Office Administration Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Office Administrator, Executive Assistant 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-021

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience in an administrative, secretarial, coordination or support role, including routine use of email, calendars, word-processing software and spreadsheets.

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

Office administrators and executive support staff keep work moving when calendars conflict, priorities change, information is sensitive and colleagues need prompt, accurate service. Weak administrative systems create missed deadlines, unclear ownership, duplicated work, poor records and avoidable pressure on managers. Strong administrators apply practical controls to correspondence, meetings, documents, purchasing, travel and follow-up while maintaining professional judgement.

This course develops the core working methods expected of experienced administrators and secretaries. Participants learn to prioritise competing requests, manage diaries and meetings, write clear business communications, prepare controlled documents, maintain records, coordinate events and travel, support purchasing and expenses, and track project actions. The programme also addresses confidentiality, information classification, stakeholder service and escalation. Participants use recognised tools including the Eisenhower Matrix, RACI matrix, RAID log and ISO 15489 records-management principles.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic administrative cases, group tasks, correspondence reviews, meeting simulations and planning activities. Cases reflect situations such as arranging an executive committee meeting, resolving a diary conflict, preparing board papers, following up overdue actions and managing an urgent supplier request. Participants leave with a practical Office Administration Toolkit containing reusable templates, checklists and a personal 30-day application plan.

The course suits administrators, secretaries, personal assistants and office coordinators who already handle routine responsibilities and now need greater confidence, consistency and control across a wider range of work.

What you will be able to do

  • Prioritise competing requests using the Eisenhower Matrix, time blocking and priority scoring
  • Prepare clear business emails, briefing notes and standard responses using Plain English and BLUF
  • Coordinate meetings from agenda design through minute-taking, action tracking and follow-up
  • Apply document control, file naming and ISO 15489 records-management principles
  • Manage executive diaries, travel arrangements and events using structured coordination tools
  • Process purchasing, expenses and budget information using basic financial control checks
  • Track administrative project work using work breakdown structures, RAID logs and status reports
  • Create a 30-day service improvement plan with measures, owners and review dates

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater control over competing requests, interruptions and changing priorities
  • Clearer, faster business writing for senior managers and external contacts
  • Stronger confidence handling confidential records and sensitive communications
  • Reusable methods for producing accurate minutes, action logs and meeting papers
  • A practical plan for improving personal administrative service after the course

For your organisation

  • Fewer missed actions through clearer ownership, deadlines and follow-up records
  • More reliable meeting preparation, minutes and decision documentation
  • Reduced document errors, duplicate files and uncontrolled confidential information
  • Improved manager productivity through better diary, travel and correspondence support
  • More consistent purchasing, expense and supplier administration controls

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define their responsibilities, service commitments and escalation routes with confidence.

  • Administrator role boundaries, delegated authority and accountable decision-making
  • RACI matrix for clarifying responsibilities, approvals and escalation routes
  • Stakeholder map identifying service expectations, influence and communication preferences
  • Professional discretion when handling confidential information, competing requests and sensitive conversations
  • Service-level agreements translated into measurable administrative response commitments
  • Escalation criteria distinguishing routine decisions, exceptions, risks and urgent issues

Participants can plan work, protect priority time and respond systematically to changing demands.

  • Eisenhower Matrix separates urgent work from important planned commitments
  • Weekly planning using fixed commitments, task estimates and contingency time
  • Time blocking protects focused work, service windows and follow-up periods
  • Priority scoring ranks essential work when capacity becomes constrained
  • Kanban board visualises task status, handoffs, blockers and due dates
  • Daily review resets priorities after cancellations, emergencies and new instructions

Participants can produce concise, accurate communications suited to purpose, audience and channel.

  • Plain English structure states purpose, action, owner and deadline early
  • Email subject lines and opening sentences support rapid triage
  • BLUF format presents the bottom line before supporting detail
  • Proofreading sequence checks names, facts, attachments, tone and formatting
  • Standard response templates maintain accuracy without sounding impersonal
  • Communication channel selection matches urgency, sensitivity, complexity and audit needs

Participants can prepare controlled documents and maintain accessible, reliable business records.

  • Document control registers record version, owner, status and approval history
  • File naming convention combines date, subject, version and confidentiality marker
  • ISO 15489 principles guide classification, retention and defensible disposal
  • Meeting papers assembled through agenda, decision, action and reference sections
  • Style guides standardise headings, numbering, tables and branded correspondence
  • Quality checks identify inconsistent data, broken links and missing attachments

Participants can support effective meetings from preparation through documented follow-up.

  • Meeting purpose statements distinguish decisions, updates, problem-solving and information sharing
  • Agenda design assigns objectives, owners, timings and required pre-reading
  • Calendar invitations specify attendance, location, access details and preparation
  • Minute-taking captures decisions, actions, owners, deadlines and material dissent
  • Action logs track completion, dependencies, overdue items and escalation points
  • Chair support includes timekeeping, interventions and follow-up communications

Participants can coordinate schedules, travel and events while anticipating practical risks.

