Providing Administrative Support for Projects

Overview

This two day course has been designed to provide secretaries and administrators with a clear understanding of what constitutes a project, the project process and project administration, to enable them to provide more effective support to ongoing and new projects. If you are involved in ongoing and new projects, you will find this course invaluable in helping you deal with the tools, communication skills and assertiveness that you need to support the project manager.

Course Outline

Understanding Project Management

• What is a project?
• The project manager - role and responsibilities
• Understanding the objectives and scope of a project
• Roles and responsibilities of team members
• Providing administrative support to projects - the essential skills and qualities required
• Building a positive working relationship with the project manager

Project Management Tools

• How to interpret project plans and documentation - what information do you need?
• Identifying the key deadlines, resource requirements and quality issues
• Setting up processes for managing and monitoring project progress
• Resource and task scheduling
• Helping to monitor project costs and performance againstthe plans
• Key documentation to help keep projects on track and team members informed

Coordinating Meetings, Agendas and Minutes

• Preparing effectively for meetings - working with the chairperson and setting the agenda
• Your role and responsibilities in the meeting
• Knowing what information to record - asking for clarification

Information Technology in Projects

• How IT can provide assistance in the administration of projects
• Visual and graphic information

Communicating Effectively in a Project Environment

• The barriers to effective communication in projects
• Your central communication role as the project administrator - keeping everybody informed
• Listening and questioning techniques

Assertive, Confident and Persuasive Communication

• Having the right to disagree - developing your assertiveness skills
• Dealing with difficult people
• Making and dealing with difficult requests
• Developing a persuasive communication style
• Gaining support and commitment from others

Personal Development

• Formulating a personal action plan

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Clearly define what constitutes a project and the key stages of the project process.
• Recognise the role of the project manager and identify how you can maximise the administrative support you provide.
• Introduce systems and documentation to manage and record key project information and monitor project performance.
• Interpret project management tools such as Gantt charts and work breakdown structures.
• Set agendas for project meetings and produce accurate minutes.
• Keep the project manager and project participants effectively briefed on project deadlines,  performance and progress