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Carrick Academy

Core Notes

N4/5 Administration and IT

Administrative Practices

CONTENTS

Outcome 1: The Role of AdministrationThe learner will: Provide an account of administration in the workplace by:

1.1 Describing the tasks, skills and qualities of an administrative assistant

1.2 Describing the key features of good customer care in the context of administration

1.3 Describing the organisational responsibilities in terms of health and safety

1.4 Describing the key organisational responsibilities in terms of the security of people, property and information

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Outcome 1The Role of Administration

1.1 Describe the tasks, skills and qualities of an administrative assistant.

In this unit you will learn: to identify and describe the tasks, skills and qualities of administrators

Tasks and skills are the roles, responsibilities or duties involved in their job. These are things which the administrative assistant physically does in their day to day job, eg filing.

Qualities are attributes of someone’s personality. This is the type of person you would like the administrative assistant to be, eg polite.

Job descriptionThe Human Resources Department is responsible for preparing the job description.More details relating to a specific job are usually found in a job description. A job description sets out some background to the post, the duties associated with the post, the post holder’s responsibilities and who their line manager is. It also includes details such as hours of work, salary and holiday entitlement.

Here is an example of a job description for a junior administrative assistant:JOB DESCRIPTION

Title: Junior Administrative Assistant

Purpose: Provide Administrative Support

Duties/Tasks: Word processing documents Maintaining customer and supplier databases Dealing with mail/e-mail Reception – deal with customers over the phone or in

person Filing paper and electronic documents Reprographics – photocopying, binding, scanning Dealing with telephone and e-mail enquiries

Responsible to: Administration Manager

Conditions of service:Pay: £16,000

Hours of Work: Full-time

Holiday Entitlement

4 weeks

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Person specification

A person specification is a document which shows the type of person required to do the job successfully. It highlights the skills, qualifications, experience and personal qualities required from a suitable candidate. Each component of the person specification is usually classed as essential (a must-have skill or quality) or desirable (having this skill or quality would be an advantage, but it’s not vital). It allows a profile of the ideal person to be prepared and used to assist in the selection process.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Desirable

Skills Ability to accurately key in data

Ability to create and edit word-processed documents

Ability to create and edit spreadsheets

Confident at using e-mail and Internet

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including good telephone manner

Ability to create and edit databases

Knowledge of prioritising workloads in order to meet deadlines

Ability to learn new ICT skills quickly

Ability to file accurately

Ability to deal with visitors to theorganisation

Qualifications NQV Level 2,NC Office Admin or equivalent

National 5 Englishand Mathematics

Experience Previous administrativeexperience at a junior level

Personal Qualities

Reliable and dependable

Flexible and always willing to learn new things

Willing to accept responsibility

Able to get on well with others

Able to multi-task

Here is an example of a person specification for a junior administrative assistant:

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Both the job description and person specification will be used to create the job advertisement. The job advertisement provides possible candidates with all the necessary information relating to the job. This will help candidates decide whether or not they are suitable for the job and whether they should apply for the job.

Here is an example of a Job Advert for an Administrative Assistant:

The following can be identified from the above Job Advert:

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Tasks Skills Qualitiespreparing word processed documentsmaintaining customer and supplier databasesdealing with mailfilingcovering receptionanswering the telephonephotocopyinganswering e-mail enquiries

Up-to-date Word, Excel, Access and e-mail skills

pleasant and politeneat and well presentedable to get on well with peoplepatientcalmable to cope under pressureclearly spoken

Administration Assistant

Salary £16,000

Ref: 2914/ADMIN AST

Working as part of the busy administration team, your main duties will include administrative support in the form of preparing WP documents, maintaining customer and supplier databases, dealing with mail, filing and covering reception.

Other duties may include answering the telephone, photocopying and answering e-mail enquiries.

Given the computerised nature of this post, the suitable candidate will have up-to-date experience of using Word, Excel, Access and e-mail.

The successful candidate should also demonstrate good communication skills, organisational skills and be able to work both unsupervised and as part of a team.

Applicants should be trained to NC level and preferably have relevant work experience.

For further information, contact Gordon Christie, Administration Manager.

