting a suitable date
o Time is saved from contacting people individually
o Alerts the user to a double-booking
Meeting documentation can be attached and sent
o Can lead to attendees being better informed and prepared for decision making
Can quickly search through appointments and contacts when preparing for a meeting
Inbuilt to-do lists allow for meeting tasks to be prioritised
Justify the need for an Administrative Assistant to receive training in using the organisation’s IT systems (7)
Fewer errors may be made if the AA is trained in use of IT systems and equipment
Less time will be spent correcting errors or searching for information - meaning employees will work more productively
AA would be able to take on additional duties/trusted by boss
AA will feel more confident if trained in the use of IT systems - and will therefore have higher morale at work increasing productivity levels
The chance of information being deleted or corrupted is reduced if training is given to employees. Compliance with Data Protection legislation
Information can be accessed more efficiently by well-trained employees - resulting in a better standard of service to customers
Health and Safety training to prevent injury/take breaks – max one.
Why send out an agenda in advance of a meeting? (7)
Legal requirement if a plc
Allows members to decide if they need to attend
Allows members to prepare thoughts and information/research topics
Allows members to prepare resources required
Members will know if there is going to be a vote
Members should be able to gauge how long meeting will take
Members can alert the chair of additional items to be added
What are the qualities/skills a new Administrative Manager will require in a new role? (14)
Supportive/approachable attitude is needed to help lead a team
Confidence using systems and procedures to set targets/ standards/supervise
Enthusiastic as to motivate a team of employees
Decisive as to reach conclusions quickly and therefore save time
Ability to work unsupervised so productivity increases
Ability to work as part of a team to minimise conflict
Good communication skills are required for dealing with customers
Ability to express information clearly to avoid confusion
Good organisational skills/ability to prioritise to ensure
deadlines are met
Good interpersonal skills for dealing with different stakeholders
Honesty, trust and discretion when dealing with sensitive matters/information
Delegation skills in order to allocate tasks fairly and to those best suited to the work
Disciplining of staff in order to ensure that policies are adhered to
Compare the role of the Chairperson and the Administrative Assistant with regards to meetings (6)
- The Chairperson will decide on the agenda items whereas the AA (Admin Assistant) will create the agenda and send it to attendees
- The Chairperson will inform the AA of the requirements for a venue whereas the AA will research and book the venue
- The Chairperson will decide/request specific equipment or requirements for the meeting whereas the AA has to ensure the equipment is booked
- The Chairperson will decide on attendees and the AA would invite attendees/send Notice of Meeting
- The Chairperson will work through the agenda items in order during the meeting whereas the AA will take the minutes
- The AA ensures that the minutes are typed up whereas the Chairperson checks the accuracy before they are distributed
Describe strategies an Administrative Assistant could use to improve the effectiveness of their time and task management.
give each job a priority – trying to note how long will be spent on a job and trying to stick to the list/could try to prioritise tasks into urgent and non-urgent, high, medium and low priority
Complete one task before moving on to another.
Handle papers or tasks only once in order of priority
Avoid interruptions by ensuring telephone calls are dealt with in minimum time and that chatty colleagues are discouraged. Have a set time for catching up on calls/e-mails/visitors
Use a quiet/separate space to ensure that he/she can focus on the tasks she has to complete without interruptions or the distraction of the main open-plan office
Action Plans could be used to break the task down into smaller components with timings
Make use of Gantt Charts which would indicate the overall timescale of the project and milestones/deadlines which need to be met
Discuss with other members of staff if work can be shared depending on their workload
E-diary could be used to set reminders of tasks/for meetings.
What are the duties of an Admin Assistant?
- Carries out routine tasks delegated by the Senior Administrative assistant
- Deals with incoming calls and greeting and directing visitors with appointments
- Carries out the copying and emailing of routing documentation as delegated by the Senior Administrative assistant
- Works with office software and hardware the complete clerical duties such as updating databases, preparing documentation for meetings, updating the e-diary, sending emails with notifications of meetings and ensuring files are managed effectively
