Management Skills: Office Management

Course Overview

This extremely intensive course will concentrate on providing you with all the skills and techniques you need to run your office systems effectively, while also equipping you with the ability to manage yourself and the others around you. Designed carefully to enhance your existing skills, it will provide you with a valuable survival kit to deal with every aspect of your role when you return to work. In a nutshell you will have the know-how and the confidence to create a dynamic and stimulating office environment where systems and people work effectively together to achieve the desired results.

In modern working environments more and more secretaries and management assistants are encouraged to take on office management responsibilities. Whether it is purely taking over the day to day running of office activities or taking on a team of staff to help. This can be very challenging as not only will your workload increase but you will be required to use skills you have never used before. It is not uncommon to feel lost and unsupported in the office management role, everyone having high expectations of you and yet offering very little help and guidance. In addition there is very little formal training out there for office managers and that is why we have designed this unique programme in order to address this obvious gap.

During the intensive and highly practical two days you will learn:

• The importance of defining and understanding your crucial role as an office manager
• The keys to robust and effective organisation
• How to understand, write and control budgets with ease
• The importance of possessing basic negotiation and influencing skills and how best to apply them in your role
• How to get the outcome you desire through effective win/win communication skills
• How to cram 24 hours into a morning - a masterclass in dynamic time management
• How to manage difficult people, situations and stress in a calm and effective manner

Audience

This course serves as an in-depth guide and solid foundation for anyone becoming an office manager or taking on office management responsibilities. It also serves as a very useful refresher for anyone already in an existing office management position who wants to enhance their skills by benefiting from formal structured training with real world applications.

It would therefore be suitable for Office Managers, Management Assistants, Senior Secretaries, PAs, New managers and team leaders.

Skills Gained

YOU WILL RETURN TO WORK WITH THE ABILITY TO:

• Plan, organise and prioritise effectively
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of finance and budgets successfully
• Communicate effectively to any level with the influence and negotiating skills to support you
• Deal with difficult people and situations with ease
• Take on extra responsibility while staying in control
• Foster a productive and efficient office environment

Course Outline

DEFINING THE ROLE OF THE OFFICE MANAGER

• Understanding the core components of the office manager role:
• Functions
• Roles
• Responsibilities
• Clarifying expectations
• Four dimensions exercise

LOGISTICS - THE ART OF EFFECTIVE PLANNING AND ORGANISING

• How to plan - a step by step framework for success
• The importance of robust project management skills
• Avoiding the common logistical traps
• Documentation control - ensuring you have the facts at your fingertips
• Organising and structuring processes and procedures
• Problem solving and decision making

BUDGETING - UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLING THE FINANCES

• Understanding core financial terminology
• How to write and understand a budget
• The most effective way to control a budget
• Allocating resources in a cost effective way
• How to defend your budget from attack

ESSENTIAL NEGOTIATION SKILLS - DOING WIN/WIN DEALS

• The critical importance of robust negotiation skills
• Understanding your counterpart
• Learn your strengths and play to them
• Tactics and counter tactics - a best practice approach
• Why win/win is the ultimate goal in any negotiation

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION - WRITTEN AND SPOKEN

• How to get your message across firmly and fairly
• Practical ways to get your voice heard in any scenario
• Best practice communication model:
• Email communication
• Meetings
• 1 to 1 scenarios
• Effective business writing
• Writing instructions and process guides
• Getting your hands on the information you need

INFLUENCING ACROSS YOUR ORGANISATION- GETTING THEM TO ACCEPT THE DECISION

• The role of influencing within modern organisations
• Influencing upwards
• Influencing across business functions
• Influencing teams
• Influencing individuals

PRIORITISING - HOW TO CRAM 24 HOURS INTO A MORNING

• How to prioritise in a way that works for you
• Identifying your personal "time stealers"
• Best practice time management techniques
• How to defend your time from institutional and colleague attack
• Practical steps for increasing productivity and efficiency
• The importance of effective delegation

MANAGING CHANGE - GAINING COMMITMENT

• How to introduce change painlessly
• Up-selling change as a positive
• Pre-empting and managing potential negative impact
• Learn to cope yourself

TAKING CONTROL - STICK TO YOUR GUNS

• Understanding and maximising your personal strengths
• Harnessing the unique strengths of others
• Don't get panicked by rank into changing your tack

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT SITUATIONS - PEOPLE& EMOTIONS

• Dealing with the organisational hierarchy
• Coping with those who know better
• How to handle emotions and feelings in a professional way
• Conflict resolution - a best practice approach
• Dealing with the human crisis

DEALING WITH PRESSURE AND STRESS

• Coping with difficult problems
• The importance of keeping things in perspective
• Dealing with crisis scenarios
• Practical breathing techniques
• How to handle your own stress
• Coping with others in stress

Management Skills: Office Management / EOM