Author’s Note (‘Clerical Excellence At Any Workplace’)

Background

I was very inspired to write this book. Having preached the subject on
clerical development and soft skills for more than a decade, and with lots of
experience (and the related testimonies to go along with them), I want to
reach to a wider audience, globally, if I may put it.

I hope that you are one of those distant readers …

Retrospectively, I started my career as a clerical assistant at Malaysia’s

national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, in 1980. I rose up gradually, rank by rank,
to eventually become an Administration Executive at the national airline
company.

In my executive career stints thereafter - at internationally renowned hotel

brand, Holiday Inn Kuching (as the Training Manager), Sarawak Skills
Development Centre (a pioneer management team member), SATT College
of Hospitality & Tourism (setting this up from zero as a pioneer and
Academic Director), Omega Project (again as a pioneer in this oil and gas
supplier company), QS Group of Companies - I became more aware that any
workplace, any organisation would need a strong clerical team of personnel
with adequate clerical skills (technical and supporting soft ones) to bring his
employer to great heights.

Even non-clerical graded or designated employees would need clerical skills

and the related soft skills to progress further in their employment! I am very
sure you are one of them …

In the later years when I eventually became a freelance speaker / trainer on

soft skills, “Clerical Skills Development Programme” has been my core
training product. I have trained a great number of participants from a wide
spectrum of the multi-sector industry of Malaysia on this clerical
development programme. Participants hailed from the local universities,
colleges; government departments / agencies; oil & gas / petrochem sectors;
shipping and transportation companies; multi-sector manufacturers; local
national airlines; hotels and resorts; plantations companies;
power-generation organisations; supermarkets / hypermarkets; and
professional set ups (legal firms, architectural companies).

So, the crux of it all is that clerical skills are certainly needed everywhere
whether one is an operations clerk at a manufacturing company or a
secretary to the CEO of an airline, or even the CEO himself!

I can still recall in one of my training engagements at a manufacturing

company when I was surprised with the presence of five senior engineers in
the class. I asked one of them “Why??” before I started my session, and he
replied that “We are hungry for clerical skills to equip us at the office as most
of our daily chores has been on our production floors”. They would return to
the office before they knock off for the day in the late afternoon where they
had to do clerical stuffs like typing reports, updating physical files, managing
papers, etc.

At the end of my two-day programme, one of these seniors stood up, spoke
in front of the 30-strong class that they really benefited from my programme!
From that day onwards, I began to realise (and safely so) that clerical skills
are even needed by the CEO of any organisation! Hahaha …

What’s Inside?

This book is the collection of those skills I have preached over the years for
you. The skills discussed herein are foundational (to a certain extent) - some
are personal. Some are perhaps psychological, with most primarily needed
at your workplace.

This compilation is not on pure technical clerical skills only but also those
pertinent soft skills such as on customer service orientation and an
appreciation of VBAI because without them any employee would not go far
in the organisation, and the organisation would not go far in their industry.

I believe you are very much familiar with most of them.

Like in my training / speaking engagements, my role in this book is to share,

discuss and work with you how you can enhance those familiar skills to
enrich your workplace performance and productivity thus your monthly
earnings.

With the advent of technology nowadays, an office worker can apply a tool in
the Microsoft Office, for instance, to manage his time and schedule his tasks
in place of my Time Management Sheet discussed herein.
This book is designed to help ‘the clerk’ to:

 be aware of the strategic nature of his job consistent with the vision,
mission and objectives of the organisation generally;

 be relevant with the development of his department and business of the

organization;

 be more proactive and assume ownership of the daily tasks, especially in

communication, managing expectations and quality of work (planning
and organizing); and,

 improve the current knowledge, skills and competencies towards more

challenging job requirements.

Significance of the Clerical Personnel

Organisations - small and large; private and public – operate, to a large

extent, on the efficiency and effectiveness of their clerical personnel.
However, they are almost always “forgotten” when it comes to training
courses or career development programmes!

A clerk plays a significant and supporting role in order to smoothen the

operations and office work processes; facilitate organization leader’s
decision-making process; and, eventually help to meet a customers’ needs
with the desired quality, cost and time of delivery.

An incompetent clerk will lead to operational hiccups that will delay the
processes and delivery efficiently and effectively.

This book is useful for all clerical-graded staff, secretaries, personal

assistants, desk officers, etc. in the organisation even if they are still new …
practically, all those who are in many ways performing clerical tasks in the
office. Therefore, this is THE set of skills for them … where clerical personnel
are very much required to boost an organisation’s productivity!
 List of Contents

CLERICAL ORIENTATION

Analyzing Yourself at the Workplace

VBAI Relationship
Good Business Ethics, Qualities That Appeal
Workplace Rules / Guidelines

THE CLERICAL JOB

Significance of Office Tasks

Developing Clerical Functions
Optimizing Time and Workplace Resources
Managing the Workplace Papers
Corporate, Business Letters
Common Office Equipment
Communicating Better in the Organisation
Basic Workplace Requirements
System of Following Up

PROFESSIONAL ENHANCEMENT

Fulfilling the Customer’s Expectations

Rules of Customer Service Excellence
Telephone-Handling Techniques
Awareness of Tomorrow’s Business Challenges
What Makes an Efficient Clerical Staff?
Your Career Progression
You Make the Difference!

SCORES

Analyzing Your Business Manners

Excerpts from the Book

A. VBAI
Success is actually 80% attitude and 20% aptitude and don't you let
anyone else tell you something different! A positive mental attitude can
enrich your personal life, your relationships and your career.

B. Your Corporate Identity

It is critical then that your performance of duties reflects the nature and
spirit of your company in a positive way, from the moment your product
and service leave the drawing board and enters the marketplace.

C. Developing Clerical Functions

1. Manage Your "In" and "Out" Trays
2. Manage Your Time Constructively
3. Work Smart!
4. Save Costs
5. Managing the Mailing System

D. Managing Papers at the Workplace

The ability to manage papers and files by any staff is necessary at any
workplace because:
- papers make up 95% of the medium of our documents and records and
they have always been cheap and accepted as valid for legal purposes as
physical evidence that is difficult to alter

E. Basic Workplace Requirements

The basic business work requirements, especially of the future, is about
continual change through innovative technologies and changing
organisational structures. Most of the present day working tools, skills,
knowledge, abilities and behaviours will not be applicable in the future.

F. Fulfilling the Customer’s Expectations

a) Basic customer needs
b) Customer-Satisfaction Equations
c) Anticipating customer needs and servicing him brilliantly!
d) Excellent telephone-handling techniques

G. What Makes an Efficient Clerical Staff?

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