  • Travel brief consolidates itinerary, contacts, visas, risks and contingency arrangements
  • Diary coordination resolves time zones, priorities, travel buffers and availability
  • Event run sheets assign suppliers, timings, room layouts and responsibilities
  • Budget trackers compare approved spend, commitments, invoices and variances
  • Supplier confirmation checklist verifies deliverables, cancellation terms and contacts
  • Accessibility arrangements cover venue access, dietary needs and communication requirements

Participants can handle sensitive information using sound access, storage and reporting controls.

  • Information classification distinguishes public, internal, confidential and restricted material
  • Need-to-know access controls limit distribution of sensitive records
  • Retention schedule applies disposal dates, legal holds and review triggers
  • Data minimisation reduces unnecessary collection, copies and uncontrolled storage
  • Secure transfer choices assess recipient, channel, encryption and audit trail
  • Incident reporting records facts, containment actions, notifications and lessons

Participants can apply basic controls to purchasing, expenses, invoices and administrative budgets.

  • Purchase requisitions define business need, coding, approvals and supporting evidence
  • Three-way matching compares purchase order, receipt confirmation and supplier invoice
  • Expense claims distinguish allowable costs, receipts, mileage and approval limits
  • Petty cash controls record custody, vouchers, reconciliations and replenishment
  • Budget variance notes explain timing differences, errors and required action
  • Segregation of duties reduces error, fraud and unauthorised commitments

Participants can organise administrative project work and provide timely, useful progress information.

  • Work breakdown structure converts requests into trackable administrative deliverables
  • RAID log records risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies and assigned owners
  • Milestone plan sequences approvals, dependencies, deadlines and communications
  • Status reports separate completed work, upcoming tasks, decisions and blockers
  • Change log documents request rationale, impact, approval and implementation date
  • RACI matrix clarifies project roles during cross-functional delivery

Participants can identify process improvements and create a measured plan for applying them.

  • Service process map exposes delays, rework, handoffs and control gaps
  • Root cause analysis uses Five Whys for recurring administrative errors
  • Standard operating procedures define trigger, steps, controls, owner and records
  • Personal application plan selects priority improvements, measures, owners and review dates
  • Feedback requests gather evidence from managers, colleagues and internal customers
  • Thirty-day review checks adoption, service results and remaining barriers

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

What you take back to work

  1. Weekly workload planning template
  2. Business correspondence quality checklist
  3. Meeting agenda, minutes and action-log pack
  4. Document control and file-naming guide
  5. Travel and event coordination checklist
  6. 30-day administrative service improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Office Administrator — manages varied office workflows and requires consistent operating methods
  • Executive Assistant — coordinates senior stakeholders, confidential information and demanding schedules
  • Personal Assistant — supports managers through diary control, correspondence and meeting follow-up
  • Secretary — prepares documents, minutes and records requiring accuracy and professional judgement
  • Office Coordinator — oversees shared services, suppliers, facilities and team administration
  • Project Administrator — tracks actions, documentation, reporting and cross-functional deadlines

Skills and tools covered

Workload prioritisationBusiness communicationMeeting coordinationDocument controlRecords managementProject administration

Tools and standards

Eisenhower Matrix, RACI matrix, RAID log, ISO 15489

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by realistic administrative case work, group exercises and simulations. Participants assess competing requests, prepare communications, coordinate a meeting, review document-control issues and track actions from a project scenario. Trainer feedback focuses on accuracy, judgement, service standards and practical use of templates. Individual application planning connects the methods to participants' own roles, priorities and office procedures.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in an administrative, secretarial, coordination or support role, including routine use of email, calendars, word-processing software and spreadsheets. They should be comfortable organising their own workload and communicating with colleagues, managers or external contacts. The course assumes that participants have encountered deadlines, meetings, document handling or confidential information, but does not require formal administration qualifications, project-management certification, financial training or prior knowledge of ISO 15489. Participants do not need advanced spreadsheet or technical systems skills.

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 already work in an administrative, secretarial, coordination or support role and use standard office software regularly. No formal qualification, advanced finance knowledge or project-management certification is required.

Bring examples of recurring administrative challenges, such as diary conflicts, meeting follow-up or document filing problems, without sharing confidential material. A laptop is useful for live online delivery and may also be useful in classroom sessions.

It is designed for office administrators, secretaries, executive assistants, personal assistants, office coordinators and project administrators. It is most useful for people moving beyond routine tasks into broader coordination and control responsibilities.

This course focuses on administrative judgement, service methods, workflow control and professional communication rather than software features. Participants learn how to organise work, manage records, support meetings and apply practical controls.

Participants leave with templates and checklists for workload planning, correspondence, meetings, document control and coordination. The final module produces a 30-day plan linked to a real service or process improvement.

The programme runs for five training days, 08:30-16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group work, simulations, feedback and individual application planning across ten modules.

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

Related courses in Office Administration