From the course: Administrative Professional Tips
Project management
- If you are an administrative support professional, you also share the title of project manager whether you have formal training in this area or not. Today, we are called upon to manage a variety of projects in multiple different areas in the course of the day. We can be planning an event, arranging a travel itinerary, preparing briefing materials, all while performing our regular daily office functions. In order to do everything successfully and not let something get missed, it's important to practice some basics of project management. First, we need to have a clear list of our priorities for our projects and know when each of them is due. Although all projects are important, some of them have a higher priority level than others. This is something that we will know instinctively and others will need to sit down and have a conversation with our executive or the person who is in charge of the deliverable. If we are unclear on any project, we run into the danger of missing an important deadline, so this is a very important first step. Secondly, we need to ensure that we are clear on what the deliverable is. If we are under one impression for a project and the person requesting the work believes we are doing something different, this can make for a misunderstanding that can result in disaster for all parties concerned. The way I handle this is by taking meticulous notes when I am asked to complete a task. I then read back to the person what they said to me to make sure I am in agreement. This is when I am instructed verbally. If the task is being given to me by email, I do the same in a series of emails to ensure I have complete agreement on the directive. I have found that I have experienced very few miscommunications using this method. Next, if I see that a deadline is in jeopardy of being missed, I have a conversation with the affected parties immediately. This may result in other projects being put on hold while I focus my entire attention to the priority. This is not a decision that I make on my own. It is one that requires negotiation, communication, and flexibility for all parties. Sometimes we may have to bring in another administrative support professional to help ensure we can complete the project on time and within the guidelines that have been agreed upon. Lastly, I make sure that I close out the project so that I know it is complete. For example, in the case of planning a trip for my executive, the trip is not totally complete until all expenses have been submitted, reimbursements made, if any, and all files, electronic and paper, have been filed accordingly. I want to ensure I can easily track this trip if I need to duplicate it in the future and that I can provide any paperwork that is needed for future audit issues if they arise. It is very easy for administrative support professionals to become overwhelmed and disorganized, given the number of tasks we are responsible for in any given day. By putting into practice some basic project management principles, we can save time, communicate effectively, avoid missed deadlines, and keep all things we are managing intact.
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