Thanks for taking the time to share.  It's great to know what other organizations are doing.

Have a great weekend.

Hello.  I don't get the opportunity to post very often, but always know this is a great place to receive good feedback.  A few years ago, I posted a similar question that I'd like to ask again regarding how offices with a front desk handle coverage.  I work for an HR department at a university (I'm the Ex. Admin. Assist. to the Assoc. VP) and I'm responsible for supervising the front desk.  We have one full-time staff member, and I am the primary backup when she is out.  We also have rotating staff for when I cover, that break me for lunch, but they work no more than an hour at a time since I am the primary backup.

Can you please let me know how your offices handle front desk coverage?  Also, does your front desk use a desk bell, if the receptionist has to step away for a moment? Our copier and fax is in an adjoining office, so from time to time she needs to step away, and when she comes back she may have someone waiting at the desk.  Or is a desk bell unprofessional?

Also, what level of coverage do you have?  For example, if your receptionist needs a restroom break, does she/he
need to call upon someone, or can she/he step away momentarily?

Thanks for your responses.                                                                           

Thanks for taking the time to reply and share your thoughts and suggestions.

Take care and enjoy the holidays.

MKimery

I work as an Executive Administrative Assistant in a very busy HR department.  I'm responsible for supervising our front desk operation, which includes one administrative assistant who is assigned to work the front desk.  I am the primary back-up for front desk coverage, relieving the admin. asst. for daily lunch breaks (1 hour) and when she is out for just a day or an extended period of time for vacation or illness.  

We have about 1/2 dozen other staff members that we rotate to relieve me for lunch breaks when I am providing coverage on the front desk.  However, I am still the primary backup, and these other staff members only cover me for my lunch break, or for the occassional meeting I must attend.

I have found it very challenging to balance my regular workload, which is very heavy, in addition to providing coverage for the front desk for extended periods of time.  

Ultimately, we could use an additional staff member to work our front desk, even if it's on a part-time basis, and this position could become the primary back-up on the front desk.   However, because of current budget constraints, I do not expect that we will be able to recruit for this position anytime soon.

In the short term, I think it would be helpful for me to share the responsibility with at least one or two other staff members, so I do not have to put so many hours on the front desk for those extended periods of time when she is on vacation or out on sick leave.

I'm very interested in hearing how other organizations are handling back-up coverage for their front desk/reception operations.

Thank you.

Thanks very much for your response and suggestions.  I'll have to give some additional thought, but I'm sure I can streamline my master list.  What project management software are you using?

Hi.  I'm an executive administrative assistant  in a Human Resources Dept. at a   university.   Like most admin. jobs, my position spans many different functions including providing support to the department head, her 4 directors, managing the department's budget, payroll, purchasing, scheduling orientations and preparing appointment letters for all new employees.  Additionally, I supervise and back up the administrative assistant on a busy front desk.  To keep myself organized,  I  use a Master Task List (a "memory dump" for all tasks I'm responsible for) and then from the Master List create a Daily Task List - I simply use MS Word for these task lists.  I also use an electronic calender for reminders and to schedule some of my work.   However, some days, I feel overwhelmed in just keeping these lists organized and up to date.

I'd appreciate any feedback on how other admins. are successfully tracking all the tasks that they are repsonbile for, and if anyone is using a good task management software program.

Thank you.