It is easy to be mindful of cashflow, profit, motivating and retaining employees, creating a great company culture, etc. but how often do we consider the emphasis required for business administration within an organisation?
The importance of and impact of compliance and effective administration is best contextualised to organisations whose existence depends on it. As a private college, Omni HR Consulting is no different! The myriad of legislative and compliance requirements requires strong administrative support as the foundation from which we operate. As an organisation we have a team of business support administrators (BSA’s) who serves our customer-facing teams nationally and who we believe is the backbone of our organisation. We asked the Joelene Snyders, BSA Manager for her thoughts on gearing for 2019;
Q1: What exactly is the function of business support?
“To provide high quality and sustainable administrative support and assistance nationally. Ensuring all business support functions are aligned to support the efficient and effective delivery of organisational goals. Providing quality customer service to both internal and external clients. Coordinate and manager regular updating of various digital systems related to the planning and scheduling of training projects and learner management systems. In addition, we are responsible for procuring and vetting suppliers within the operational space.”
Q2: What are some of the reflections and lessons learnt in 2018?
“There is always more to learn about yourself and others. As my team grew, we went through the “storming” phase (for quite some time) and for any manager can be challenging. We have learnt to understand each other and treat each other as individuals. The most critical lesson (in our department) was the importance of the To-Do-List and by not having one, we could have dropped “balls” very easily.
Q3: What (in your opinion) is some of the critical skills required to be effective as a BSA?
“To work well under pressure. Excellent organising and administrative skills. The ability to work independently, using discretion, analysis and judgment to support the overall operations team. The ability to prioritise your own workload, time management, effective communication and active listening.”
Q4: What word of advice or encouragement would you provide to others in a similar role to yours?
“You can do anything as long as you persevere. Always look forward, never back. Stay focused and believe in yourself. Keep a To-Do-List. Roy T Bennett wrote a quote that I simply love;
Don't just learn, experience.
Don't just read, absorb.
Don't just change, transform.
Don't just relate, advocate.
Don't just promise, prove.
Don't just criticize, encourage.
Don't just think, ponder.
Don't just take, give.
Don't just see, feel.
Don’t just dream, do.
Don't just hear, listen.
Don't just talk, act.
Don't just tell, show.
Don't just exist, live.”
If you are looking to upskill or formalise your experience in the world of administration, please visit our website for more details about our Business Administration or Management programmes.