LO2 Monitor and Manage Work

Information Sheet
Work Activities

The manager cannot do everything in the office, but he is responsible for ensuring that everything
gets done. In the finance industry the task of deciding how many positions are needed will be done
by a representative of administration and might involve a site visit after statistics have been
compiled. After allocation of number it is then up to the manager to fill those positions. There is
some flexibility as the estimate is usually made on full time equivalents but if part time staff are
employed there may be some additional benefits.

After receiving the quota which is generally stated in terms of F/T/Es [i.e. Full Time Equivalents
the manager decides the mix of different classes of staff.

People are employed to assist with this aim and this must be on the basis of having sufficient staff
available to meet peaks as required. As a result many industries employ staff as full time, part time
or casuals.

Although in different categories these groups have their individual rights and conditions of
employment. All, if qualified, must receive superannuation. Annual leave, long service leave and
sick leave are generally available to full time and part time staff. Casuals are only paid for the
actual hours that they attend and therefore they receive a loading that usually covers the benefits
like annual leave that are foregone.

Work Roster

Full time staff will attend core hours generally 9.00 - 5.00 and therefore are expected to attend each
week except for annual leave which must be pre-arranged.

Part time staffs usually have set hours for attendance e.g. Monday, Tuesday Friday 11.00 - 3.15.
However this might not be the case all of the time in some industries. However, in the finance
industry it is likely that ‘set’ shifts will make planning easier and attract staff seeking set hours
albeit casual. The pay rates for casuals are based on the same rate for full time staff simply adjusted
to reflect the number of hours worked.

E.g. Full time position gets paid $30/hour x 40 hours = $1200

Part timers up to 40 hours can be employed in any combination as long as their hours are the same.
For greater flexibility, 2 or 3 casuals could be employed when required [peak services] over the
five days.

Casual staff might be allocated shifts up to a week ahead and could have quite good hours say 20
hours. This suits those industries that have a need for staff to meet lunch hour peaks viz. the
hospitality industry. However, some casuals might just be used to cover annual leave or sick leave
[perhaps as former employees].
This type of employment may be favored by a parent with school aged children who are keen to
earn extra money but still be able to commit to be available for their children.

However there is another class of casual who are employed by another company who supply
temporary staff as casuals to certain industries. These types of employees might be found in
Nursing or Finance.

It is up to the Manager to ensure that they have sufficient staff to enable the work to get done.
Therefore there is a responsibility each day to check that all staff have arrived or attended and if
there are any absences to make a decision as to how the absence might be covered. N.b. the
manager does not have to call in casuals, but if a position is left unfulfilled then the rest of the staff
must cover or carry it.

The face of employment has changed over time with changes including the employment of more
women, more people seeking alternatives to full time work, looking for a lifestyle / work balance
and some people simply not wanting to work full time.

This has been assisted by some employers in particular fast food operators seeking to employ
young staff who are still attending school for the profit motive. Of course many TAFE &University
students supplement their existence with part time work.

In summary the work force now consists of a host of individuals who are choosing their level of
involvement in the workforce to suit their period of life or their lifestyle.

Work Allocation

To get the work done it is suggested that the manager must allocate work. In reality, this might not
be necessary or critical as certain roles have little variety e.g. a teller. However
Other jobs might not be so reactive or stereotyped and the manager must allocate tasks.
Additionally, some staff might not have time o spend on other duties due to the nature of their
employment and limited hours that go with this.

Often the tasks that are set are in addition to the ‘normal’ role that is generally undertaken by that
officer. Some of these extra tasks are regular but haphazard i.e. they must be undertaken randomly
or they are undertaken regularly but monthly, quarterly, semi-annually etc.

Examples of other than normal work could be returns, statistics, promotions or training.
In most cases time will be created to ensure that these tasks are able to be completed.

Out of this process could come a need to priorities tasks based upon a business needs basis. A
need to determine deadlines to ensure that the report or task is completed within a certain time
frame?

We will revisit this area in the near future when personal priorities are considered but the need for
an overriding prioritization might have precedence.

This task needs to be planned and will generally take place at least a week before as it will need to
be communicated to staff that will be involved.
Also to be considered with work allocation and forward planning is the need to plan to cover for
annual leave, sickness, maternity leave or long service leave. With a/l, m/l & l/s/l these are
generally for longer periods of time and usually cannot be covered by the group simply taking
on some extra tasks. As a result there must be some plan to have additional assistance.

In some businesses there are reserve staff who are available for this specific purpose and they can
be booked ahead. The draw on this reserve is sometimes so great that even this is not available and
alternate solutions might be required. The reserve is controlled by a central administration group
who act as the relief staff’s managers.

When there is a projected absence it is a very good opportunity to allocate the task of relief to a
colleague who will step up from their usual role, perhaps do some pre training and undertake the
role with a temporarily increased salary [higher duty]. Of course the problem is
not completely solved as there is now a need to cover the colleague’s role but there may be many
ways to do this due to a lower skill factor or the availability of relief staff, part time or casuals.

Exercise - What might be the benefits of using other staff from within the office to undertake a long
term relief?

