Unit 3: Principles of Providing Administrative Services

1 Understand the organisation and administration of meetings

1.1 Describe the features of different types of meetings

Two different types of meetings would be formal and informal. Neither would have a fixed process
for the meeting. However, a formal meeting would carry out a formal approach. This could be things
such as a formal notice of when/where the meeting will be held. This could be via a letter including
the company letterhead or perhaps a formal email. If the meeting will be being held outside of the
company building, formal arrangements for travel/accommodation will be made prior to this. The
chairperson will give a briefing of what the meeting will be about at the start of the meeting and
some form of minutes will be taken. These will be typed up, hand-written or recorded on tape. These
will contain action points and agreement of all present on the draft before sending out the minutes.
The company’s policies and procedures will follow relating to how the minutes are handed out and
stored after the meeting. Meetings that will follow these procedures may be annual general
meetings which are held once a year to provide an account of the company’s position to
members/shareholders and for ratification of critical decisions. Extraordinary general meetings
might be held for example if the accountant has skipped off with the company funds. Board
meetings also take a formal approach. These are held regularly to transact normal company
business. For smaller organisations these might be called Committee or Management meetings.

An informal meeting could be ad hoc short briefings. An ad hoc committee is a group formed for a
specific purpose, such as preparing a tender submission. This group may meet regularly for a specific
period of time determined by the task and normally dissolves after their task is accomplished.

Training sessions, team meetings or a one to one are also types of informal meetings. These will just
be short perhaps unplanned meetings with no agenda.

1.2 Outline the different ways of providing administrative support for meetings

There are a few different ways that you can provide administrative support for meetings. This can be
things such as arranging facilities for the meeting such as where it will be held and making the
attendees aware of this. You would also need to make sure that the venue is set up appropriately;
there is a correct number of seats, beverages, documentation given when needed etc. Prior to the
meeting you should print out the meeting agenda and any accompanying documents. You can also
be the minute taker of the meeting. You will record who is present and any absentees as well as the
motions made. It is also the minute takers job to circulate the minutes once written up. This means
handing out the minutes recorded to the appropriate people and filing them correctly.

1.3 Explain the steps involved in organising meetings

Firstly, you must send out invitations with a few dates for the potential delegates to choose from.
You can then select the mutually agreed date and inform the participants. Next, arrange a venue.
Will this meeting take place off site? Will a booking need to be made in advance? The venue needs
to be big enough to accommodate everyone comfortably. You should consider if someone at the
meeting will need wheelchair access and publicise clear directions to the venue when informing
participants of the set meeting date/venue. You should find out if any of the attendees have any
dietary requirements so you can arrange refreshments such as drinks, snacks etc. When you are
preparing the meeting room, make sure you have all of the relevant resources such a pens, paper,
water etc. Gather agenda items and prepare this in advance. Once this is prepared you can sent it
out to the participants of the meeting.

2 Understand the organisation of travel and accommodation

2.1 Describe the features of different types of business travel and accommodation

There are many different ways that you can travel for business. It is common for Wills Ridley to
travel by air, car or train but you can also travel by sea. We decide what transport to take depending
on: cost; which mode of transport is the lowest price. Convenience; a train may only be a good mode
of transport if you live close-by to a station. Time; does the landing time of the plane leave you
enough time to catch the connecting flight? Finally destination is there a train station relatively near
to the town you are staying in?

If you are travelling by air you can either fly economy class or business class. Travelling business class
may be a more comfortable option for a longer flight; however you should consider that it will cost
more than flying economical. When booking a flight you are given the option to add extras at an
extra cost. These are things such as priority boarding so you can board the plane first, you can
choose your seat in advance and you can pay for extra leg room which could be wise for a longer
flight. Likewise with a train you can book different classes on the train which is standard class and
first class. With first class you pay more but you get extra thrown in such as food and drink during
your journey. When booking a train ticket you get an option to include a bus or tube ticket. This is
useful if you know you need to travel further after the train journey and you can book in advance for
this. If you a travelling by car, you have the option to drive your personal/works vehicle or hire a hire
car at a cost. You could also travel via taxi. If you choose to travel by sea, you can board the ferry as
a passenger on foot or take a car with you.

Relating to accommodation, there is usually three standard options. Choosing a hotel gives you a full
range of facilities which is convenient if you need accommodation for one or two nights. If you are
looking for accommodation for over five days an apartment may be more convenient. This still offers
a range of facilities but in terms of travelling for work this gives you your own personal space. You
can also choose to eat in or out if you stay at an apartment. A bed and breakfast may be convenient
if you do not wish to eat out. This is usually in a guest house and you can choose whether you are
half board which includes two meals (usually breakfast and dinner) or full board where all your food
is included.