Some of the most common tasks carried out by an administrative assistant include:

dealing with mail and sending and receiving emailsword processing business documentsusing databases and spreadsheets to store informationmaking diary appointments using photocopier and fax machineorganising eventsusing the internetanswering the telephoneworking in reception

Dealing with Mail

The administrative assistant will have to deal with both incoming and outgoing mail.

Incoming mail – this is mail that is sent to the organisation. For example, it may be an invoice from a supplier asking for payment for goods that were sold to the business.

It is important that mail received in the organisation is dealt with promptly. This is so that others in the organisation are able to make a start on their day’s work.

It is therefore not uncommon for administrative staff to begin work early to ensure that mail is available when other staff arrive for work.

Outgoing mail – this is mail that is sent by the organisation. For example, letters to candidates to inform them if they were successful or not in applying for a job.

Organisations are making more use of electronic mail (e-mail), rather than using traditional mail which involves envelopes and postage. Therefore the administrative assistant will also be responsible for checking e-mails received and ensuring that they are passed on to the appropriate member of staff to be dealt with correctly. They may also have to reply to emails that have been sent to the organisation.

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Filing

It will be necessary for all organisations to keep documents and records for a short while for reference or dealing with enquiries. The following are examples of documents that may have to be filed by an administrative assistant:

Candidate application formsInvoices sent and receivedStaff recordsCustomer recordsPatient records, for example in a dentist or doctor’s surgery

It is important that this information is filed correctly in order that it can be found easily. If you have a customer on the phone, for example, you do not want to keep them waiting too long whilst you access their record.

It is therefore essential that organisations have an effective filing system so that documents can be easily found.

An effective filing system will also ensure that documents do not get damaged or lost. This task is likely to be undertaken by an administrative assistant at a junior level. The method of filing used will depend on the type of organisation.

There are two types of filing – manual and electronic.

Manual – this is when information is stored on paper. Filing cabinets and folders are commonly used for manual filing.

Electronic – this is when information is held electronically, for example saving information in the hard drive of your computer or on to a pen drive.

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Commonly customer, supplier and employee details will be held electronically on a database. Electronic filing has many advantages over paper-based systems:

improved presentation – files held electronically appear more professional than those which are handwritten

easy to amend – if details require amending this can be easily and quickly done using an electronic database as opposed to rewriting a handwritten index card

sort order – whether records need to be sorted alphabetically by name, alphabetically by area, numerically by ID number or chronologically by date this can be done at the press of a button

improved accuracy – human error is eliminated so that records will not be filed in the wrong order, because electronic databases will not allow two customers to have the same account number

interrogation – by performing a query on the database specific information can easily be found – such as the addresses of all those customers who live in Aberdeen or the names of all employees who started work in the last year.

Making Diary Appointments

Some employers don't like to have their diaries in a hand-written format. As you can imagine, a typed diary is much neater and easier to read. There are electronic software programs that allow you to enter appointments easily and efficiently.

Microsoft Outlook Calendar, which is an add-on to the email facility, is one such software program. Before an administrative assistant leaves at the end of each working day, they might print the diary and place it on their employer’s desk, ready for the following day. If the employer can use the software, and the computers are networked (linked) then he or she could even retrieve their own diaries to check each morning..

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Organising Events

An administrative assistant will often be actively involved in organising and supporting events.

This may include, for example:

searching the internet for information about possible conference/meeting venues and booking onlinesearching the internet for suitable methods of travel and booking onlineusing word processing software, for example Microsoft Word, to prepare an agenda for the meetingusing publishing software, for example Microsoft Publisher, to prepare name badges for participantsusing a photocopier and laminator to help make name badges

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1.2 Describe the key features of good customer care in the context of administration.

In this unit you will learn:

the key features of good customer carethe benefits of good customer care

National 5 only:

the impact of poor customer careexamples of customer service policies

Customer Care

“Customer Care is all about putting the customer first, anticipating the customer’s needs and problems, establishing relationships and tailoring services to meet specific needs.”

Providing good customer care is vital in the success of any business and therefore most organisations have their own Customer Care Strategy. This explains to customers what level of service they can expect to get from the organisation. In order that employees provide good customer care, they may be issued with and have to follow the procedures outlined in a Code of Practice which provides clear advice to employees.

