From the course: Administrative Professional Tips

Organizing your physical files

From the course: Administrative Professional Tips

Organizing your physical files

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- Although we now find ourselves living in a very digital age, many of us administrative support professionals, myself included, have physical files that we are responsible for keeping. I currently work in a high school public school system in Illinois. Our board meetings are covered under the Illinois Open Meetings Act. This means I am obligated to keep my meeting minutes and any backup according to the guidelines in that statute. And my constituents are very in tune with the requirements. If I don't adhere to things in a timely manner, they let me know immediately, as well as my boss. In my case, there are specific laws that dictate the length I need to keep certain files and which particular files need to be maintained. Here are some tips that I have found useful in preserving my paper files and setting up a system to keep them organized and easy to retrieve when necessary. First, name your files and folders strategically. Depending on the type of file, you want to ensure you name them according to the circumstance, document title, document date, or whatever heading will allow you to retrieve it quickly and easily. For example, I need to file signed copies of our board meeting minutes. I save the files in a binder with tabs that are organized by dates. The binders are set up by year, month, and then by individual date. This allows me quick and easy access to any board meeting minutes I am looking for. Ensure you are maintaining your files on a regular basis. A sure way to stay on top of your filing and not allow it to get behind is to set up a regular schedule when you will add new documents, and also when will you will purge no longer needed documents. I set a schedule to file new documents weekly and purge documents monthly. If your office has different requirements, then you should adhere to those. If not, this schedule could also work well for you if you have a standard amount of filing to do. This way, you won't have a ton of paper on your desk and you will be able to retrieve items easily. Use different colors to distinguish between your files. I have found using colors helps me to immediately distinguish between the type of files I have stored. It also looks neater and more professional. You can use different colors for binders, file folders, labels, and tabs. Keep important and confidential paperwork under lock and key. This keeps your documents safe and provides access only to those who have the proper authorization. Finally, choose filing storage containers and cabinets that will suit your needs. There are a number of different options available, and you wanna ensure you research the best ones for your requirements. If you currently have a system that does not work for you, inquire as to whether your office's budget allows for you to replace them. Although paperless offices are very popular, there are many offices that still need to maintain paperwork and be able to retrieve it when it is needed. Therefore, it is up to those administrative support professionals who are responsible for this area to develop systems of organization that work well for that business and their future needs.

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