EA, the Cutting-edge Typist (Typing Skill).
Introduction
One of the most important skills in the World is typing. This is required in every aspect of life and profession, as well as in everyday work, and research because it helps to generate quick and accurate reports. Typing is done through the use of a keyboard both on laptops and desktop appendages. It contains alphabetical letters that enhance professional typing.
Benefits of a Proficient Typing Skills
For EA to communicate effectively, the ability to type firstly accurately and secondly with the required speed is very important, accuracy and speed in typing save the Executive time, increase productivity and generate the expected reports timely for his actions. Typing skill is utilized in email communication, business letter, and on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, updating blog posts and websites. Grace Aitcheson in my interview session highlighted typing as the key technical skill that an every-intending and successful EA must have. In her submission, typing skill is required to communicate effectively and efficiently using email, business letter, and other social media platform for instance, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, updating blog posts and websites. Furthermore, from her role and experiences, an EA usually serves as a note-taker in top management meetings, an EA must be proficient in typing to capture the essential highlights and decisions of the meeting, which is utilized to generate the final meeting report. Typing speed is a necessity for an EA and an average typing speed for an EA is between 40 to 100 words per minute (WPM) depending on the job specifics according to Grace Aitcheson’s interview. Other benefits of typing skills include saving time for other administrative tasks, boasting the reputation of the company, providing career and future career paths, etc.
Typing Tips for Beginners
Typing looks scary to every beginner, but my experience with my typing exercise confirms that practice makes perfect. I noticed increased confidence, accuracy level, and speed each as the practice went on. There are so many typing guide websites available for beginners to practice accuracy and speed skills in typing. I used Typist6.com, other sites include www.keybr.com as well as www.type.com. Virtually Kari and Lifestyle, best soft, and services videos gave some essential tips for accuracy and speed improvement with typing skills. First, one must sit in the right position with the back straight and hands placed at right angles to the home keys on the keyboard. The screen must be positioned at an appropriate angle so that the neck should not bend downward. Secondly, the placing of fingers begins with the identification of the home keys of the keyboard which are where the pinkies finger, the ring finger, the middle finger, and the pointer fingers for both hands rest at every point in time, as one progresses with the skills, the use of home keys could be discarded. With the left hand, the home keys for the fingers are the pinkie on key A, the ring finger on key S, the middle finger on key D, and the pointer finger on key F. In addition to the home keys, the pinkie finger also takes keys with the letter Q and Z, the ring finger takes keys with the letter W and X, the middle finger takes keys with the letter E and C and the pointer finger take keys with the letter R, V, T, G, B. On the right hand, the home keys for the fingers are the pinkie finger on the key with ;(:), the ring finger on the key with the letter L, the middle finger on the key with the letter K, and the pointer finger on the key with the letter J. In addition to the home keys, the pinkie finger also takes the key with the letter P and /, the ring finger takes the key with the letter O and period, the middle finger takes the key with the letter I and Comma, and the pointer finger takes the key with letter U, M, Y, H, and N. In some other training the pinkie finger home key for the left hand is on key Z and the right hand on the key back slash(/) depending which one is suitable for you. See keyboard and fingers position below.
Other tips besides placing your fingers at the right keyboard include practicing regularly, such that your memory and finger will automatically locate each keyboard’s letter fast, avoiding using your mobile phone to type, and knowing the short cut for instance ctrl C, P, and S representing short cut to copy, paste and save a file in MS word, knowing your keyboard, developing and maintaining the rhythm of your typing, typing without looking at your keyboard practice every day, helps improve your speed.
Conclusion
Every EA needs this skill, it is a must skill for a cutting edge EA. Do you want to be one?
References
Aitcheson, G. (2023, February 2nd) The Role of Executive Assistant interview session.
The EA to The Vice President, Finance, and Admin at
Wilfrid Laurier University
Virtually Kari (2020, June 1) How to check your typing speed plus tips on how to improve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbG4YPmeM0s
Lifestyle best soft and services (2013, August 12) Typing without looking at the keyboard
Protect Your Records, Protect Your Business (Records management Skill)
Technical Skills 2 driving an efficient EA
Introduction
An EA creates records often which are expected to be safely maintained and protected. In the view of Read (2014) Records management is the systematic control of all records from their creation or receipt, through their processing, distribution, organization, use, maintenance, storage, and retrieval, to their ultimate disposition. Because information is such an important resource to organizations, the records management function also includes information management (p.4). The skills to manage records from the beginning to the end are required of a cutting-edge EA, which involves the creation/ receipt of documents such as emails or business letters. According to International Standards Organization, ISO 15489 is a standard for records management policies and procedures. The purpose of this standard is to ensure that appropriate attention and protection apply to all records and that the evidence and information records contain can be retrieved efficiently and effectively using standard practices and procedures. International standards help the records management function of an organization clarify its purpose and prove its value by managing important information.
Records Management Process
The first process is to establish a record management standard operating procedure that will state and depict the flow of record management in the organization as well as the retention and disposition methods. The second step is to identify the nature of records that must be managed, inventory records, departmental records, office records, customer records, meeting report records stakeholders reports etc. Records management is essential and should be established holistically. Records are maintained in two formats, paper(hard) copies, and electronic (soft) copies, recently organizations, are migrating more to electronic records management which of course is more expensive, and easily accessible but needs less space. The paper records are maintained either in a central store location of decentralized offices using office cabinets and safe. (pictures below) while the soft copy records are securely stored in the cloud, According to Grace Aitcheson, the use of one drive, and share drive to store records and files in a standardized manner makes it very easy for any employee in the department to identify and locate any required file, which is also protected from unauthorized users with a passcode. Below is the standard record and information cycle according to Read (2014, p.10)
The record information cycle stipulates the standard cycle a record should pass through. The creation or receipt involves records generated from the office or received by the office, if created or received by the office it is distributed and forwarded to the designated recipient, these records are used, acted upon, and maintained, it is stored, protected, and could be retrieved on demand for use and depending on the retention policy of the organization or legislation for each record, it would be destroyed professionally.
Benefits of Records Management for an EA
The benefits of record management include transparency, openness, and accountability by providing evidence of transactions, informed effective decision-making, eliminating redundant records, reducing record storage cost, and increasing record storage space through the destruction of redundant records (University of British Columbia Website).
The role of an EA is very confidential role and confidentiality must be maintained. Record management skills help to create, distribute, maintain, protect, store, and retrieve as well as destroy vital data of an organization such as customer database, price list, and research outcomes for implementation to mention a few which if not properly protected could result in technology theft. Data stolen is always very damaging beyond comprehension to an organization including wiping away current and potential profits and reserves, decline in its market share price and value, loss of potential investors’ confidence, and damage to the business reputation.
Summary
In summary, I believe the effective keeping of accurate records, through storage, protection and an easy retrieval process is very important to an EA to help support the efficiency of the Executive in every organization. Moreso protecting and securing your data is equally protecting your business and self. Do you think this skill is irrelevant to an EA?
Reference
International Standard Organization (ISO 15489) https://www.iso.org
Read, J. (2014). RECORDS MANAGEMENT (10th Edition) [Texidium version]. Retrieved from http://texidium.com, p.4, p.5
University of Northern British Columbia Why Record Management is important https://www2.unbc.ca/records-management/why-records-management important#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20Records%20Management%20include,the%20elimination%20of%20unnecessary%20file
T passcode. Below is the standard record and information cycle according to Read (2014, p.10)
Technical Skill 3-Smart Excel
