Vision Africa Health & Technology College

Afar Regional State

Samara, 2023

Human Resource Operation

Organizing Office Records

By
Arefayne Eshete Desta
(BA in Accounting & Finance and MBA graduated)
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 Unit Four:
Filing procedures
Unit Contents:
4.1 Filing
4.2 Different types of filing techniques

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 4.1 Filing

 Filing is the act of arranging some important documents in a readable and

organized manner so that they can be referred to quickly and located in a
short span of time without a lot of searching.

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 4.2 Different types of filing techniques
 The following are different types of filling techniques:

 Filing by Subject/Category
 Filing in Alphabetical order
 Filing by Numbers/Numerical order
 Filing by Places/Geographical order
 Filing by Dates/Chronological order

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 Cont’d
o Subject/category filing:- is a variation of alphabetic filing, which is the
arrangement of records by topics or categories rather than by person or
business names. Numeric filing systems arrange records by number. It is an
indirect access system because an index to the files must be used to
retrieve information.
o In a subject classification, all letters and documents relating to a subject are
arranged in the same file. A separate file is maintained for each subject.
The files can also be arranged alphabetically. For example, Accounts,
Audit, Bonus, Customers, and the like.
o Records are sorted according to the subject matter and filed alphabetically.
This allows information on the one topic or subject to be easily located.

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 Cont’d
 Alphabetical filing:- is a method in which files and folders are arranged in
order of alphabets of the names of person or institution concerned with
such file. It may be done using either the first names or surnames, but
whichever is chosen must be consistent throughout the particular filing
system.
 Alphabetic systems are the most natural and common method of arranging
files. However, even the simplest alphabetic system requires establishing,
filing standards, including written filing procedures, cross-reference
methods, and practices for filing duplicate name changes, etc.

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 Cont’d
 Alphabetic filing is a fundamental way to organize documents that allows
you to quickly store, access, and manage your personal and business files.
By implementing alphabetical filing in your life, you will ensure all
documents are protected and readily available. There are many rules on
how to file alphabetically in English to preserve a sensible filing system.
Luckily, it's simple to get started with new documents and still is not a
difficult change to make if you need to reorganize.
 Alphabetical the most commonly used method of filing, the alphabetical
system places files in alphabetical order according to the customer or
business name, e.g. the telephone book.

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 Cont’d
There are a number of rules to remember when using the alphabetic system:
 Disregard “joining” words and titles such as “and”, “the”, “&”, “Mr”, “Sir”,
“Dr”, “Miss” etc
 Hyphenated or compound names are treated as one word.
E.g. Jones-Smythe and van der Lynden are both indexed as one word.
 Initials come before names (in filing “nothing comes before something”).
E.g. B Thompson would be filed ahead of Brian Thompson.
 Company names are treated in the order they are written, except if they
contain a family name.
E.g. Both Grace Bros and Robert E Grace & Sons are filed under “Grace”,
but Robert would be filed under “Robert”.

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 Cont’d
 Abbreviations are treated as if the word was written in full. St is indexed as
Saint, Ltd as Limited. This means that St and Saint Entries are treated as if
spelt the same way, and inter sorted. Mac and Mc are also inter sorted.

E.g. J McDonald would be filed ahead of John MacDonald.

 Numbers which are part of a business or company name are regarded as
though spelled. E.g. 24-7 is indexed as twenty four seven.
 Note: Computer filing systems will usually sort numbers before letters and
would file 24-7 before the “A” entries in a database listing.

Example of alphabetical filing order of the modern ISO basic Latin alphabet
is: A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z. An
example of straightforward alphabetical ordering follows: As; Aster;
Astrolabe; Astronomy; Astrophysics; At; Ataman; Attack; Baa
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 Cont’d
 Filing rules can vary between organizations so staff should always check
the procedures and rules at a workplace.
Numerical
 Each file or piece of information is filed in number order from lowest to
highest and according to:
 The number on the document e.g. Tax Invoice number
 The customer number, account number or membership number
 Another numbering system e.g. Dewy decimal system used in libraries

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 Cont’d
 Numerical systems are usually an indirect method of filing and need to be
cross-referenced to an alphabetical index. E.g. an alphabetical list of
customer names showing their account number.
 Alpha-numeric systems combine both letters and numbers in a file
reference number.
Geographical
 Information is indexed alphabetically according to geographical location.
Australian States and Territories are indexed first, followed by the city,
town or suburb, then other appropriate information, e.g. customer name.

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 Cont’d
Key word
 A particular word is used as the subject classification and specific
descriptors are also allocated to further classify the information. Keyword
systems are usually used in large organizations where the keywords are
specifically designated.
Chronological
 Chronological filing is used in conjunction with other filing methods and
involves sorting records according to their date. In a client file for
example, correspondence would be filed with the most recent on top.
Copies of purchase orders would be filed with the most recently sent order
on top.

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 Storage of information

A. Forms of paper based storage

Filing cabinets 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 2-drawer

Flat flat box file, horizontal plan file
Lever arch Binder
Suspension folders hanging files
Shelving lateral cabinets, compacts
Rotary storage Double sided sections of shelving on a
rotating base inside a cabinet, to enable
access to both sides of that section of
shelving by rotating it 180 degrees.

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 Cont’d
B. Forms of electronic storage

Database For example, using Microsoft Access or

Works
Computer files For example, using Microsoft Word or
Excel files on hard or floppy disk
Email For example Hotmail or Yahoo

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 Self-check tests

Test I - True false question.

Write true for the correct answer and false for incorrect answer
1. Chronological filing is used in conjunction with other filing methods and
involves sorting records according to their date.
2. A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H is the example of numeric filing order.
3. Category filing is a variation of alphabetic filing, which is the arrangement
of records by topics or categories rather than by person or business names

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 Test II - Matching
Instruction: Match the correct answer from “B” column to “A”
column.
“A” “B”
1. ……..Paper based storage A. Index accordingly location
2. ……..Electronic storage B. Arrange record by number
3. ……..Numerical filing order C. Filing cabinet
4. ……..Geographical filing order D. Arrangement of records by topics
5. ……..Subject/category filing E. Computer file
F. Arrangement of alphabet

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 Cont’d
Test III - Give short answer for the following questions
1. What is filing system?
2. Define subject/category filing order.
3. Define alphabetical filing order.
4. Define numbers/numerical filing order.
5. Define places/geographical filing order.
6. Define dates/chronological order.

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 Cont’d

Operational sheet 1:

 Operation title: Record and filing

 Purpose: To practice and demonstrate the knowledge and skill required in

record and filing employees of the organization

 Instruction: Use the given table below for this operation you have given

1day and you are expected to provide the answer on the given table sample.

 Tools and requirement:

1. Paper

2. Ruler,

3. Pen
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 Cont’d

 Precautions: Prepare first draft before you fill on the last format

 Procedures in doing the task

 Write name of the employee, sex, age, educational level, marital status,

work experience, department and position.

 Recording sheet No Name sex age Educational level marital status Work

experience Department Position Remark: use the appropriate operation

sheet format. And try to make the operation more complex or add

additional operation sheet.

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 Reference

Organize Office Records and Information: LSA HRM2 M03 1122 - Teaching,
Training and Learning Materials (TTLM), published by Ethiopian Ministry of
Labor and Skill, November, 2022 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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