Administrative Operations and Coordination Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Office Managers, Senior Administrative Assistants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-OA-024

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in an administrative, secretarial, office coordination or team support role.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Administrative operations depend on reliable routines for requests, records, meetings, communications, purchasing, events and reporting. When these routines are unclear, teams lose time to incomplete requests, duplicated work, missed approvals, poor document control and last-minute coordination. Administrative professionals are expected to keep work moving while protecting confidentiality, maintaining service standards and giving managers accurate information for decisions.

This course develops the operational coordination skills needed to run an effective administrative function. Participants map services and workflows, define ownership through RACI, control incoming work, maintain records, coordinate calendars and meetings, manage suppliers and expenses, and organise events using risk and critical-path planning. They also build performance measures, investigate recurring errors using Pareto analysis and Five Whys, and apply practical controls for confidential information, approvals and business continuity.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, coordination simulations and individual application planning. Cases reflect common administrative pressures such as executive meeting changes, invoice discrepancies, urgent procurement requests, event disruptions and overloaded service queues. Participants leave with an Administrative Operations Improvement Pack containing reusable templates, checklists and a 90-day action plan tailored to their role.

The course suits experienced administrators moving into broader coordination responsibilities, office managers, executive assistants, team coordinators and professionals responsible for improving the consistency of office support services.

What you will be able to do

  • Map administrative services and handoffs using SIPOC process maps
  • Assign decision and delivery responsibilities using a RACI matrix
  • Prioritise incoming requests using triage rules, Kanban boards and service levels
  • Create controlled document, records retention and access-permission procedures
  • Produce agendas, briefing notes, action logs and executive scheduling protocols
  • Manage purchasing, expenses, suppliers and assets using defined control checks
  • Analyse administrative performance using dashboards, Pareto analysis and Five Whys
  • Develop a 90-day administrative operations improvement plan with measurable actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Handle competing requests with a visible and defensible prioritisation method
  • Produce clearer executive briefings, agendas, action logs and follow-up records
  • Reduce avoidable rework through better intake forms and workflow controls
  • Build confidence when escalating exceptions, delays and approval risks
  • Present measurable improvement proposals to managers using operational evidence

For your organisation

  • Faster handling of routine requests through defined intake, ownership and service standards
  • Fewer missed actions and meeting follow-ups through disciplined action tracking
  • Stronger document control, retention discipline and confidentiality practices
  • Reduced purchasing and expense errors through approval and matching checks
  • Better management visibility through administrative performance measures and reports

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define administrative services, map their delivery process and assign clear ownership.

  • Administrative operating model: services, customers, handoffs, controls and performance measures
  • Service catalogues defining request types, owners, response targets and exclusions
  • SIPOC maps exposing supplier inputs, process boundaries, outputs and internal customers
  • RACI matrices assigning accountable owners for recurring administrative decisions
  • Process walk-throughs locating delays, rework, duplicate entry and unclear approvals
  • Standard operating procedures structured around triggers, steps, exceptions and evidence

Participants can control incoming work, prioritise requests and manage exceptions consistently.

  • Intake forms capturing complete requests before work enters the queue
  • Kanban boards visualising work stages, blockers, work-in-progress limits and priorities
  • Eisenhower matrix separating urgent requests from important planned administrative work
  • Daily triage routines assigning deadlines, owners, dependencies and escalation routes
  • Service-level agreements setting response, completion and update commitments
  • Escalation criteria distinguishing routine exceptions from manager-level decisions

Participants can establish practical controls for documents, records, versions and confidential information.

  • Naming conventions combining document type, subject, date, version and owner
  • Version-control rules preventing parallel edits and unauthorised document replacement
  • File plans based on function, activity, case and retention category
  • Retention schedules applying disposal dates, legal holds and review responsibilities
  • Access permissions using least-privilege principles for confidential administrative records
  • Meeting records separating decisions, actions, owners, deadlines and supporting evidence

Participants can coordinate executive time, meetings and travel with reliable preparation and follow-up.

  • Calendar protocols protecting focus time, preparation buffers and decision-maker availability
  • Priority-based scheduling resolving clashes through agreed delegation and escalation rules
  • Agenda design linking meeting purpose, required decisions, timings and pre-reading
  • Action logs recording commitments, due dates, dependencies and closure evidence
  • Travel itineraries coordinating approvals, visas, contingencies, contacts and accessibility needs
  • Hybrid meeting checklists covering platforms, rooms, participants, materials and follow-up

Participants can produce clear operational communications and manage stakeholder expectations professionally.

  • Audience analysis matching message detail, channel, tone and response requirement
  • Plain-language writing using active voice, headings, bullets and concrete deadlines
  • Email protocols distinguishing acknowledgement, action, decision, escalation and closure
  • Briefing notes presenting purpose, background, options, recommendation and next steps
  • Stakeholder maps identifying influence, interest, communication frequency and information needs
  • Professional boundary-setting scripts managing unrealistic requests without damaging relationships

Participants can apply practical administrative controls to purchasing, expense and asset processes.

