Who can benefit?

• Executive Secretarial and Personal Assistants of Directors
• Senior Managers where the post necessitates a high level of organization and decision-making
• Secretaries, who are responsible for the work of more junior staff

Course Objective

• Understand their own organization and the business environment in which it operates

• Recognize their professional role as part of the management team
• Develop strategies for planning and organizing their work, including diary management techniques, making and confirming bookings
• Adopt a systematic approach to decision making and problem solving
• Assess their own interpersonal skills in order to communicate more effectively at all levels, both face to face and on the telephone
• Prepare an action plan to implement on return to work

Course content

• Introduction

• Introductions and ground rules
• Communication skills
• Body language
• Manager / Secretary communications
• Communicating with the boss
• Team working
• Team communications

• The Role of the Secretaries

• The structure of organizations and the business environment in which they operate
• The management team and the secretary's or administrator's role within it
• The importance of role interpretation - understanding and responding to each other's needs
• Understanding each other's role
• Principles and practices of good organization
• Planning and prioritizing
• Delegation skills

• General Paperwork and Diary Management

• Short and long term planning
• Setting priorities and event planning
• Adopting a systematic approach to work methods.

•  Written communication, including layout, punctuation and grammar

• The writing process for reports, letters, memos and e-mail
• How to deal with general paperwork
• Filing systems - considering the requirements and setting them up
• Diary management techniques

•  Time Management & Customer Service

• Managing meetings
• Time stealers
• Managing interruptions
• Stress management
• Using the telephone effectively
• Identifying internal and external customers
• Agreeing customer requirements
• Customer satisfaction
• Continuous improvement

• Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

• Decision making skills
• Problem solving
• Projecting a professional image
• Assertiveness techniques
• Confidence building
• Action plan for self development