Office Administration

Use your text to find out the meaning of the following:

Trade discounts
Cash discounts
Special discount
Loyalty cards
Goods on consignment

MARCH 8
BARCODE

Bar codes (also called Universal Product Code) are utilized to complement computerized stock
records. All stocks are items labeled with a unique barcode which is a pattern of thick and thin
lines. This Barcode is made up of the product code and number/stock identification number.
Barcode systems are used in sales venues equipped with point of sale terminals.

As items are labeled and taken from the stock room or a customer pays for an item at the point
of sale terminal, the barcode is read by a scanning device connected to the main computer and
the stock records are updated immediately. The computer can be programmed to reorder stock
automatically when minimum stock level is reached.

Stated 3 reasons why it is important to maintain stock records

● To know when goods are running low to reorder
● To know where or to whom the goods are going for accurate records
● To not make excess purchases and lead to wastage

Explain the difference between point of sale and barcode

Point of sale is the terminal where sales are made and recorded and the barcode is the a
unique stock label o
MARCH 9
THE HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICE

The Human Resource office is sometimes referred to as the personnel department because it
is responsible for the people (personnel) who are employed there.

The manager responsible for this office is also called the personnel manager, personnel
officer or human resource manager.

The MAIN FUNCTIONS of this office are:

1. RECRUITMENT: Finding the right people for the right job.

This will involve forming advertisements for vacant positions, placing the advertisements
in appropriate places, short-listing and interviewing applicants and appointing those
successful.
Recruitment can be in house/internal recruiting which is where the HRM would advertise
job vacancies to employees already inside the organization.

A job posting is an external advertisement of your open job position which purpose is

to attract candidates. It is written in an engaging tone and it contains information not only
about the job position but also about your company and the benefits you offer.

2. INDUCTION: Organizing a program to introduce employees to their new jobs and to

familiarize them with the overall work of the organization, and to introduce them to other
personnel and the work that they do.

3. DEPLOYMENT: Ensuring that the employee is placed in the appropriate part of the
organization so that his/her skills are used to the best advantage to the organization.

Deployment is defined as the movement of staff from ones' current assignment position
to another to meet operational needs.

Deployment can be in the form of demotion or promotion.

4. EVALUATION / APPRAISAL: Regularly assessing the work progress of employees to

ensure that their skills and knowledge are developing in ways that are beneficial to them
and the organization.
Job evaluation and employee appraisal are important aspects of the evaluation
process.
Evaluation/ appraisal - after monitoring to ensure tasks are some correctly you evaluate
as to how well it is done.
5. TRAINING: Providing opportunities to develop existing skills and learn new ones. This
may be done through in house training or through external agency such as a college or
university.

6. STAFF WELFARE: Ensuring the working conditions of employees not only meet the
legal requirements but are also conducive to encourage employees to work well.

This office will be in regular contact with employees who are away from work due to
sickness or those who are retired.

7. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES: This is ensuring that when necessary procedures for

disciplining employees are carried out in a fair and correct manner.

8. COOPERATING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS: This is done as the HR department is

often acting on behalf of other departments of the organization in employing, training and
looking after the staff working in these departments.

QUESTION
Why the HR department does have a special relationship with other departments?
This is so because the HRM has to build and business workforce not only through their main
functions of recruiting, Induction, appraisal etc but also because this department deals with
employee relation of making effort to create and maintain positive relation between
employees and all other departments most cooperate with it.
MARCH 16
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Working in the human resources office

Duties of an assistant in the Human Resources Department

- Maintain a database of personnel records

- Prepare for interviews
- Attend staff welfare
- Assist with the functions of the Human Resource Dept.

MAINTAIN A DATABASE OF PERSONNAL RECORDS

The clerk may have to:
 File appraisal and employee history forms
 Issue sickness and absence forms for completion by the employee on their return from
sick leave or other absence
 Update annual holiday entitlement records
 Ordering stock
 Receiving job applicants

PREPARE FOR INTERVIEWS

 Booking a suitable room.
 Liaising with the interviewee in regards to the time and place of the interview.
 Photocopying the applications for the members of the interview panel
 Ensuring that the interview room is ready with enough chairs and sufficient quantities of
relevant stationery.

ATTEND TO STAFF WELFARE

The assistant may have to
 Arrange for a health and safety expert in accessing of furniture if, for instance, an
employee is experiencing health problems.
 Process the registration of each employee for a new subsidized health insurance
scheme
 Arrange for an employee with personal problems to see a counselor

ASSIST WITH THE FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPT.