2.2 Explain the purpose of confirming instructions and requirements for business travel
and accommodation

When booking for travel or accommodation it is important that you confirm some key things. For
example, relating to travel; you should confirm the departure and destination points this will involve
knowing the check in times, having the tickets, finding the pickup and drop off destinations and
being aware of car parking facilities. You should confirm any mode of transport prior to the day. For
example how will you get from the airport to the hotel (taxi, bus, train etc)? You should consider
whether a visa is required or a passport needed and also any cultural considerations. For example, in
Western countries, white often indicates purity and innocence yet in Asian cultures it’s associated
with death and mourning.

When booking accommodation, you should confirm the location with directions to avoid any delay
on the day. Make the traveler is aware of the payment arrangements (Was the hotel prepaid in
advance? Will payment be taken at the hotel on the day?). Confirm the accommodation type (hotel,
apartment, B&B) and let the traveler know if any meals are included during their stay.

It is important you confirm these instructions and requirements to make the travelling run smoother
on the day. You should know where you are travelling from and allow plenty of time to travel to the
airport/train station. Make sure you take the correct documentation. Already know where you are
travelling to and how you are travelling there and finally if applicable, take money to pay for the
accommodation on the day.

2.3 Explain the purpose of keeping records of business travel and accommodation

It is important to keep records of dates, destinations, costs and agencies/companies used. For
example, a few months ago our accountant Adele had an unknown card transaction appear on the
bank statement. I have a folder on my emails for travel/accommodation and I was able to find out
what hotel that was for. Keeping a record of travel and accommodation are useful to cross reference
for expenses. You might also want to keep a record of the agencies/companies used to evaluate
prices and services for future bookings. You can also keep accurate business trip expense records for
tax return deductions or for company reimbursements. The best way to keep accurate records is
while on the trip; if you wait until you get home, you might forget the expenses or lose any receipts.
You can maintain your expenses on your phone or in a handwritten diary perhaps. The important
thing is to hold on to all sales receipts and any additional information that explains the reason for
the expense.

3 Understand how to manage diary systems

3.1 Describe the features of hard copy and electronic diary systems

Both diary systems have their limitations and advantages. A hard copy diary would be made with
hand-written entries whereas an electronic diary system would be typed up on the computer. The
advantages of having an electronic diary system would be that you have the facility to share the
entries with other colleagues where as in a hand written diary there would just be one copy. It is a
useful to share a diary system if there are a few different people making bookings, taking time off
etc. You can all see who is out of the office and when and work that around your schedule or
bookings. However, an advantage of having a hand-written diary would be that if you had a personal
appointment or a personal matter, only you would know about it whereas on an electronic copy
everyone would be able to see. Of course, you could cover it up and just write “appointment” if it
was a personal issue. Another advantage of a hard copy diary system is that it is portable whereas
your computer isn’t. It may be a good idea if you have a hard copy diary to remove it from the office
when you leave. This is in the event if there ever was a fire you would have it kept on you unlike the
computer although, due to technology these days a diary system may be between phones or
accessible on your phone. An advantage to having an electronic system is it very easy to delete and
change whereas hard copies are not quite as easy to change. Also, an electronic diary system can be
quite secure through limited access, you may require a password to view or change it whereas if
someone got hold of the hard copy of course you just open and read it. A tool that Wills Ridley uses
often is automatic notifications/reminders. This is set up via outlook and you can get reminders on
events such as meetings or when someone is on holiday. Having an electronic diary system is useful
for me when I book travel/accommodation for Paul and Ryan as it is easy for me to access and find
their diary and check their available dates.

3.2 Explain the purpose of using diary systems to plan and co-ordinate activities and
resources

Diary systems are very useful in helping to plan events such as meetings, business travel etc. It is a
good system to help you prioritise tasks. For example, if you are due to travel for business but an
important meeting comes up that you cannot miss, you may prioritise that over the business travel
and push that back a week in order to not miss the meeting. A diary system is a good system to use
for deadlines; you can schedule reminders leading up to the deadline and can track how long you
have left. You can also arrange mutually agreed dates via a diary system by having all the upcoming
activities in front of you and working around them. An electronic diary system allows meetings to be
scheduled when the majority of people are available and it can remind people to attend the
meetings with notifications. They also document the flow of information, so you know who can be
expected to be where and when.

