Administrative Assistant Job Binders / Manuals – Part 3
ByCreating and Maintaining Your Administrative Manual
As you begin documenting the various processes, procedures, checklists, and forms for your administrative manual, there are a few things to keep in mind that will make updating or revising this manual much easier.
- Create an electronic folder called “Admin Manual” for ease in filing these documents once you have them created. Not every document in your admin manual will be saved in this folder, but the ones that don’t already have a home in another folder should be placed here.
- Add the document path and file name to the footer of each document before you print it. If it’s not a file that you share with anyone else, you may want to leave it there permanently. It makes finding the file for quick updates or reprints a much easier process weeks or months down the road when you may not be able to remember exactly where you saved it.
- Do not store multiple copies of the same file in multiple online folder locations. If you make updates to your master copy, you don’t want to have to recall all of the various locations you may have it saved in to update those copies also. This is where the document footer with the filename becomes very helpful.
- Create a “Master Document” in Microsoft Word if you have a lot of electronic files that you want to be able to pull into your admin manual but they are stored in a lot of online locations. When you open the master document, all you have to do is click on the link and it will take you directly to the file you are looking for. I have used this as my “electronic” admin manual with a shortcut placed on my desktop for quick and easy reference if I don’t want to open up my binder and leaf through it page by page.
When assembling your admin manual, I recommend the following:
- Purchase a sturdy 3-ring “D” binder that is about 1 1/2″ to 2″ wide and in a color that is unique from all of the other binders on your desk.
- Create a fun, yet professional, cover and spine to clearly identify the contents on your desk.
- Print out nicely labeled tabs for your dividers once you have identified all of the various sections that you want included in your admin manual.
- Purchase some heavy duty sheet protectors for the commonly referred to lists, checklists or form templates that will receive the most use.
- Create a permanent home for your binder that is easy to reach from your computer and when you are on the phone. This may require reorganizing your desk slightly, but if it’s not easy to reach or use, it defeats the purpose of putting this together to begin with. So take a few minutes to reevaluate your desk setup/layout and assign your binder a home.
- Depending on the amount of information you assemble, you may want to consider a general table of contents listing the overall sections and the forms included in each section for quick fingertip reference. Do not include page numbers as those can change quickly if you are regularly updating/editing the documents in this binder.
How often do you need to update your binder?
When I realize there are things that need to be changed in my binder, I make the notes right on the page as I am looking at it. If I have time to do it on the spot, I will. If I do not, I may come back and do it when I see several pages have marks or post-its with additional information included on them. I find that reviewing it on a monthly or quarterly basis is reasonable depending on how busy your office is and how many changes occur from week to week or month to month. Add a reminder to your Outlook Calendar or Tasks so you don’t forget.
Not only will you look smart the next time someone needs to fill in for you when you’re on vacation, but you won’t lose out on other potential promotions or opportunities because no one knew how to do your job when you left. Plus, the person who follows you will know you were one of the most efficient, productive, and thoughtful administrative professionals ever!
If you would like to request a copy of my “Administrative Job Responsibilities” Template to get you started, click here.
Julie Perrine CPS/CAP
Certified MBTI Administrator