The assistant in the Human Resource Office will also be expected to assist with routine clerical
task that include:
 Assisting the manager in work that relates to the strategies and the planning role of the
department
  Answer the telephone, as many queries about job will be directed to that department
from external and internal sources.
 Responding to applications in writing. The department may have specific procedures in
which these matters will be handled
 Conducting surveys on job satisfaction and analyzing the responses.
 Assisting with staff welfare and appraisal activities.
 Compiling documents and mentioning records.
 Attend disciplinary meetings and take notes at those meetings. (Minutes)
 Distribute copies of the notes to all concerned
Attributes
- Confidentiality (people in HR should have confidentiality and don't tell people staff
waged, age, appraisal results, if they had crime records etc.)
- Patience
- Tact: face expression, don't show how you feel about something or be rude. You must
be considerate,, understanding and polite.

The selection process usually involves

 Processing the application
 Short listing
 Interviewing - when a interview is conducted by more than one it is called a panel of
interviewers
 testing

INDUCTION
This is introducing employees to their jobs, coworkers and the organization and helping them to
adjust to their environment within the shortest period of time
Usually takes the form of an orientation of:
 company and operations
 personnel policies
 daily routines
 facility tour
 safety measures
 employee benefit information

During the induction/orientation period the new employee will be asked to submit:
 a national insurance number (NIS)
 An income tax number
 An identification number
 Medical information

DEPLOYMENT
This is essentially matching an employee to his or her skills
The factors for deploying staff include:
 The specific needs of each section of the organization
 Objectives of the organization as a whole
 Experience, qualifications, abilities and interest of individuals

APPRAISAL
 A method of employee evaluation- rates an employee based on performance.
 Identifies individual staff development needs.
 Evaluates employee progress
 Evaluates performance resulting from development

TRAINING
 Providing opportunities to develop existing skills and to learn new ones.
 This may be done through in-house training or through some external agency such as a
college or university.
Benefits
Training benefits both the employer and the employee, some benefits are:
 Better understanding of the organization and its goals
 Improved performance and morals
 improved problem solving techniques
 introduction of ideas which can save time and money

STAFF WELFARE

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
 Disciplining employees
 Staff hand-book
 Code of conduct
 Regulations

JOB DESCRIPTION
This defines the roles, responsibilities and duties
This document is usually done in duplicate.

JOB SPECIFICATION
 Defines the job
 Gives minimum education requirements
  List all work to be performed
 Outlines minimum and maximum salary ranges
 Outlines additional relevant judgment required

COOPERATING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS

Wages and salaries

 Attention must also be given to wages and salaries
 Personnel staff are required to review pay structures
 HR office determines actual remuneration(payment)
 Liase with Accounts department

Staff record card

This is usually completed as part of the induction process.
This form gives basic information on each employee and it should be kept current
Contains
 Employee personal information(e.g. name, address and date of birth)
 Employment info. (date engaged and salary details)
 Info. Relating to pensions

Evaluation/appraisal records
 Employee work competencies
 Employee value to organization

Factors to be considered when evaluating k an employee are

 Academic background
 Attendance and punctuality
 Job knowledge
 Attitude
 Quantity and quality of work
 Reliability
 Initiative
 Adaptability
 Decision making ability
March 22, 2021

March 29, 2021

Types of leave
● Paid leave
● Vacation leave
● Emergency Leave - like if someone die you get bereavement leave/compassionate leave
● Maternity Leave
● Paternity Leave

Sick leave is not accumulated.

Absence and Employee Turnover

Staff turnover is a problem the human resources department has to deal with.

This refers to the percentage of the average of employees who leave the organization during a
given period.

When someone resigns from his/her job, a suitable replacement has to be found. This is time-
consuming and expensive

Internal Factors
● Poor working conditions - Sometimes good pay will encourage
● Low salaries
● Lack of job satisfaction
● Lack of promotion prospects - when you’re in one position for a long time
● Lack of training opportunities

External Factors
● The state of the country's economy
● Better opportunities
● Competition for job placement - Many persons may be attempting to obtain the same
job. In some instances they may be all suitably qualified. (Your basically qualified for the
job more than other persons.
● Migration
● Globalization- better jobs overseas

April 5
Questions to ask
What is Job posting? Is it like the opposite of in house recruiting?
Are the staff record card and the service record the same thing?