With maternity leave, staff have rights and are usually slotted back into their former position
however they simply have to be allocated the same type of work. Similarly, staff proceeding on
L/S/L should return to their former position but this too might be considered in the light of the
length of absence.

To cover the absence there have been some solutions offered with these generally of an internal
nature.

These days with employment agencies having temporary staff on their books it is possible that the
absence is covered by taking on an experienced casual. The benefit of this is that the
office is relatively undisturbed as the casual slots into the position and for all others it is business as
usual. The only factor here is how experienced the incoming casual or how well
do they know the systems. For many positions this is not a problem as some casuals become
trained in all aspects of a particular bank system and they find themselves regularly employed
by that institution.

However, not all positions will lend themselves to this pre-training and temporary
Employment might be offered to an old retired or redundant employee. A temporary
Agreement will be made and the temp will work on contract for the stated period at a salary to be
negotiated.

Clearly there are many options that can be exercised to cover these longer absences and it I up to
the manager to seek the option that most benefits the office and causes little disruption or is most
efficient or the least cost exercise.

Getting back to the work allocation aspect, the manager is seeking to ensure that the allocated tasks
are completed within the time frames, the cost structures and overall efficiencies of the work
center. It is for this reason that the management is most important.

Of a slightly different nature, but also relevant to the allocation process, is the aspect of small
works whether minor alterations or repairs. For the greatest efficiency small works can be
arranged through local contractors but this will depend upon the rules of the organization. Of
course where the office is located remote to the metropolitan area this might be a standard
arrangement as the cost factor might be prohibitive to use city contractors e.g. Adelaide - Mount
Gambier ( a major regional city 400 kms from Adelaide, the SA State Capital).

People, Resources and/or equipment are coordinated to provide optimum results

Staff, clients and/or contractors are communicated with in a clear and regular manner, to monitor
work in relation to business goals or timelines

Business goals may include;

 Sales targets
 Budgetary targets
 Team and individual goals
 Production targets
 Reporting deadlines

Problem Solving Techniques

are applied to work situations to overcome difficulties and achieve positive outcomes

Problem solving techniques may include:

 Gaining additional research and information to make better informed decisions

 Looking for patterns [trends]
 Considering related problems or those from the past and how they were handled
 Eliminating possibilities
 Identifying and attempting sub tasks
 Collaborating and asking for advice or help from additional sources

People, resources and or equipment have been referred to in the previous weeks.

Therefore it is intended that a review of those elements is taken so that we can move forward to
look more at business goals and later problem solving techniques.

We will consider in more detail the separate elements of equipment resources by reference to the
h/o Managing Equipment Resources

In summary the people resource is considered very highly in the assets or resources of the firm.
They are important because they are the link element that generally uses the other elements. They
are the variable in how the fixed cost or expense will be best utilized.

Managing Equipment

In the finance industry, indeed most offices, equipment needs are relatively small when compared
to machinery used in a processing or manufacturing plant.

Exercise - To start off the thought process, please consider the type of equipment and resources
required to efficiently operate an office. Let’s check what you have come up with;
Materials & Stock

Considered a major item in manufacturing but not as important in an office, stock in this case
would refer to supplies essential to the process of providing service to clients or staff.

In this area stationery would be a major consideration viz. paper and to a lesser extent pens as these
are the main consumables in an office sense. To ensure stock [paper etc.] is available a system of
stock control should exist so that the office does not run out of it. Additionally large
stockpiles of goods that will not be used for some time might have an opportunity cost attached. At
the same time the balance between too little v too much must be addressed.

The stores must be under someone’s control and responsibility and there must be some authority
for ordering. When received they must be stored and placed perhaps in a safe place as they have
the capacity to be over utilized if not controlled.

Staff, clients and/or contractors are communicated with in a clear and regular manner, to monitor
work in relation to business goals or timelines

Business goals may include:

 Sales targets
 Budgetary targets
 Team and individual goals
 Production targets
 Reporting deadlines

Let’s consider the above elements and offer explanation should there be any misunderstanding.

All of these targets, goals and deadlines must be communicated to those people expected to
perform to some sort of level. This should include support staff directly involved in the business
unit. Therefore, in a business banking unit it is appropriate that the Credit officers are aware of
what the sales force has been asked to complete.

However, the aspect of targets does not rest solely with sales. All departments have their own areas
of control or responsibility and contribute to the overall efficiency or profit of the
organization.

This impacts over every department even those in support of the actual production or sales
function:

 Stores - excess stocks are costly, chance of obsolescence, stock shortages

 Delivery - late deliveries lose future orders

 Human Resources - recruit wrong staff, inefficient in replacing staff, wrong pay rates
 Production - too much, too little

 Safety - lost time due to poor practices

There is not too much point in putting guidelines in place if there is little or no effort in ensuring
that they are maintained, checked or actually aimed at. Therefore there is a need for reporting
against the targets on a timely basis and perhaps independent checks of work practices. Rewards
and penalties should feature in this type of function.

Some functions are so important that they must be conveyed on a regular cycle. It is important
however that the importance of these messages is not downgraded or watered down due to this
process. The method of conveyance should be varied at least once a year to ensure that the message
is still considered important.