Knowledgeable, efficient secretarial assistants, PAs and private secretaries are very valuable to their executives and to the enterprise for which they work, so they are in great demand and command good salaries and other benefits - good, well-trained secretaries/PAs/administrators are valued and sought after - no enterprise can get along without one (or more) of them. Their range of duties can be wide, and can vary considerably; This Program provides essential training and knowledge about very many of them, including office management principles, staff matters, registry and general duties.  The Program also teaches about supervision of office personnel, and how to prepare for promotion to managerial posts.

This workshop also shows the dynamics of records management in organizational settings in general with special reference to the human resources function. The course seeks to equip the participants with critical skills relevant to the management of records in the world of work

Course objective

On completion of the course, participants should be able to:

• Discuss records management policy
• Explain records management justification
• Illustrate principles of records management
• Outline records retention and disposition schedules and scheduling
• Describe reformatting
• Analyze electronic records
• Appraise records centre
• Discuss records disposal and destruction
• Application of ICTs in Records and Archive Management
• Describe vital records
• Explain forms, directives and reports management
• Discuss confidentiality and access; subpoenas and other courts orders
• Discuss disaster preparedness, response and recovery

Course outline

• The types and roles of the PA/Secretary; personal attributes and skills, work relationships, adapting to change.
• The office environment: layout, design, environmental factors, furniture and furnishings, equipment and machinery, their functions; health and safety concerns.
• The world of commerce; public, private, types of enterprises.
• Business letters and their preparation; desktop publishing.
• Communications including memos, emails, forms, reports  and other business documents.
• Filing systems, data and information. 
• The uses and control of office machines
• Computer systems: data, databases, hardware, software, data security.
• Incoming mail: sorting, opening, distributing; dictation, checking typed and word processed work.
• Outgoing mail, despatching mail, options, postage, posting options and machinery.
• Reception work, visitors, appointments, deliveries, arranging meetings, representing the organisation.
• Meetings: arrangements, notices, agendas, taking minutes, preparing minutes.
• Making travel arrangements; the appointments diary.
• Conferences, managing events, logistics, travel. 
• Effective communication: oral, visual, written, electronic.
• The functions and principles of management; technical and managerial aspects.
• Setting good examples, attitudes. Preparing for promotion.
• Defining key concepts, Records management policies, Justification of Records 
• Management, Principles of records management, Records retention and disposition schedules and scheduling

Who Should Attend

This skills programme is designed for the public sector and is aimed at:
Admin Officers, registry staff, mail clerks and messengers

Methodology

• Interactive input and presentation
• Case Studies 
• Discussions, Q and A (Question and Answer)