NCFE Level 2

Certificate in Principles of
Business Administration

MANAGING INFORMATION

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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INNOVATION MANAGE BUDGETS

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RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Workbook 1
 Section 1: Principles of providing administrative services

This section introduces you to the principles of providing administrative services.

You will explore different kinds of meeting and how to provide administrative support
for them. You will also look at booking and confirming travel and accommodation,
business diaries, office equipment, mail services and the importance of providing
good customer service.

Meetings
Please read the following as it will help you to answer question 1a.

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Meetings are a daily occurrence for companies of all sizes. They gather together
individuals with a shared interest in a topic and allow them to share information. They
can also provide opportunities to learn and strategize. A meeting can be held for any
number of people, from two to hundreds or even thousands.

Types of meeting
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When you think of a meeting, you may imagine a group of people sitting around a
desk talking seriously about something. This is true of a formal meeting, but today
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there are a lot of different types of meeting, such as videoconference and creative,
that take place between a wide variety of people.
Meetings generally fall into one of two categories: internal or external. Internal
meetings involve business staff, and include team, appraisal and project meetings.
External meetings involve staff and non-staff, and include sales meetings with
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potential clients and meetings with contractors.

The most common meetings include:

Customer/sales meetings
It is important for companies to meet with their existing and potential customers
to build good relationships with them and to showcase their products or services.
A customer/sales meeting may involve presenting a ‘pitch’, which is designed to
encourage the client to make a purchase.
These meetings may be held:
at the potential client’s offices
at the company’s offices
off-site, at a hotel or conference centre
online, using videoconference software such as Skype

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Project meetings
These meetings start at the beginning of a project and include individuals from each
department involved in the project. Project meetings are held regularly throughout a
specific time period so that everyone involved can be kept up to date on progress,
issues or decisions. These meetings are usually held on-site.

Training and skill-building meetings

Continued professional development is an important element of business as it means
that employees’ skills are up to date, which keeps the business competitive.

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Training and skill-building meetings will usually focus on one topic or skill, such as
how to use a new order system. Training may be:
‘in-house’ – which means it is delivered by a company employee
‘external’
 – which means that an expert from outside the business gives the training
held on- or off-site
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Courses can be:
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held in regular meetings – e.g. weekly training sessions or day release

intensive, formal courses – e.g. a week of training sessions to achieve a formal
qualification
one-off sessions – e.g. when a new service or product is introduced
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‘toolbox’ sessions – e.g. refresher training on one or two aspects of the job

Creative meetings
Not all meetings need to have a rigid agenda; creative
meetings usually have a desired outcome called a brief,
and attendees will work together to come up with as
many different ideas as possible, no matter how wacky
or unusual. For example, a business may want to update
their ‘brand’, so a creative meeting may be held to
decide on a logo or colour scheme.

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 Section 1: Principles of providing administrative services

Team meetings
Team meetings usually include individuals from all levels of a company who work
in the same department, or a branch of the same department. They may include
directors, team leaders, managers and staff. Team meetings can be:
held regularly, for example every Tuesday at 9.30am

held as and when they are needed, for example to review workload or assign
new tasks
This type of meeting can cover any topic that affects team members, such as training,
progress updates, process changes and general questions. Team meetings are also

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an opportunity for staff to update team leaders or managers about any issues that
have come up.

Formal meetings
At a formal meeting there will be an agenda and someone will be appointed to take
‘minutes’, that is to write down what happened during the meeting. The agenda will
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be written and distributed to attendees before the meeting. The person keeping the
minutes will write down any decisions made or any actions handed out. Minutes are
useful because they can be used to create the next agenda.
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Videoconference meetings
In today’s modern business world, telecommuting, or working remotely, is becoming
more popular with many businesses as it reduces commute time and increases
available work time.
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This means that one employee could be in London, while another is in New York and
another is in Sydney. Videoconferencing, an online meeting using shared screens
and webcams, is an effective way of bringing employees together in a meeting
environment, no matter where they are located. Videoconferencing allows individuals
to see and hear each other and share and view documents, video content and
graphics, etc.

Staff involved in a videoconference meeting will need:

a device (phone, tablet, computer) with a camera and a microphone
a fast Internet connection
a quiet location, as microphones tend to pick up background noise
The downside of remote working is that it can be quite lonely and inconvenient for
team and client meetings.