3.3 Describe the types of information needed to manage a diary system

The following information is essential to manage a diary system so it remains efficient and
as useful as it can be. For example, if you are booking a flight you need: the date and time
that they wish to travel, the airport/s they would like to travel to/from, who will be going,
are you just booking for one person?, and the linking mode of travel to ensure sufficient
time is available before and after the event. This information makes it easier for the person
who manages the diary system to include the relevant information but also to the diary
users.

3.4 Explain the importance of obtaining correct information when making diary entries
It is a very important role organising the diary system for a business as this is where the
important information is obtained. It is important that you obtain the correct information
when making diary entries as it helps with the day-to-day running of the business. For
example, business meetings, employees absences, deadlines etc. If you are the person in
charge of the diary systems you must be able to co-ordinate a number of personnel. This
could mean working around people’s absences to book meetings on relevant dates. You
must also have knowledge of any deadlines so these are logged in the diary systems and
reminders are set up when the deadline is close. If there are any conflicting demands, for
example if you have a meeting lined up but you are also wanted to travel for business for a
whole line of meetings, the diary organiser must be able to juggle around the meeting to
see if this can be postponed as it may not be the priority over the travel. All information
entered into the diary must be accurate as a number of people are viewing this. The wrong
information could lead to an event being organised to find out that the speaker is absent on
this day. In general, the importance of obtaining correct information when making diary
entries is making sure the right people are in the right place at the right time and if an
appointment/meeting cannot be made the relevant people are contacted and made aware
of this.

4 Understand how to use office equipment

4.1 Describe different types of office equipment

There are many different types of office equipment and a lot of the equipment is essential
for Wills Ridley to use every day. All the office staff have their own computer which allows
them to contact customers via email and find any relevant information on the internet. I
have a laptop which is more convenient for me to go between the two offices easily. To go
with that we all have a desk with plenty of space to hold a phone, any papers or folders and
in the drawers we have relevant stationery such as staplers, hole punch, pens, highlighters
etc. We also have a printer, one is black and white and one is colour and we can scan on
both. On the black and white printer in the main office we can fax and also photocopy. Also
in the main office we have post weighing scales in order to arrange collection of packages.
We also have a shredder to dispose of any information that we no longer need but cannot
be seen by anyone else. For example, we must shred people’s credit card details when they
pay over the phone.

4.2 Explain the uses of different types of office equipment

Computers/laptops are very important for a business. On here we prepare documents and
can store them efficiently. We can communicate both internally and externally and we can
do any calculations and preparing of accounts. We also have our electronic planners on our
email system. On the printer we produce hard copy of documents; this could be an invoice
to send with the customer’s goods. On the photocopier we duplicate documents so we can
store a copy if the original needs to leave the office. We can also scan any documents so we
have an electronic copy. We can communicate internally and externally through our
telephone systems and we can transfer calls between employees. We can also make
conference calls on the phone. We use the weighing scales to weigh packages so we can
organise collection of the goods with the correct weights and dimensions. We use the
shredder to destroy any important/confidential paper based documents for example any
document with any address on it.

4.3 Describe factors to be considered when selecting office equipment to complete tasks

When selecting office equipment you should consider its appropriateness for tasks. For
example, if you need to get hold of a customer quite quickly you wouldn’t go on the
computer and send an email as you wouldn’t get an immediate response that way. You
would use the phone to hopefully get through to the customer straight away. You should
also consider the safety of yourself or others. If you need to get a heavy folder off of the top
shelf instead of stretching or pulling up a chair it may be safer to ask another colleague if
they could reach it for you. When dealing with a number of documents you must remember
that they may contain information that must be kept confidential. If this is the case then you
would use a shredder to dispose of it rather than recycling or a normal bin. You should also
consider the costs of the equipment you are using e.g. will photocopy cost more than
printing? In this example you might also consider t he quality of the outcome. Printing
produces better documents than photocopying so it can sometimes be better.

4.4 Describe how to keep waste to a minimum when using office equipment

Before printing any document, ensure to read it first. Not all of the pages may be relevant
and you may be able to save the printer ink and paper by only selecting the pages you need.
You could also photocopy back to back to avoid paper waste. When you are not using a
machine such as your computer, switch it off and especially over night. You should also keep
your machines clean as it can save energy. You can recycle your printer cartridges like we do
here at Wills Ridley and to recycle paper you can create scrap pads from unwanted paper.

