Programme overview
Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
Administrative services are often noticed only when they fail: supplies run out, requests disappear, vendors miss visits and nobody can say how long a routine task should take. Without defined processes, service levels and measures, office teams stay busy yet cannot show their value or improve it. This Core Concept course equips office and administration managers to run the office as a managed service using ISO 9001, Lean and facility management practice. Participants apply each tool to case material from several sectors and leave with an Office Improvement Plan for their own office.
Course Objectives
- Map the administration function's services, processes and workload and assess current performance
- Apply ISO 9001 process control, Lean and 5S methods to simplify administrative work
- Write standard operating procedures, a service catalogue and service level targets for administrative services
- Control office budgets, supplies and vendor performance using simple, measurable tools
- Identify safety, continuity and service risks in office operations and apply controls to each
- Produce an Office Improvement Plan ready to present to senior management
Target Audience
- Office managers responsible for the administrative services of a department or site
- Administration supervisors leading teams of administrative and support staff
- Facilities and general services managers overseeing office space, supplies and vendors
- Heads of administrative affairs in public and private organisations
- Shared services team leaders accountable for internal service quality
Course Outline
Day 1: The Administration Function and Its Current State
- Office Administration Service Map: Front Office, Facilities, Supplies, Records and Support Services
- SIPOC Diagram of Core Administrative Processes
- Internal Customer Satisfaction Survey Design
- Administrative Workload and Capacity Baseline
- Office Maturity Self-Assessment Against the ISO 9001:2026 Process Approach
Day 2: Management Frameworks for Office Operations
- ISO 9001:2026 Documented Information and Process Control for Administrative Work
- Lean Office Waste Categories (TIMWOODS) and Value Stream Mapping
- 5S Workplace Organisation for Physical and Digital Offices
- ISO 41001:2018 Facility Management Principles for Office Space
- RACI Matrix for Shared Administrative Responsibilities
Day 3: Running the Office Day to Day
- Standard Operating Procedure Writing for Recurring Administrative Tasks
- Internal Service Catalogue and Service Level Targets
- Office Supplies Inventory Control Using Min-Max Reorder Levels
- Office Budget Planning and Monthly Variance Tracking
- Administrative KPI Dashboard: Turnaround, Accuracy and Cost per Request
Day 4: Risk, Vendors and Problem Cases
- Office Health and Safety Inspection Checklist Based on ISO 45001:2018
- Office Business Continuity Arrangements Aligned to ISO 22301:2019
- Office Service Vendor Performance Scorecard: Cleaning, Security and Maintenance
- Sustainable Office Purchasing Guided by ISO 20400:2017
- Root Cause Analysis of Recurring Service Failures Using the 5 Whys and Fishbone Diagram
Day 5: Case Work and the Office Improvement Plan
- Growing Office Case Study: Rising Requests with a Fixed Team
- Service Complaint Case Study: Redesigning a Failing Request Process
- Improvement Opportunity Prioritisation with an Impact-Effort Matrix
- Office Improvement Plan Drafting
- Peer Challenge Panel and Plan Defence
Skills You Will Gain
- Administrative Process Mapping
- Lean Office Improvement
- SOP Writing
- Service Level Management
- Office Budget Control
- Vendor Performance Management
- Office Risk Assessment
- Root Cause Analysis
Why Attend This Course
- Return to work with an Office Improvement Plan that targets the requests and processes causing the most delay
- Show senior management how the administration function performs using a small set of meaningful KPIs
- Hold office service vendors to clear standards with evidence rather than complaints
- Compare office management practice with managers from other sectors and countries
Conclusion
A well-run office is measured by how reliably it serves the rest of the organisation, not by how busy its team appears. The course moves from mapping services and workload, through quality, Lean, 5S and facility management frameworks, to procedures, service levels, budgets and KPIs, and then to the safety, continuity, vendor and recurring-failure problems that test an office. The final day turns this into an Office Improvement Plan that participants present to their management.