The primary responsibility of the administration (or admin) department is the maintenance of the workplace premises, its vehicles and the support equipment.
Cleaning and Housekeeping
A clean workplace is a must for a productive work environment. The level of cleanliness and upkeep of the work premises are the reflection of the attitude and culture of the organization. It is an image of how the organization and its business leaders are. If our office is unclean and messy, that reflects our attitude of lethargy, carelessness and poor quality standards. If our office is sparkling clean, it is a very positive sign.
• The personnel responsible for the housekeeping activities must be trained properly to conduct the tasks as per the required frequency (daily, weekly, monthly).
• They must be given the right equipment and consumables for the purpose.
• If the volume of work is big, outsourcing of housekeeping work should also be considered. There are agencies which offer housekeeping services for various sizes of organizations.
• Regular cleaning, wiping, dusting etc. must be done very well and it must be checked with appropriate checklists.
• The administration in-charge must keep checklists of various housekeeping activities to be performed at the workplace and confirm their implementation on a daily basis. E.g. a checklist for cleaning a wash room can go something like this:
o Cleaning the WC commode
o Cleaning the wash basin
o Wiping the floor
o Checking water in the flush tank
o Checking the taps
o Checking and refilling soap
o Replacing napkin
o Checking and refilling paper rolls
o Cleaning the mirror
o etc.
This example is only indicative. Such checklists must be made for ALL the housekeeping activities carried out regularly, to ensure that even the smallest activity in the process is not missed out.
Repair and Maintenance
One of the common tasks handled by an administration department is the repair and maintenance of various equipment, machines and facilities inside the workplace.
• All the equipment must be kept in proper working condition and any breakdown must be attended promptly.
• Various warranty documents, bills related to these equipment should be kept at easily accessible place.
• The admin in-charge should keep a handy list of all the different vendors who provide these regular services for different equipment.
• Generally, repair or maintenance tasks should be performed when the office is closed for operations (i.e. on weekly off days or holidays).
• A calendar should be maintained so that regular repair and maintenance tasks with weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly frequency can be planned and executed properly.
Vehicles
• All the office vehicles must be properly maintained by the admin department.
• The documents related to every vehicle must be kept in separate files in the office.
• All the registration, insurance, taxation, entry permits, pollution and other certificates must be tracked and updated at regular intervals.
• Similarly, all the compulsory requirements specified by traffic authorities must be complied with and checked by somebody at regular intervals.
• The vehicles must be serviced as per its recommended schedule.
• The record of each vehicle’s running, its fuel consumption and its repairing history must be maintained for easy reference.
• If possible, some types of payment cards should be used to make refueling simpler and easy to track.
• A log book containing details of each trip made by a company vehicle is also maintained by many companies to track the usage of every vehicle.
Reception
The reception is an important area in any business. This is the face of the company, where every phone call from outside or every outsider visitor arrives first. This is why the reception should be properly attended. Here are some suggestions for the reception area:
• The reception area must be kept sparkling clean and uncluttered.
• The reception area must be properly lit and the temperature must be right.
• There must be no noise or disturbance in the reception area.
• The office staff must not use the reception area to chat or for gossiping.
• This area is the image of the company and any unprofessional behavior here must be carefully prevented.
Staff Attending the Reception Area
The people attending the reception should be chosen very carefully.
• These people should be very polite, well-mannered and with a pleasant nature.
• The persons who find it difficult to smile or the ones, who are rude, must not be allowed to attend the reception.
• They must be presentable and properly dressed.
• They should speak softly and clearly.
• They should be alert, friendly and helpful.
Facilities Required at the Reception Area
• A diary with all the important phone numbers (regularly updated).
• Some comfortable waiting area for the visitors to wait.
• A desk where couriers, mails can be received and acknowledgment can be given.
• A place to keep the outgoing parcels to be dispatched.
• Some arrangement to store various keys. (Of vehicles, office cabins, extra key sets etc.)
• If space permits, a meeting room should be provided at one side of the reception only. This will facilitate attending some visitors who need not be taken inside the office area.
• Some temporary storage space for visitors to keep their stuff (e.g. Umbrella, bags, helmets etc.) till they are inside the office.
• Regular stationery, company visiting cards, brochures etc.
• A place to keep the incoming or outgoing tiffin boxes of the employees.
• If possible, keep a TV or a computer monitor where the company related information can be displayed continuously.
Serving Tea/Coffee
• Depending upon the preferences and the chosen HR practice, tea/coffee etc. can be provided to the employees.
• Care should be taken to handle the effect of the spillage and the staining.
• It is advisable to fix timings for this service, unless it is decided to make it available continuously.
• If it is made available on self-service basis, its dispensing must be overseen by somebody.
• The cups or mugs for the same must be provided to all employees either individually or can be kept for easy pick up.
• If the employees take tea/coffee on self-service basis, an arrangement must be made so that tea/coffee is provided to the meeting/visitor rooms as per requirement.
• If there are tea/coffee dispensing machines, their proper cleaning and maintenance must be ensured.
Canteen or Cafeteria
Some companies provide meals to their employees through a canteen within the premises. This is a good practice and helps in attracting and retaining employees. Following things should be taken care of when providing such a facility.
• If possible, provide the food at concessional rates. Don’t give food completely free. Let the employees ‘buy’ it, even if at very nominal rates.
• Anything FREE is generally not appreciated.
• This facility is generally outsourced through some contractors.
• Set the quality and cleanliness standards and ensure that they are adhered to.
• Somebody must regularly supervise and check the quality of food, cleanliness and service.
• Ensure that all the safety precautions are taken care of by the agency involved.
• The canteen must stock some staple food items like biscuits, wafers, ready-to-cook meals to attend emergencies or requirements at odd hours.
Dining Area
If the business does not have a canteen or cafeteria, the employees should be guided properly about when and where they can take their meals.
• Some companies encourage the employees to eat meals at their desks. In such a case, ensure that they are sensitized and guided about maintaining cleanliness and hygiene level of the workplace, post meals.
• At some companies, dedicated dining area is provided where the employees can eat their meals in groups, as per time slots allocated to each group. This is a good practice, as it develops social bonds among employees. Such an area must be kept very clean and necessary things like water, salt, tissues etc. must be made available.
• If possible, also provide a refrigerator, a microwave oven and an electric stove.
• Timings of various meals must be fixed and communicated to all.
Security
Ensuring security of the work premises is also looked after by the admin department.
• If the security personnel are hired from an outside agency, then monitoring the activities of the outsourced security staff is the job of the admin department.
• Admin should set up the routine activities of the security staff e.g.
o During their duty hours, what will they ensure?
o How will they check the incoming visitors and where will they enter the details of the visitors?
o Will the visitors be given any slip or any badge?
o Will the security staff check any incoming or outgoing material?
o How will they pass the checked material?
o What will be their night duties?
o Whom will they contact if there is any need at night or on a holiday when the office is closed?
• Somebody must periodically conduct uninformed and sudden surprise visits to ensure that the security staff is alert during the non-business hours.
• If cameras are installed along with recording facility, somebody from admin should periodically check that all cameras are working, the recording is done properly and date-time stamp and clarity is proper.
(Expert advice to GROW your business wherever you are, whenever you want.
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