How to Be Organized at Work – Paperwork Organization
By Andy Heath
This is the second of three segments on organization in the workplace. The first segment was on telephone organization, and this segment will be on paperwork organization.
As an administrative employee, you will find that you often have to keep up with inordinate amounts of paperwork. There are various kinds, including reference material, things you need to process, delayed paperwork, unnecessary paperwork, temporary notes, forms, etc.
What do you do with all this paperwork? There are a few steps you can follow to ensure that your paperwork doesn’t destroy you.
The important thing is to be able to find the things that you need often as quickly as possible and to be able to find the things that you need occasionally in a reasonable amount of time.
Reference Paperwork
There are two kinds of reference paperwork. The first is constant reference paperwork, and the second is occasional reference paperwork.
Constant reference paperwork can usually be found in the form of cheat sheets. For example, let’s say you have to assign work to different employees based on the zip code associated with that work. You might have a cheat sheet that outlines the appropriate way to assign that work. Constant reference paperwork is something you want to have on top of your desk or hanging up at your desk at all times. That way, if someone calls and needs to know what’s on that cheat sheet, or if you need the information found there quickly, then you have it. That will save a lot of time.
Occasional reference material would be something that you need from time to time, but not often enough to merit taking up precious space on your desk. This might be Child Labor Laws for a human resources assistant. If you need to advise managers on what the Child Labor Laws are based on different states, it would help to have this information available. Since you may not get a lot of calls requesting this information, however, you might consider putting these references in a drawer where you can locate them easily if necessary.
With regard to occasional reference material, it’s best to have one drawer where you keep this information. If you have a lot of it, then you might consider having two drawers. If you have so much that it will not fit in two drawers, then put the material that you use the most in the drawers next to your desk and put the rest of it in another filing cabinet, possibly even outside your office or cubicle.
Processing Paperwork
Every administrative assistant has paperwork that needs to be processed. This can include forms that need to be filled out or applications that need to be input into a database. Regardless, this paperwork is best all kept together, regardless of what it is. That way, as you have time to work on it, you can simply pull it out and do it.
The important thing to remember is that once you have finished processing the paperwork, know what your company’s policy is of disposing of it. Some companies want this paperwork filed or scanned, and some might even say it’s okay to shred it, recycle it, or throw it away. Be sure to perform this disposal process quickly after you have finished the paperwork, and have a special place to put paperwork that you have finished processing but have not yet disposed of.
Delayed Paperwork
This is perhaps some of the most frustrating paperwork to have. It’s paperwork in a state of limbo, and you can’t process it until it’s dealt with, so what do you do with it?
Let’s say you’re waiting to hear back from a company on some additional information that needs to be put on some of your paperwork. You can’t process this paperwork until you hear back. This is an example of delayed paperwork. Since this paperwork often involves a telephone call to someone to get additional information, I have found the best place to keep the location of this paperwork is in the spreadsheet. Just put in the call log spreadsheet where you’re keeping the delayed paperwork. Perhaps you keep it in a special file in a drawer. Maybe you keep it on your desk. Just make sure you have documented the location of the paperwork.
Once you receive a call from someone giving you the information you need to process the paperwork, then you can find it quickly, and you can move the delayed paperwork to the location of paperwork to process.
Temporary Notes
Sometimes you only need to keep some information handy for a few hours. In this case, it’s okay to have temporary notes. I have found it’s best to put these on post-it notes and then put them on your desk. Once you have used the information you need, then either transfer it to a more permanent location or throw it away. The last thing you need is additional clutter on your desk from a bunch of temporary notes that have taken over.
Unnecessary Paperwork
Yes, I’m talking to you, and I don’t want to hear any whining! You know you have things on your desk that you don’t need. You have old contracts that have not been valid since the 70’s. You have a memo from your boss written in the 90’s saying that a new area code would be added to the state’s registry. You have that old note from your boss talking about the company’s Christmas party in 1994. Yes, it’s time to purge these.
You might find some gray examples as well. Maybe you feel you do need to keep old contracts for reference purposes. In that case, they become reference material and you can put them with the rest of your reference material. Ask yourself this – Do you need to keep all of them? Do you need to keep the whole contract, or will part of it suffice?
Many times we have clutter syndrome and we just don’t want to let go of things. The risk is that you will let go of something that you might need. My rule of thumb is that if I haven’t used it in 2 years, it’s time to say goodbye. And sometimes I throw things away immediately. The Christmas party memo would be read once and then go straight to File 13!
Forms
You order supplies. You request proposals. You do your taxes. All of these things might require some forms.
Forms are divided into the same categories as reference materials – constant forms and occasional forms. It does not make sense to keep your tax forms in your top desk drawer and keep forms that you use every day in your bottom one. Try to store your forms with the constant ones kept close to you and the rest kept at further distances. You might find you don’t even need to keep some forms at your desk or in your office because they’re used so rarely.
Whatever you do, don’t keep your forms and your reference material together. All that does is add confusion to your life. Separate drawers work best, but if you must use the same drawer, divide the drawer for the front to be forms and the back to be occasional reference material.
There are some forms you might even want to keep on your desk. For example, if you are a receptionist that is responsible for taking messages, it is a good idea to keep your message pad right next to the phone.
Cross Referencing
Sometimes there will be paperwork that fits into more than one category. For example, I used to be a human resources assistant so I was responsible for keeping track of applications. This is paperwork to process. But then sometimes the applicants left off some information, so the application became delayed paperwork. If someone called and asked about the application, it’s important to know where I put it. Is it with the other new hire paperwork, or is it with the delayed paperwork?
This is where cross referencing comes in handy. In this case, I would probably keep the application with the new hire paperwork and the note in my spreadsheet when I call the manager that the application is there. But let’s say I did need to keep the application in another location. In that case, I would simply create a temporary note and put it with the new hire paperwork saying that the application was in another location, and then I would point out where it was. Upon returning the application to the file with the new hire paperwork, I would simply remove this cross reference.
Cross referencing can save your sanity. I know I have panicked more than once because I thought I had lost a piece of paperwork only to remember eventually that I had put it somewhere else. Cross referencing can end these moments of panic.
Paperwork Getting Low
When talking about forms, occasionally you will find that you start to run out of forms from time to time. This is especially true if you don’t have your forms in an electronic format. If you start to run low on forms, it’s best to take a moment and make a few copies to restock your pile. If you don’t, you will find yourself in a predicament worse than losing a file. Always keep an eye on how many forms you have left, and then make copies as needed. Don’t run out. That is a headache you can do without, and it is quite avoidable.
Now that we have discussed paperwork, you might find it easier to organize the clutter on your desk. Now that we have done that, the next topic of discussion is following up on matters. That post is already written, and will come in two days.
