Course details

Overview ?

INTRODUCTION

Whatever the job title - whether it be administrator, office manager, secretary or something else - the role of co-ordinating and supporting the work of the office, department or team is crucial to everyone’s success and the achievement of departmental and organisational objectives.

This new programme takes a fresh look at this role and the personal skills and approaches needed to fulfil it effectively.

This includes a focus on:

managing the workload and work-related stress
managing personal relationships and communicating effectively
organising and supporting meetings
managing information and providing what management needs
monitoring and administering budgets and projects
improving office systems and processes
self-development and career management

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Office/department co-ordinators, other administrative personnel, secretaries and personal assistants

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

To help participants develop their skills and understanding and to motivate them so that they fulfil their roles effectively and enhance the quality of service they provide to their bosses and departments.

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

This is a varied and participative programme which includes informal lecture, discussion, case studies, exercises and videos. The programme also provides an excellent opportunity for participants to explore and learn from each other’s experience and to benchmark their own approaches accordingly.

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

The programme emphasises the importance of the co-ordinator’s role and the need to develop proactive approaches particularly in solving problems and enhancing the quality of the service provided. Also emphasised is the range of personal skills required and how individuals need to take responsibility for their continuing development.

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

DAY 1 - Managing the Workload/ Managing Pressure and Stress

Programme introduction and the co-ordinator’s role
Streamlining systems and cutting out unnecessary work
Making the best use of resources
Planning and priority setting
Managing requests and conflicting priorities
Helping others manage their time
Understanding work-based stress and pressure
‘Stress-busting’ strategies

DAY 2 - Managing Working Relationships and Effective Communication

Networking and influencing skills – getting co-operation from others
Managing relationships with the boss
Taking a briefing and briefing others (task delegation and co-ordination)
Principles of effective communication
Getting the best out of e-mail communication
Assertiveness
Dealing with conflict and difficult relationships

DAY 3 - Organising Effective Meetings / Managing & Presenting Information

What makes an effective meeting?
Developing agendas
Co-ordinating participants’ availability and providing advanced information
Organising venues – location, layout, equipment and catering
Organising remote meetings (e.g. teleconferencing)
Making notes and drafting minutes
Meeting support - designing effective and attractive PowerPoint slides
Principles of information management
Digesting data and making it meaningful
Presenting graphs and tables
Principles of report writing – editing and enhancing others’ reports

DAY 4 - Managing & Monitoring Budgets and Projects / Getting the Best from Office Technology

What goes wrong with projects?
CPA and principles of project planning/scheduling
Using project planning software
Budget management – allocating expenditure to budget headings
Monitoring actual expenditure against budget – variance analysis
Managing the office environment
Getting the best from office technology
Developing paperless systems
Developing and using relational data-bases

DAY 5 - Developing Your Own Performance/ Getting the Best from Your Appraisal

Taking a proactive approach to problem solving and continuous improvement
Identifying blockages to enhanced performance
Identifying skills and knowledge needs and how to meet them
Taking an active part in your own appraisal and getting the support you need
Programme summary and action planning

Day 1

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Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Training Methodology

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