Features of Good Customer Care

1. Answering customer calls quickly and politely to ensure that they are not left waiting and become frustrated with the organisation

2. Respond to emails and letters quickly3. Show flexibility when dealing with customer enquires or complaints4. Record complaints carefully and ensure they are dealt with in the correct manner

and within an acceptable time5. Listen to the customer carefully6. Always be friendly and helpful7. If you cannot help the customer then pass them to someone that can

First impressions count! Customer service is about treating your customers correctly so they choose to return to your organisation rather than competitors. This is called gaining customer loyalty. There are several ways you can ensure customers are treated correctly including:

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Customer Service Promise – a statement set out by the organisation which outlines how customers will be treated.

Loyalty Schemes – a system used in some organisations where customers are rewarded for using their organisation rather than competitors e.g. Boots Advantage Card.

Mystery Shopper - where someone is employed to act like a normal customer and report back on the service they got.

Impact of good customer care

It is important organisations adopt good customer care strategies or they will find it difficult to survive. There are other reasons why having good customer service is beneficial to the organisation including:

Good customer care attracts and keeps customer which increases an organisations sales and profits.

Good customer care gives the organisation a good reputation with customers.

Good customer care makes organisations more competitive in their market.

Good service is always doing the right thing in the right way - sales and profitability depends on keeping customers happy. Thus customer care is important because it:

builds loyaltyimproves profits leads to customer satisfaction.

Good customer care leads to customer retention.

What will affect how satisfied a customer is?

how well the product/service matches customer needsthe value for money offeredefficiency and reliability in fulfilling ordersprofessionalism, friendliness and expertise of organisation's employeeshow well the customers are kept informedafter-sales service provided

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KEYWORDSCustomer careCustomer service promiseLoyalty SchemeMystery Shopper

N5 Only

The Impact of Poor Customer Care

Poor customer service may include the following:poor communicationlack of opportunity for customer feedbacknot listening to customer feedbacklack of suitable staff trainingbad impression of organisation created by poor presentationabsence of a clear complaints procedure

If customer care standards are poor within an organisation, there can be many negative effects on an organisation:

The organisation will gain a bad reputation and customers will not return, resulting in a loss of sales.

Customers will feel they are not being listened to.

Staff will become demotivated and lower morale.

one dissatisfied customer will tell other peoplelosing customers means falling sales and therefore profitsit can be hard work and can mean expensive advertising to try and regain the customers lost.

A business cannot function without customers. If the customer is not satisfied with the organisation’s product or service, he/she will take their business elsewhere!

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KEYWORDSProfitReputationMorale

Customer Service Policy

A customer service policy is a written code of conduct for employees to use when serving customers. It could include:

how to respond to questions from customershow to deal with angry customers who want refunds

A policy can be short or it can be detailed with more than a page. The policy may state what is expected when a certain situation occurs and appropriate steps to take action. Typically, managers determine the policy and include it within the employee handbook.

Here is an extract of a customer care policy from an electrical business:

“Our primary aim is to provide customers with the very best level of service. Our goal is your complete satisfaction and to achieve this we are committed to our Customer Care Policy for all jobs regardless of size. In particular we aim to:

deal with customers honestly, fairly and politelybe trustworthy and reliable and respect confidentialitykeep appointments on time and respond quickly and in a helpful mannerarrive and finish at agreed timeslook professional, wearing the appropriate clothing, which should always be clean and presentablemeet our deadlines and keep the customer informed of progresswhen we cannot provide exactly what someone wants, be innovative and suggest alternativesapologise if things go wrong and do our best to put things rightlisten to feedback, act on it and respond”

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1.3 Describe the organisational responsibilities in terms of health and safety.

In this unit you will learn:

how induction training is used to cover health and safety issueswhat employees/employers must do to observe health and safety rules in accordance with current legislationpotential hazards in the workplace and measures to ensure safe practicehow to complete an accident report form

Health and Safety

N5 Only

Induction Training

The word ‘induction’ comes from the word ‘introduction’. Induction training is training which an employee first receives when starting a new job. The personnel (or human resources) department will be responsible for general induction training such as general policies and procedures.

