Expert calls for improved standards in office administration

An education administrator, Adekemisola Asahiah, has called for improved administrative practices among office workers, saying efficiency, professionalism and continuous learning are essential to effective service delivery.

Asahiah made the call while speaking on “Best Practices in Present Day Office Administration” at the 2017 Annual Professional Training and Development Programme of the African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Our correspondent gathered that the two-day training formed part of the professional development activities at the institute, located within the campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

AFRIGIST is a bilingual, English and French, inter-governmental institution focused on geospatial information science and technology, with membership open to African countries.

In her presentation, Asahiah explained that best practice goes beyond simply meeting an expected standard, describing it as the continuous effort to achieve better results in a profession.

She said administrative workers should understand that their roles are central to the effectiveness and image of an organisation because they often serve as the first point of contact for clients, vendors and other stakeholders.

According to her, administrative staff also serve as an interface between an organisation and people outside it, while providing direct support to managers and helping new officers understand the practical aspects of their duties.

Asahiah identified punctuality, meticulousness, honesty, diligence, loyalty and being up-to-date as some of the qualities expected of effective administrative staff.

She also urged workers to be willing to learn, unlearn and relearn, stressing the need for computer literacy, multitasking, teamwork, emotional intelligence and a willingness to go the extra mile.

“Best practice is not static,” she noted in her presentation, urging administrative workers to keep abreast of changes in their workplaces and continually improve their methods.

She said workers should understand their responsibilities, know their current procedures and recognise when an issue should be referred to another officer or when they could assist a client themselves.

Asahiah further advised administrative officers to familiarise themselves with the tools of their trade, including codes of conduct, rules and regulations, gazettes and official digests.

She said knowledge of workplace procedures should be accompanied by an understanding of the perspectives of bosses, clients and other colleagues, adding that maturity should enable workers to disagree with ideas without attacking personalities.

She also stressed the importance of adapting to technological changes, noting that email, telephone calls and text messages could be used to improve the speed of communication in modern offices.

The administrator said the essence of best practice in contemporary office administration was effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the ability to identify and continuously strengthen individual and organisational strengths.

She maintained that workers should strive to become people of value to their organisations rather than merely pursuing personal success.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the training, Asahiah emphasised that professionalism in office administration should not be limited to academic qualifications or job titles, but should be reflected in how workers perform their daily responsibilities.

She said administrative officers needed to understand that the quality of service they provided could influence how their organisations were perceived, particularly because they frequently interacted directly with members of the public and other stakeholders.

She also stressed the importance of continuous personal development, saying workers could not rely solely on existing knowledge or long-established procedures in an environment where technology, communication methods and workplace expectations were constantly changing.

Asahiah said effective administrators should therefore remain open to learning, pay attention to changes within their organisations and continually examine how they could add value to their workplaces.

Her training also covered communication and minutes writing, with emphasis on the importance of accurate documentation of meetings and clear communication within organisations.

In her minutes-writing presentation, she explained the differences between verbatim, discussion and action minutes, describing action minutes as the commonest form because they succinctly record actions taken and those planned.

She further taught participants that effective communication required the message sent by an encoder to be correctly understood by the receiver, warning that tone, body language, facial expressions and other non-verbal cues could alter the meaning of a message.

The training materials also addressed the use of email, text messages, telephone calls and office WhatsApp groups as modern workplace communication tools, with Asahiah urging workers to use such platforms responsibly and promptly.

The practical emphasis of the programme was also reflected in an October 6, 2017 meeting of administrative assistants at the Regional Centre for Aerospace Surveys, where participants considered issues including administrative nomenclature, workplace procedures and the speed of administrative action.