MAIL ROOM

The Mail Room

Large firms tend to have a Mail Room where incoming and outgoing letters and parcels are taken so that they can be sorted and distributed efficiently.In a small firm, one person (the secretary or receptionist) will deal with all facets of mail handling.

Handling Incoming mailIncoming mail must be dealt with in a systematic

manner, so that they can be distributed to the

staff as quickly as possible in order for them to

carry out their duties without delay.

In some organizations, mail room staff usually

arrive early so that the distribution of mail to the

different departments is done before the other

office staff arrive.

Handling Outgoing Mail

It is necessary to weigh a letter if it bulky or

seems heavier than the maximum weight

allowed by the Post Office for first or second

class mail. Also, all mail going abroad must

be weighed to determine the amount of

postage to put on the envelope.

Handling Outgoing MailOutgoing mail may arrive at the mail room

throughout the day, however, most mail tends to

arrive in the afternoon.

Outgoing mail may be sent to the mail room already

folded and inserted into envelopes or it may be sent

unfolded accompanied by correctly addressed

envelopes, and the mail room clerk’s job is to fold

and insert the letters into the envelopes.

Handling Outgoing MailWhen preparing outgoing mail, the mail room clerk should:

• Check that the letter has been signed.• Check, by looking at the letter, whether there

should be an enclosure. If the enclosure is missing, the letter should be returned to the sender.

• Ensure that the inside address is the same as that on the accompanying envelope – if not, the sender should be contacted.

Handling Outgoing Mail Fold the letter so that it fits into the

envelope properly. Place the letter into the correct envelope

and seal it. Weigh the letter, especially if it addressed

to an overseas destination. Affix the correct stamp using a franking

machine or paper stamps.

Opening Incoming Mail

Before opening the mail the following steps should be followed:

• Place all envelopes facing up• Put aside all envelopes marked ‘private’,

‘personal’ or ‘confidential’ – these must be opened only by the person whose name appears on the envelope.

• Open the remaining letters using a letter-opener

Opening Incoming Mail Remove the contents – if there are enclosures,

remove these and attach them to the letter

If the letter contains money, remove and record the

method of payment and the amount in a remittance

book then pass it to the cashier for signing.

If you open an envelope marked ‘personal’ by

mistake, seal the letter and write ‘opened in error’ and

sign your name.

Stamp each letter with a date stamp indicating the day

of receipt.

Example of a page from a Remittances Book

DATE SENDER REMITTANACE AMOUNT SIGNATURE

2013

March 1

March 3

March 7

March

18

Denise Small

Anthony

McCarthy

Tijean Miller

Pauline Little

Money Order

Cash

Cheque

Cheque

5,000.00

2,100.00

2,500.00

12,300.0

0

Anne Brown

Anne Brown

Anne Brown

Anne Brown

Circulation of MailSometimes a letter/document will come to the mail room

which requires the attention of more than one person. In

such a case, a Circulation slip or Routing Slip is

attached to the document and it is sent around.

A Circulation Slip is used when the document can be

seen in any order by those person on the list, while a

Routing Slip is used when the document MUST be seen

in a particular order by those persons on the list.

Example of a Circulation/Routing Slip

ROUTING SLIP

Please read and pass on in order shown below:NAME DEPT. INITIAL

/DATE

George

Harvey

Human Res. GL -

7.3.13

Loraine

Sams

Production

Olive Perlon Accounts

Please return to: William James

By: March 11, 2013

CIRCULATION SLIP

Please read and pass to any person on the list below:NAME DEPT. INITIAL/

DATE

George

Harvey

Human

Res.

Loraine

Sams

Productio

n

LS –

5.3.13

Olive Perlon Accounts

Please return to: William James

By: March 11, 2013

Mail Room Equipment

Franking Machine Addressing Machine Collating Machine Letter Opener Folding Machines Sealing Machines

Franking MachineA franking machine prints in red the value of a stamp on an envelope, as well as the date and time of posting, the place of posting, licence number of the machine and an advertising slogan, if required.It saves the time spent on keeping a record of stamps, as well as the trouble of sticking stamps on envelopes, parcels and packages.

Addressing MachineThis is used to place addresses on large quantities of envelopes. The mail room clerk prepares plates with the names and addresses of all persons on the mailing list. The plates are kept in alphabetical order

and when needed are stacked in the addressing machine. As each envelope passes through the machine, one plate descends on to it, printing a name and address.

Collating machineWhere a large series of documents, brochures or other items is to be sent to a large number of people, these have to be sorted into sets and put into envelopes. This can be done by hand or by using a collating machine.

Letter Opener

Sealed letter should be opened, either with a paper knife or with a letter-opening machine. This machine shaves off a very tiny strip of paper from the edge of the envelope so that the contents may be removed.

Letter opening machine Paper knife

Folding Machines

Folding machines are used in organizations

where there is a large volume of outgoing mail

all of which is similar in shape and size. The

machines automatically fold letters or invoices

to fit the envelopes to be used. The machine

can be adjusted for different sizes of paper and

envelopes. Some machines will also insert the

letters into the envelopes.

Sealing MachinesSealing machines are often used in conjunction

with folding machines in organizations where

there is a high volume of outgoing mail. The

envelopes are stacked with flaps pointing

outwards at the back of the machine. The

machine moves the envelopes one at a time to a

position where a wet brush moistens the flaps.

The flaps are then turned over and sealed as the

envelopes are passed between roller.

Sealing MachinesSealing machines vary in size, from small

manually operated units to large systems that

handle hundreds of envelopes per minute. If

the volume of mail is smaller, a manual unit may

be adequate. The manual feeder needs a

human operator to feed the envelopes. An

automatic machine is recommended for larger

volumes of mail, because these machines are

faster and can work on their own.