All employees must be given training on health and safety issues as part of their induction training.

In some organisations the induction processes will last for a few hours, in others they can last for a few days. All employees must be given training on health and safety issues as part of their induction training.

Workplace Hazards

A hazard is something about the working environment which may cause harm or injury to employees. Potential hazards come in many forms including:

Slips and tripsFallingBeing struck by a moving objectPoor handling lifting or carrying Fire

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KEYWORDSInduction TrainingHazards

Measures to Ensure Safe Working Practices

The risk of all of the hazards in a workplace actually harming an employee, can be minimised.

It is the responsibility of both the employer and the employee to ensure they work in a way which prevents the likelihood of an accident happening, and employee being harmed or injured.

To work safely, employees should:

remember to close filing cabinet drawers when finished keep filing cabinets away from doors and passage ways never swing on their chair never stand on chairs to reach high objects keep food and drink away from computer equipment not overload sockets not have cables trailing across the floor always keep fire exits clear be trained in how to lift heavy objects not attempt to fix faulty equipment themselves

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that staff are adequately trained to do their job properly and safely.

Other ways of preventing accidents are outlined below:

Slips, Trips and Falls Provide adequate storageEnsure a cable management system is in placePosition furniture and equipment away from doors and passagewaysProvide appropriate equipmentNot leave anything lying around others could fall overKeep work areas tidyAvoid storing materials in hard-to-reach placesMop up spillages immediatelyUse wet floor signs when necessary

Being struck by a moving object

When stacking boxes, always stack the heaviest at the bottom and lightest on topUse an appropriate step ladder to reach high shelves.

Poor handling Only carry small items at one time – ask for help when requiredDon’t try and carry heavy items aloneTrain staff on how to handle/lift heavy goods properly

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Fire Ensure fire exits are not blockedEnsure staff are aware of no smoking policiesMaintain equipment on a regular basisHave regular fire drillsEnsure liquids are kept away from computer equipmentNever overload power socketsReport any faulty equipment immediately

N5 ONLY

Health and Safety Policy Statement

A health and safety policy statement sets out how an organisation manages health and safety in the workplace. It demonstrates the organisation’s attitude towards health and safety and the steps, arrangements and systems the company has in place to ensure it is following health and safety legislation.

There is a requirement under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 that an organisation with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy.

A health and safety policy is not just a legal requirement. It demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to achieving good health and safety standards. It should also clearly set out what is required by the employer and employee of an organisation and show that the organisation tries in every way to reduce accidents and ill health within the workplace.

All employees should read, understand and follow the health and safety policy.

See the next page for an example of a Health and Safety Policy Statement for an Alarm System company.

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KEYWORDSSlips/TripsAccidentsFire

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Responsibilities of Employer and Employee - Legislation

In order to maintain a safe working environment, there are a number of health and safety laws that exist and both employers and employees must follow these rules.

The health and safety of employees is protected by thefollowing pieces of legislation:

1) The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA)

2) The Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963

3) The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981

4) The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

5) The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

(RIDDOR)

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA)

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 sets out the responsibilities of employers and employees with regards to health and safety in the workplace. Compared to previous legislation, this Act is more in depth and applies to all places of work and everyone at work.

Employers’ responsibilities:

to make sure that the workplace is safe

to provide a safe entrance and exit from work

to ensure that equipment is safe and properly maintained

provide information and training

provide protective clothing and equipment if necessary

to provide first aid facilities

to keep records of accidents

prepare a health and safety policy

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KEYWORDSHASAWAEmployeeEmployerAccident Report Form

Employees’ responsibilities:

take reasonable care for their own safety and others

cooperate with employer

do not interfere with or misuse equipment

Office, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963

The above act outlines, amongst other things, the organisation’s responsibilities in terms of fire precautions. For example:

fire extinguishers must be available

fire exits clearly identified

regular fire drills

evacuation procedures should be displayed around the workplace

The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981

Some of the organisation’s responsibilities outlined in this act are listed below:

ensure that there is a person trained to take charge of first aid arrangements

ensure that a first aid box is available and that it is suitably stocked

ensure that a record is kept of all accidents

inform employees about first aid arrangements, for example a poster detailing first

aiders

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The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992

What are the main health issues when using visual display units (computer monitors)?

