Business administration with digital skills: how to be organised, efficient and customer-focused using Outlook and OneNote (intermediate)

What is the course about?

This course will help you become an efficient administrator whatever your role. You will focus on how to develop systems that enable you to manage information, stay focused on tasks and achieve goals in a timely manner. You will work on how to approach problems including organising your emails in Outlook and developing practical routines. You will focus on how to create efficient folder systems that enable you to filter your messages and complete tasks, using quick steps, rules, conditional formatting, categories and colour coding. You will learn about how to schedule your work and use notes, tasks and the flagging system to keep track of your priorities. You will also look at how to integrate Microsoft's To Do app with Outlook to your further your ability to stay of top of your work. The course will also includes lots more tips on how you can reduce your workload such as through templates, mail merge, creating distribution groups and search functions. Finally, you will focus on how you can integrate Outlook and OneNote to increase your efficiency.


. You will learn essential functions to enable you to manage your daily tasks such as create reminders, use tags rather than folders to organise emails, create customised signatures, combine emails with task and calendars, create recurring appointments and use mail merge effectively.

What will we cover?

• developing systems to manage information, stay focused and achieve goals
• how to approach modern day problems of information and task overload
• how to create an email routine that enables you to stay focused on your tasks
• how to create efficient folder systems to enable you to sort your messages efficiently and productively via quick steps, rules, conditional formatting, categories and colour coding
• how to schedule your work in calendar and use notes, tasks and the flagging system to keep track of your priorities and those of other
• how to link your emails and calendar
• how you can reduce your workload through templates, mail merge, distribution groups and different search functions
• how you can e-mail notes directly from OneNote, insert meetings from Outlook into OneNote and send e-mails to OneNote from Outlook.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• develop systems to manage information, stay focused and achieve goals
•feel confident you have the means to think through different approaches modern day problems of information and task overload and find solutions
•create an email routine that enables you to stay focused on your tasks
• create efficient folder systems that enable you to sort your messages efficiently and productively via quick steps, rules, conditional formatting, categories and colour coding
•schedule your work in calendar and use notes, tasks and the flagging system to keep track of your priorities and those of others
•link your emails and calendar
•reduce your workload through efficient use of templates, mail merge, distribution groups and search functions.
•e-mail notes directly from OneNote, insert meetings from Outlook into OneNote and send e-mails to OneNote from Outlook.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

The course is for anyone working in an office or administration environment who wants to a hands on learning experience of how to manage information, email and tasks efficiently. You need some experience of using Outlook. Those who haven't should complete our Becoming confident in Outlook course.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will learn in a supportive and welcoming environment. with an emphasis on your discovering how to do and complete tasks and functions, with guidance from the tutor. You will work on your own and with other students on different tasks so you are always practising important in-demand life and work skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, prioritising, negotiating, collaborating and independence. You will learn in a step by step manner so you can complete challenging tasks in enjoyable and relaxing ways. Your tutor will also work with you individually so you know how to improve and how to work in a way that improves your learning. You will need to do work outside the classroom and use Google Classroom to help you.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Your tutor will provide handouts and a code for Google classroom so you can communicate with classmates and access materials, videos etc. online.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

There are many courses you can do before, at the same time or after this course. These include:
• Business administration: ICT skills for business (advanced)
• Business Administration: how to be a PA (foundation)
• Business Administration: using Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access (intermediate-level 2)
• Touch typing and keyboard skills
• Business Administration: getting ready for level 3 certificate in IT user skills - ICDL Advanced (intermediate)
• Business administration: how to organise and manage with OneNote, MS Outlook and OneDrive (intermediate)
• Award in Digital and IT Skills: word-processing, spreadsheets, presentations and databases (level 2)
• Level 3 certificate in IT user skills (ICDL Advanced)
• Digital skills for business: analysing, handling and presenting data with Excel (intermediate)
• Digital skills for business: visualising data with Excel - from column charts to scatter plots (intermediate)
• Digital skills for business: how use Teams and SharePoint for collaboration (intermediate)
• Digital skills for business: creating impacting business presentations with PowerPoint (intermediate)
• Digital skills for the workplace: creating newsletters, reports and tables with Word (intermediate)
• Digital skills for business: how to present and communicate data integrating Word, PowerPoint and Excel - a project-based approach (advanced)
• Digital skills for business: presenting and managing professional-looking documents with Word and Excel - from reports to newsletters (intermediate)

You can also do classes in the maths and English areas. These include:
• Workplace communication with digital skills: English for the office and business (intermediate level 1-level 2)
• Business administration with digital skills: communication skills in a business environment (advanced level 2)

For more information, talk with your tutor or contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 4582 0423.