Streamlining Administrative Practices

Streamlining Your Administrative Practices

By Stacey BoucherFor

Mompreneurs

Who Am I?

• Bachelor of Arts Degree• 20 years Office

Administration• Professor of Office

Administration Program• 911 Dispatcher with

Timmins Police • Virtual Assistant and

Owner of eGirl Friday

Does your workspace look like this?

To this…..

Why is it important?

Knowledge Management

Accessibility

Efficiency

Economical

Reliable

Integrity

Let’s do the Math

• An average person spends 30 minutes to 2 hours a day searching for information.

Even in the best scenario…

• 30 minutes/day x 5 days/week = 2.5 hours• 2.5 hours x 52 weeks = 130 hours/year• 130 hours x $25/hr = $3250

We are going to cover…

• Organization• Records Management• Time Management• Email Management

Your Desktop is Your Workspace

Handle Paper Once

• Read it• Action it• File it• Recycle it

Purge, Purge, Purge

In and Out

Contact Lists

Calendars

Colour Code

Records Management

Why do we keep records?

Necessary for conducting daily business

Contains vital information – accountability requirements

Historical information or references which may affect the present business or give answers to other questions

Please take a minute and list 3 types of records you create,

receive, edit or evaluate on a daily basis

Records: not just paper anymore!A record is information that is recorded in ANY format

Two types of records:OFFICIAL RECORDInformation of ongoing business legal or audit value (about 40%)

TRANSITORY RECORDInformation of a temporary nature that do NOT have legal, audit or business value (about 60% of all information)

NO RECORD

“TRANSITOR

Y”

RECORD

“OFFICIAL”

Time Management

• The way we manage ourselves and our tasks in relation to the time we have in a day

• Time is a resource that we cannot get back.

Time Wasters

• Ineffective communication• Poor telephone usage• Inadequate planning• Improper handling of visitors• Disorganization• Procrastination

Analyze your time• Log your time – chart your activities and

how long they take• Analyze the log to see if there are any

time wasters• Prepare an action plan

Establish Effective Routines

• Set priorities• Prepare daily to-do lists• Simplify repetitive tasks• Conquer procrastination• Handle paper once• Organize your work area• Reduce interruptions• Use good communication techniques

Time Management Matrix

1 – Do It Now• Urgent• Important

2 – Important Not Urgent• Decide When

to Do It

3 – Urgent Not Important• Delegate It

4 – Not Important Not Urgent• Dump ItIm

port

anceUrgency

Time Management Systems

• Manual system – desktop calendar• Computer system - Outlook

Let’s picture the e-mail user

• If you had to put a .85 cent stamp on each e-mail, would you still send it?

A Truer Picture

• Most people receive between 20-100+ e-mails a day.

• Survival mode • Most people ignore e-mail

Our expectations when sending an e-mail

• That the person acts on our e-mail right away

• What is “check” e-mail? We need to act on e-mail. That is how you add value

• No such thing as urgent e-mail. Wrong tool for urgent messages. Do you e-mail when there is a fire?

Messages have 3 components

• 55% Body language• 38% Tone• 7% Words• 2 of the 3 largest components are missing in

an e-mail.

When is e-mail inappropriate?

• If it will result in potential conflict• If it is complex – more than 3 lines, pick up the

phone• Sensitive or bad news• Urgency

Venting prevention

• Ask yourselfWould I say this to the person’s face?Am I putting the receiver in an awkward position?How would I feel if I got this message?

E-mail tools

• Spell Check (tools, options, spelling)• Signatures – do not put unusual fonts, photos,

vcards, disclaimers or personal sentiments in your signature

• Stationery – no use in business environment

E-mail tools con’t

• Read/delivery receipts – do not use. This says that you don’t trust that the receiver is doing their job

• Remove the “important” column. You can decide what is important. To some, everything is important

• Mail merge – Tools, connects with your outlook contacts

• Attach hyperlinks whenever possible instead of attachments

Make the Subject Line useful

• Make it information rich• Indicate the type of message – FYI, Response

required• Put important words first. Use a verb, ask a

question, specify action required or make a promise

Subject line con’t

• Message threads – change the topic in the subject line

• More than 3 exchanges – pick up the phone

Writing Style• Use inverted pyramid- most important points in the

first paragraph• 180 words max• Use bullets/numbers or sub-headings– 3 max• Bold important info• Bold people’s names when asking a question• Put action items or questions on a separate line

Writing styles con’t

• Use active vs passive• Avoid acronyms or jargon• Do not use emoticons • DO NOT USE ALL CAPS• Proofread

Inline comments

• In the first line say that you are commenting inline

• Change the color of the font – italics, bold or color

Use Outlook to full potential

• When receiving e-mail – Deal with it– Delete it– Delegate it– Defer it to action at a later date

• Drag your e-mail into a task• Remove pop ups. Will save you 30 minutes a

day

Use Outlook con’t

• If you check your e-mail 2 times a day instead of every one that comes in, you will save 45 minutes to 1.5 hours a day.

• Add tag line in your signature:– I may only check my e-mail twice a day. If urgent,

please call.

Questions?

• [email protected]

• Check out my blog “The Administrationista” or sign up for my newsletter at www.egirlfriday.ca