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Appraisal meetings
Appraisal meetings are set up to discuss job performance and are usually held on a
one-to-one basis between an employee and their direct supervisor. It is common for
all members of a business, including directors, to be appraised to ensure they are
performing to agreed standards. Appraisals are usually held annually, but can be held
as often as a supervisor deems necessary. Topics may include:
a review of performance against job description
a review of existing objectives and targets
setting and agreeing new objectives, targets and goals

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career development and potential for promotion
personal issues

Supplier meetings
As well as providing a service to its own customers, a business will also need to buy
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services from other companies, for example Internet access and electricity. As part
of an annual budget review, a business may meet with suppliers to check they are
getting the best deal possible. It may also be necessary to set up meetings with
possible new suppliers to discuss terms and prices.
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Businesses will also need to meet with accountants, bank managers and other
suppliers that are essential to its success.

Director, trustee and shareholder meetings

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Just as teams within a business meet regularly to discuss progress and address
general issues, the team with overall responsibility for the business, i.e. directors,
trustees and shareholders, also need to get together to maintain control.
A company may have a board of directors, who will meet on a regular basis to look in
depth at the company’s finances, market position, strategy and objectives.
A charity is governed by a board of trustees, which has overall legal responsibility.
Trustees will meet to discuss the business’s mission and purpose, perform
organisational planning, manage resources and monitor programmes and services.
When you buy a ‘share’ of a company you become a shareholder, which means you
own part of the company and play a part in any major decisions that are made. Small
companies may only have a couple of shareholders, but large companies, such as
Facebook, have many thousands. Shareholders are invited to the Annual General
Meeting (AGM) where they will discuss and vote on aspects of the business.

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 Section 1: Principles of providing administrative services

Providing administrative support for meetings

Please read the following as it will help you to answer question 1b.

Once a meeting has been called, a number of tasks need to be completed before and
during the meeting to make sure it runs smoothly. For example:
budget – for venue and refreshments, etc.

venue – is the venue (meeting room, conference room, hotel conference space)
available and booked?

invitations – ensure all attendees have received an invitation. Contact anyone who

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hasn’t responded to find out if they will be attending. Ask if there are any special
access or dietary requirements. Provide directions to venue
furniture – are there enough tables and chairs for all attendees?

technical equipment – e.g. connections for projectors and laptops, extension cords;
screens, microphones, sound system, videoconferencing system all work
special access requirements – e.g. ramps and space for wheelchairs
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catering – e.g. tea, coffee, water, snacks or meals
security and car passes – if the meeting is at a secure site such as a military base
attendance list and name badges for all attendees
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agenda – a list of points to be covered, usually produced by the person holding the
meeting. Ensure it is distributed to all attendees and that there are spare copies

copies of the minutes of the last meeting – e.g. to hand around in a formal
meeting to be agreed and signed; for people to check that previously agreed points
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have been actioned

briefing notes – information that attendees should read before or after the meeting
stationery – e.g. pads and pens

literature – e.g. notes, reports, workbooks, forms or brochures. Ensure there are
enough copies and spares

ensure meeting is not disturbed by phone calls – arrange for calls to be rerouted or
sent to voicemail

make arrangements for a photocopier to be available during the meeting, in case
additional copies need to be made
take minutes – audio record the meeting, if necessary, so no points are missed

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When organising a meeting, there are a lot of factors to take into account to ensure it
runs smoothly. It is important to gather as much information about each factor so that
the meeting can take place at the right time and venue and the correct people are
invited.

Organising meetings
Please read the following as it will help you to answer question 1c.

Organising meetings can be complicated and time-consuming, depending on where

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they are, how big they are and what support resources are need. When organising a
meeting, it is important that the four Ws are asked and answered:
When will the meeting take place?
Where will the meeting happen?
Who is coming to the meeting?
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Which resources and facilities are needed?

When will the meeting take place?

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It is important to know the date and time of the meeting,
as well as how long it will last. This means that:
the room can be booked or reserved
people can be invited to the meeting
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resources can be arranged

people know how long the meeting is expected to run

time zones can be checked for international
videoconference

Did you know?

In America, 11 million formal business meetings are held every day.
Employees spend almost 40% of their time at work in meetings.
25% of time spent in meetings is wasted on unrelated topics.

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 ADMINISTRATION

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
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