5 Understand the use of mail services in a business context

5.1 Describe the types of mail services used in business organisations

There are a few different types of mail services that you can use and they offer a few
different things. A mail service we frequently use at Wills Ridley is ‘Special Delivery’. This
means it will arrive next day by 1pm and it is guaranteed money back and included is a
compensation letter if the goods were to get lost along the way. It has end to end
tracking which means you can track the parcel from the post office to the destination
and a signature will also be required at the destination. ‘Signed for’ is quite similar to
special delivery, however it just isn’t guaranteed next day delivery, you still get
compensation cover and a signature is required on delivery. You also get confirmation of
delivery. You also have the standard 1st or 2nd class mail. You might choose 1st class over
2nd class if what you were posting had value to it such as money. Finally you can send
mail via a courier service such as UPS, Parcel Force etc. This is also something Wills
Ridley use regularly and especially with larger items.
There are also mail services that you can use internally in an organisation, things such as
group emails and pigeon holes.

5.2 Explain the need for different types of mail services

Two different types of mail services that I have spoken about are postal service and
courier companies. There is a need for the different types as they can offer different
things. They can hold different prices, the speed they arrive in can vary and the security
of the parcel. For example, a courier service might seem safer to you as you can see the
goods being placed in the van. A courier service may also be more convenient as it picks
the goods up from your door and this is especially handy if the goods are heavy.
Different mail services can also deliver to different destinations whether international or
local.

5.3 Explain the factors to be considered when selecting mail services.

There are a few different factors that you might consider when deciding which mail
service to use. It is worth having a look around at the different couriers and knowing
rough postal rates at the post office before sending the package. Of course if you need
your parcel to get there next day you will choose the best option to get it there the
faster even if it means paying a bit more. You may feel that for a valuable package it may
be safer going with a courier service rather than a postal service as you see it be placed
on the van yourself. A lot of the time it may be more convenient to send the goods via
courier service as they can come straight to your door to collect and you may not have a
local post office. Usually if the package weighs quite a bit it is easier and more
convenient for you to send it via courier so you don’t have to take it up to the post office
yourself. If the destination is international, a better option may be a courier service if
they can offer this.

5.4 Explain the factors to be taken into account when choosing postage methods

There are a few different factors to take into account when choosing postage methods.
As I have previously mentioned you can post via special delivery but you can also have
signed for 1st class and signed for 2nd class. As well as standard 1st and 2nd class mail.
These postal methods you would consider when posting locally. If you are posting
internationally you again have a few different postage methods. You can ask for
international tracked and signed which mean you can follow the package and a
signature is required upon delivery or you can just have international tracked or
international signed. You can also post via international standard and international
economy. International economy is the most cost effective option and is perfect if the
parcel is not required urgently.
You would consider factors such as price, speed, security, sender and recipient and
destination when choosing postal methods. Some options are a lot more cost effective
but you must bear in mind it will take a longer to get there. If you were sending a parcel
internationally you would use international standard over 1st class mail.

6 Understand customer service in a business environment

6.1 Describe different types of customers

Within an organisation you speak to people internally (within the organisation) and
externally (outside of the organisation). Within the organisations you can talk to people
in other departments, colleagues and some suppliers. You may be working together on
an order or answering helpful questions. You provide a service to customers outside of
the organisations to bring sales and also other business get supplies.

6.2 Describe the impact of their own behaviour on a customer

If you treat your customer correctly it can have a very positive impact on the company. If
you are welcoming, polite, and helpful and act in a professional manner to make the
customer feel valued, they will be more likely to come back to the company knowing
they would be treated fairly and respectfully. This also gives a positive impression of the
company and they will hopefully recommend you to friends and family and potentially
help you expand your business. On the opposite end, your behaviour towards the
customer could have a negative impact. If you are impolite or rude or even show
aggressive behaviour the customer may become rude and aggressive themselves.
Understandably this makes it very hard to build a sale. The customer will probably go to
another company and like foot and mouth this news will spread. If you show a lack of
interest to the customer, they will not feel valued and they will not come back.

6.3 Explain the impact of poor customer service

As I briefly explained above, there will be an impact of poor customer service. Firstly,
that customer will not return and it will be likely that if they had a really bad experience
with your company they will tell the people around them. This will lead to a poor
 reputation of the organisation even from people who have never visited before.
Reputation for poor service can be hard to get rid of. It can keep other businesses from
partnering or working with you and it also can turn away good employment candidates
who might assume that if customers are treated poorly, employees are treated badly as
well. If you are losing and not gaining any customers there will be reductions in profits
which are going to affect customer services targets. Understandably this could be very
stressful to staff and poor internal relationships between colleagues could build. A
company that can't keep pace with the financial demands of running a business faces
increasing operating debt and ultimately, a loss of the business.

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