Problem What should be done?

Sore Eyes and Headaches Use anti-glare screens Adjust the brightness/contrast of the monitorEnsure that employee has an eye test – provide glasses if necessaryEnsure employees are having regular breaks

Sore back, neck and repetitive strain injury (RSI)

Check the layout of the workstation – adjust if necessary Check position of chair – adjust if necessaryEnsure wrist rests and footrests are available

Employers MUST:

Make sure that workstations and equipment meet minimum requirements, for example supplying footrests, adjustable colour controls, etc

Make sure that employees have built in breaks or changes in activity

Train employees in health and safety, eg using equipment correctly

Check that equipment is safe

Provide eye test and glasses if needed for VDU work

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Employees MUST:

Make full use of the VDU adjustments, for example colour and contrast

Avoid possible health hazards, for example use back/height adjustments on chairs

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)

Employers must report certain injuries, accidents or incidents within 7-10 days to the Health and Safety Executive.

If an employee is injured the employer must send an Accident Report Form to the Health & Safety Executive within 10 days.

Employers must keep records of any reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence for 3 years after the incident. These records are kept in an Accident Report Book and include the following details:

Date, time and place of accidentPersonal details of those involvedDescription of the accident

What kind of injury, accident or incident must be reported?

Death or major injuryIf an employee cannot carry out their normal job for more than 3 days because of an incidentIf a doctor has informed the employer that an employee is suffering from a work-related disease If something happens which could have resulted in a reportable injury, although it did not

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Accident Report Form

Accidents should be entered into an Accident Book or an Accident Report Form. Serious accidents, by law, must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive who will investigate the matter.

Accident Report Forms should be completed with as much detail as possible to find out exactly what happened and what can be done to prevent the accident from happening again.

An example of an Accident Report Form is given below:

INJURED PERSONSurname: Forenames:

Title: * Mr / Mrs / Miss / Other Date of birth:

Home address:

Status: * Employee / Student / Contractor / Visitor / Other

If employee, state job title and department:

Date and time of accident:

Place of accident:

How did the accident happen? Give full details and describe any injuries suffered.

Was first-aid treatment given? * Yes / No

If YES, give details of first-aid treatment given:

Was the injured person taken to hospital? * Yes / No

If YES, which hospital was the injured person taken to?

State the names and positions of any persons who were present when theaccident occurred:

Signature of person reporting the incident: Date of report:

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1.4 Describe the key organisational responsibilities in terms of the security of people, property and information.

In this unit you will learn:

responsibilities in relation to identification and secure entry systemsorganisational procedures to protect property, eg security marking, cables and blindsorganisational procedures to protect paper and electronic information, eg usernames, passwords, encryption, access rights and lockable storage

Security Measures

It is not only important to make ensure employees are working in a healthy environment, they should also feel safe and secure. Security measures are things which an employer or employee should put in place to make sure staff are safe while at work. Security measures should be taken for various reasons: to protect and reassure staff, to prevent theft of stock and equipment and to maintain confidentiality of information.

Security of Staff

To ensure that only authorised personnel have access to the premises an organisation can use a combination of the following methods:

intercom and/or security doors

identification badges to be carried (if not displayed) at all times – passes will display name, title, department, picture; may contain an electronic activating device such as an electronic strip which needs to be swiped for entry; will be re-issued regularly

careful handling and issue of keys

Security Guards

Staff In/Out Book

CCTV systems

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KEYWORDSIntercomID BadgeSecurity GuardCCTV

Security of Visitors

To ensure that only genuine visitors enter the premises an organisation can use a combination of the following methods:

visitors should report to reception on arrival and have their reason for

visiting verified

the reception should be located at the main entrance and constantly staffed

other entrances should be minimised

visitors’ passes to be issued and displayed

visitors should not be left unsupervised

the receptionist should ensure that all visitors leave the building and that

passes are returned.

