9.1 Creating Work schedules

Coordination is the management function that brings the efforts of different people, sections and resources together so that they move towards the same goal at the same time. One of the most practical tools an office administrator uses to coordinate work is the work schedule. A work schedule is a written or digital plan that shows which tasks will be done, who will do them, when each task starts and ends, and what resources each task needs. It turns the plans made at the planning stage into a timetable that every member of staff can follow.

Example: the administration office of a logistics company prepares a weekly schedule showing who answers the reception desk each morning, who processes delivery notes, who updates the fleet register and who prepares the Friday management report. Each person can see their own duties and how their work connects with the work of others.

Meaning of a work schedule

A work schedule answers five questions for every task: what is to be done, by whom, when, for how long and with what resources. It differs from a work plan in its level of detail. A work plan sets out objectives and the activities needed to reach them over a period, while a work schedule fixes those activities to dates, times and named people. In an office, schedules are kept as printed rotas on a notice board, as tables in a spreadsheet, or in shared calendars and task tools that every member of staff can open.

Types of work schedules used in offices

Offices use different schedules depending on the kind of work and the period covered.

• Daily schedule: lists the tasks for one day, often hour by hour. A personal assistant may keep a daily schedule of the managing director's appointments, calls and meetings.
• Weekly schedule: spreads routine duties across the days of the week, such as banking on Monday, filing on Wednesday and stock taking of stationery on Friday.
• Monthly or periodic schedule: covers tasks that recur at longer intervals, such as payroll preparation, statutory returns and monthly board papers.
• Shift or duty rota: shows which staff cover which hours when an office runs beyond normal working hours, such as a reception that opens from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm.
• Project schedule: covers one-off assignments with a start and end date, such as moving the office to new premises or organising an annual general meeting.
• Leave schedule: shows when each member of staff will be on annual leave so that duties remain covered throughout the year.

Information needed before creating a work schedule

Before drawing up a schedule, the administrator gathers the facts the schedule will rest on.

• Objectives and deadlines: the targets set in the work plan and the dates by which outputs are due, such as the date a tender document must be submitted.
• Task list: every activity that must be done, broken down into units small enough to assign to one person.
• Staff availability: working hours, leave dates, training days and any part-time arrangements.
• Skills of staff: who is able to do each task, for example who can operate the accounting software or take minutes in shorthand.
• Resources: equipment, rooms, vehicles and budget needed for each task, such as the boardroom, the franking machine or the office van.
• Dependencies: tasks that cannot start until another is finished, such as dispatching letters only after they have been signed.

The steps for turning this information into a finished schedule, and the tools used to draw it up, follow later in this chapter.