  • Purchase requisitions documenting specification, budget code, approval and business need
  • Three-way matching comparing purchase orders, goods receipts and supplier invoices
  • Expense claim checks testing policy compliance, receipts, mileage and authorisation
  • Supplier registers recording contacts, terms, performance issues and renewal dates
  • Asset registers tracking custodian, location, serial number, condition and disposal
  • Segregation of duties reducing fraud risk within purchasing and payment processes

Participants can plan administrative events and time-bound coordination work with clear controls.

  • Event briefs defining objectives, audience, budget, format, responsibilities and success measures
  • Run sheets sequencing setup, arrivals, sessions, breaks, contingencies and close-down
  • Critical-path method identifying dependent tasks and non-negotiable delivery dates
  • Risk registers scoring likelihood, impact, controls, owners and contingency actions
  • Vendor coordination confirming specifications, access arrangements, deliverables and acceptance criteria
  • Post-event reviews comparing attendance, costs, feedback, incidents and planned outcomes

Participants can measure administrative service performance and target improvements using evidence.

  • Operational dashboards combining volume, turnaround, backlog, error rate and satisfaction
  • Baseline measures distinguishing normal variation from emerging service performance problems
  • Pareto analysis prioritising high-frequency errors and recurring administrative demand
  • Five Whys tracing process failures beyond individual mistakes or isolated incidents
  • PDCA cycles testing improvements, checking results and standardising effective changes
  • Monthly reports explaining trends, risks, actions and decisions required from leaders

Participants can identify administrative risks and maintain essential controls during disruption.

  • Control matrices linking administrative risks, preventive checks, evidence and owners
  • Confidentiality classifications guiding storage, sharing, printing and disposal decisions
  • Business continuity procedures covering contacts, essential services, workarounds and recovery priorities
  • Incident logs documenting facts, immediate actions, notifications and follow-up responsibilities
  • Data-quality checks testing completeness, accuracy, timeliness, validity and duplicate records
  • Audit trails preserving approval history, document changes and transaction evidence

Participants can convert operational findings into a realistic, measurable administrative improvement plan.

  • Stakeholder expectation agreements clarifying services, priorities, response standards and boundaries
  • 90-day action plans sequencing process fixes, owners, measures and review dates
  • SMART objectives translating administrative improvement priorities into measurable commitments
  • Implementation risk assessments identifying resistance, dependencies, controls and fallback actions
  • Review cadences setting weekly operational checks and monthly stakeholder discussions
  • Personal delegation plans matching tasks to authority, capability and accountability

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Administrative service catalogue template
  2. SIPOC process mapping worksheet
  3. RACI responsibility matrix
  4. Administrative workflow triage board
  5. Document control and records checklist
  6. 90-day administrative operations action plan

Who should attend

  • Office Managers — need consistent systems for office services, suppliers and administrative controls
  • Senior Administrative Assistants — coordinate complex requests, records, meetings and stakeholder communications
  • Executive Assistants — manage executive time, decisions, briefing materials and follow-through
  • Administrative Coordinators — need clear methods for workflow control and service performance
  • Team Coordinators — support managers through planning, reporting and cross-team administration
  • Facilities or Operations Administrators — manage purchasing, assets, events and service-provider coordination

Skills and tools covered

Workflow coordinationRecords controlExecutive supportService prioritisationOperational reportingProcess improvement

Tools and standards

SIPOC, RACI, Kanban, PDCA

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by case work based on office coordination problems. Participants analyse service requests, process maps, meeting scenarios, document-control failures, supplier issues and event risks. Group exercises test prioritisation, escalation and communication decisions, while simulations recreate changing executive schedules and competing deadlines. Facilitated peer review helps participants compare operating approaches. Individual application planning converts course methods into actions for participants' own administrative responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in an administrative, secretarial, office coordination or team support role. They should be comfortable using standard office productivity software, managing email and calendars, and handling routine documents, meetings or requests. Familiarity with internal approval processes, filing systems or supplier contact is helpful but not essential. No formal management qualification, project management certification, finance training or specialist records-management credential is required. The course does not assume responsibility for a large team or budget.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have experience in an administrative, office support, secretarial or coordination role. No formal management qualification or specialist finance, project management or records credential is required.

Bring examples of recurring requests, workflows, meeting processes or coordination problems from your role, without confidential information. A laptop is useful for adapting templates during application-planning sessions, but it is not mandatory.

It is designed for experienced administrators, office managers, executive assistants, team coordinators and operations support staff. It is especially useful for people moving from task delivery into responsibility for systems, service quality and coordination.

Executive assistant training concentrates more heavily on senior leader support, protocol and relationship management. Project management training focuses on formal projects; this course concentrates on the recurring administrative services, controls and workflows that keep an office operating.

Participants can introduce an intake form, clarify roles with RACI, improve meeting action tracking or create a simple service dashboard. The final module helps each participant select priorities and build a 90-day implementation plan.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The ten modules are taught in sequence through briefings, cases, group work, simulations and planned application to participants' own responsibilities.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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