There should always be a member of STAFF at the reception desk. When one

receptionist is ABSENT or having their BREAK a RELIEF receptionist should take over

The receptionist must make sure that all RECORDS are completed FULLY and

accurately by VISITORS

Security of Property

Organisations will also put into place procedures to help keep property safe. Remember that computers, pen drives, external hard drives and so on may all contain confidential information. To keep this information safe, the property must also be kept secure.

To ensure property is not stolen or damaged in any way, the organisation can:

include serial numbers of equipment to allow identification if they are stolen

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use ultra violet markers on equipment

use cable management systems to avoid staff tripping over cables and damaging them

Install blinds to minimise the amount of damage caused to electrical equipment.

Security of Information

Organisations store different types of information. Hospitals will store patient details, schools will store pupil details, banks will store customer account details, and so on. Quite often, the information is confidential and it is important that the organisation is seen to take steps to keep this information secure. There are different methods to do this, and the information may be stored manually (on paper) or electronically (on computer).

Here are some of the procedures organisations may choose to use:

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KEYWORDSVisitor PassSecurity MarksCable management system

Passwords – changed regularly and not easy for someone to guess

Secure files held on shared areas (read-only files – can be read but cannot be amended)

Most networks will have been set up with 'access rights'. This means the administrator has set up each person who can log on, with the right to access certain files and folders. For instance, you may have a personal folder in which you have the right to open, read, write, create and delete files.

Other parts of the network may have files you can only read but not write. And finally there will be areas that you cannot enter at all. In which case a message will often pop up to inform you "You do not have sufficient access rights" or something similar.

Virus screening software – to ensure that files are not lost

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Lock rooms, filing cabinets and computers

Confidential documents should be discarded appropriately

Backing up procedures

Another measure used to protect the security of information is to back-up all information held. Backing up information means saving a copy, as well as keeping the original copy. But why would an organisation want to back-up information?

In case of human error – information may be deleted by mistakeFiles become corrupted due to virus which means some or all the information is lostTheft of equipment which means the information stored on it is lostEquipment malfunction which means you may not be able to access the information stored on it

Organisations will have different back-up procedures but the basic policy should say:

When and how back-ups are taken

Who is responsible for taking back-ups

Where back-ups are stored

Legislation

Data Protection Act

This Act governs how personal information is collected, used, stored and destroyed.

Before we consider the details of this Act, it is first necessary to explain two pieces of important terminology:

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Data subjectIndividual to whom the personal data refers

Data userThe person or organisation that controls the way in which the data is used

Under this Act, the Data Protection Registrar supervises data users. Data users must register the following details with the Registrar:

the nature of data heldwhy it is heldhow it was collectedwho it will be disclosed to

Anyone processing personal data must comply with the following eight principles of good practice.

1. The personal data shall be obtained fairly and lawfully.

2. Personal data shall be used only for the registered purpose.

3. The personal data shall not be disclosed for purposes other than those registered.

4. Personal data held shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive for its purpose.

5. Personal data held shall be accurate and kept up-to-date.

6. Personal data shall not be kept for longer than necessary.

7. Data subjects shall be entitled to: be informed of any personal data held by the data user; access any personal data held; have data corrected or deleted where appropriate.

8. Appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorised access to personal data, disclosure of personal data and accidental loss of personal data.

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KEYWORDSData Protection ActData SubjectData User8 Principles

Copyright, Design and Patents Act

Introduced to protect people who have created original pieces of work. books, music, films, games, applications.

2 main purposes of the Act:

To ensure people are rewarded for their endeavours.To give protection to the copyright holder if someone tries to steal their work.

The Act protects a wide range of work… written and computer based. Includes:

copying softwarecopying or downloading musiccopying images or photographs from the webcopying text from web pages

Computer Misuse Act

The Computer Misuse Act makes it illegal to:

gain unauthorised access to a computer's software or data (hacking) - including

the illegal copying of programs.

gain unauthorised access to a computer's data for blackmail purposes.

gain unauthorised access to a computer's data with the intention of altering or

deleting it. This includes planting viruses.

copying programs illegally (software piracy)

A conviction may lead to a fine and a 5-year prison sentence.

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You should revise your notes on a regular basis

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