The Professional Office Manager Certificate

Course details

By attending this certificate, you will expand your professionalism and develop your career. You will also build on your abilities and keep your boss and team functioning as efficiently as possible. Bring to the sessions your challenges and with other delegates and course instructors you will reach alterative solutions.

Certificate Description:

By attending this certificate, you will expand your professionalism and develop your career. You will also build on your abilities and keep your boss and team functioning as efficiently as possible. Bring to the sessions your challenges and with other delegates and course instructors you will reach alterative solutions.

Certificate Objectives:

• Identify roles and attributes of office managers
• Explain various fundamental secretarial functions
• Communicate effectively with a range of people using different methods and media
• Determine different business writing skills
• Apply distinguished management and business skills at the workplace

Certificate Outline:

• Part I: Introductory Session
• Types of support staff
• Difference between:
• Secretary
• Personal assistant
• Executive secretary
• Office manager
• Department manager
• Administrative coordinator
• Attributes that managers expect in secretaries
• Part II: Fundamental Secretarial Functions
• Module 1: Planning and Organizing a Smooth-running Office:
• Tools and concepts of time management for yourself and your manager
• A master plan to keep your boss’s calendar up-to-date
• New generation of time management.
• Coordinating travel arrangements
• Planning an executive’s business trip from start to finish
• Effective meeting coordination
• Planning and organizing a business meeting from start to finish
• Writing meeting minutes

Module 2: Support Functions:

• Filing strategies and techniques
• Choosing the best filing system for your organization needs according to
• international standards
• Filing systems
• Filing Procedure
• Best filing rules to learn
• Managing the flow of office information
• Incoming correspondence
• Outgoing correspondence
• Handling visitors professionally(external visitors)
• Types of visitors
• Introducing and meeting visitors according to professional standards
• Handling a complaining visitor
• Professional telephone manner
• Becoming a super service provider on the phone
• Dealing with difficult phone callers
• Telephone Etiquette

Module 3: Personal Attributes:

• Establishing and maintaining good working relationships (internal customers)
• Types of co-workers
• Criticism from managers and co-workers
• Delegation to Co- worker and Subordinates
• Office stress (identifying-causes-coping)
• Office pressure and handling conflicts
• Code of ethics for an office manager

Module 4: Business Etiquette and Professional Image:

• Etiquette of Workplace
• Effective communication utilizing etiquette
• Verbal
• Vocal
• Visual
• Professional Image
• Ethical Behavior with Internal and External Customer
• Part III: Communication and Listening:
• The Communication Process
• Barriers to Communication:
• Judgment/perception
• Verbal and none verbal communication
• Distractions
• Behavioral Factors in the Communication Process
• Formal and Informal Communication
• Communication Options
• Listening Skills in the Communication Process
• Part IV: Business Writing Skills:
• Preparing yourself for writing
• Coping with writing anxiety
• Startup strategies
• Tone in business writing
• Effective business writing skills
• Types of readers
• Principles of good writing
• The “You” attitude
• Editing and revision (the four Cs)
• Complete and correct
• Concise
• Clear
• Business documents (letters-e-mails-memos)
• Types and samples – applications
• E-mail writing and etiquette
• Reports
• Part V: Beyond Secretarial Skills:

Module 1: Management Skills to Manage Change

• Putting your skills to work
• Delegation
• Negotiation
• Initiative management
• Relationship and self – management

Module 2:Presentation Skills

• Presentation skills inventory
• Opening
• Organization
• Content
• Close
• Visuals
• Connecting with the Audience
• Eye contact
• Gestures
• Voice Control
• Enthusiasm
• Power point preparation
• Utilizing power point in presentations

Module 3: Problem Solving

• Introduction
• What are problem solving (PS) and Decision making (DM)
• The PS & DM processes
• Creative tools for PS & DM

Assessment Strategy:

Participants will be formally assessed based on discussions, group activities,individual assignments and final test