You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English Podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Jennifer and I'll be your host for this episode, the second in a two-part series on admin assistants, their jobs and related vocabulary and collocations.
Collocations are a challenge for anyone learning English.
There aren't any specific rules to follow.
You just have to listen for what sounds right.
Still.
They're essential for English communication and important to keep in mind when you learn new vocabulary.
Don't just think about the new word.
Think about what other words it might be used with.
We'll point out some useful collocations related to daily office work as we go through this lesson.
Administrative assistants are important to any business organisation.
For example, they make sure data is handled responsibly and records are maintained properly.
It might seem like they work in the background, but their jobs are critical to the smooth running of a company.
In the last episode we met Christina, the Head Administrative Assistant in the Human Resources Department at Lafarge Automotive.
In an interview, Christina told us about some of her usual job duties.
Today, she'll talk about why her work is so important to the company.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What is one way Christina manages information for her company?
2.
What is one way she mobilises resources?
3.
Does Christina like her job?
Why or why not?
And then get the resulting schedule approved by my own boss, the Director of Human Resources.
I guess you wouldn't want half the company taking off on the same day.
So what makes your work essential to Lafarge?
There are many ways.
For example, I manage a lot of information.
Every employee at a large company leaves a paper trail, although nowadays it's more often an electronic trail, and it's my job to make sure that trail is well maintained.
I make sure that we have the information we need at our fingertips, but I also make sure that security and privacy policies are strictly followed.
Yes, that's critical in this day and age.
What else?
Also, our staff need to be able to mobilise resources within the company.
That could mean scheduling the use of a meeting room or planning travel schedules.
And we need Lafarge to maintain regulatory compliance when it comes to taxation, labour laws and other government policies.
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate.
Yes, there is a lot of juggling and multitasking involved.
I make sure all these things happen for every employee at the company every working day of the year.
That means I have to wear a lot of hats here, whether it's making sure the coffee machine works or tracking the working hours of the staff.
But I enjoy the challenge and like to see things running smoothly.
After Christina has explained how she handles vacation schedules, the interviewer jokingly remarks I guess you wouldn't want half the company taking off on the same day.
The verb phrase take off can be used in two different ways to describe somebody's free time.
We often talk about employees taking time off or taking the day off when they have an entire day free.
But we can also use the phrase to take off with no object to describe someone just leaving the office for a moment.
Listen to these examples and see if you understand the different ways of using this expression.
Neville is planning to take three weeks off just before Christmas, since he hasn't used any of his leave days so far this year.
Karen had to take a day off on Wednesday as she wasn't feeling very well.
All this planning requires a lot of record keeping, and Christina uses an interesting expression to describe it.
Every employee at a large company leaves a paper trail.
A trail is a path or line so paper trail gives us the idea of a path made out of bits of paper.
What Christina means is that Lafarge keeps track of a huge amount of information about its employees and that this is a way of keeping track of the employees themselves.
So you'll often hear the phrase paper trail to describe the evidence that leads to a crime if it's in the form of official documents or records.
Here are a few other examples of how you can use paper trail.
We needed to know who had approved these huge purchases on the company's behalf, and the credit card records provided a paper trail.
Paying vendors in cash is perfectly legal, but it looks a little suspicious.
It's as though you didn't want to leave a paper trail.
Let's hear the interviewer's next comment.
In this day and age is a phrase that means in the current time period.
It can also mean now, but not in the sense of right this minute.
Rather, in this day and age refers to the current era, like this year or even this decade.
Notice how the following examples use in this day and age to refer to the current era.
Identity theft is a huge problem in this day and age.
All job seekers should have strong computer skills in this day and age.
Managing records isn't the only thing an administrative assistant does.
Christina also runs many day-to-day operations of her company's offices, as she explains here.
Our staff need to be able to mobilise resources within the company.
That could mean scheduling the use of a meeting room or planning travel schedules.
To mobilise a resource means to take something valuable and put it into practical use, for example, by making sure that a room is available to be used at a certain time.
Managing the resources of a large business is a complex task, and it's often one of the duties of an administrative assistant.
Let's try using this collocation in some examples.
We have a talented pool of engineers, but we've had trouble mobilizing that resource to develop new products.
Stefan had to mobilize the resources of the entire design team to make last minute changes for the client.
Christina also points out that not all of her responsibilities are about making life easier for employees or helping the company increase profits.
She also has to meet demands made by the government.
And we need Lafarge to maintain regulatory compliance when it comes to taxation, labour laws and other government policies.
When a company or person complies or is in compliance with a set of rules, it means that those rules are being followed correctly.
Regulatory compliance or compliance with regulations normally means following regulations set down by the government.
Are you in compliance?
Let's practice a few examples.
Many businesses find that regulatory compliance overseas is much more expensive than in their home markets.
An internal audit found that our facilities did not comply with health and safety regulations.
Next the interviewer uses an interesting collocation It sounds like you have a lot on your plate.
To have a lot on your plate means to have a lot of responsibilities or tasks to take care of.
Think of a dinner plate holding a large meal.
A lot of food would be hard to digest all at once and the diner might feel overwhelmed.
Similarly, people with a lot on their plates can feel somewhat overwhelmed by all the things they need to do.
To use this phrase, we don't always have to say a lot of.
You could have too much on your plate or have enough on your plate.
Or, if you're lucky, you might have very little on your plate.
Let's listen to some examples to see this type of variation.
It's no wonder Marion is stressed.
She has a lot on her plate.
I have a million things on my plate this week.
I don't know how I'll ever finish it all.
Christina acknowledges that her plate can get pretty full.
Yes, there is a lot of juggling and multitasking involved.
I make sure all these things happen for every employee at the company every working day of the year.
Juggling and multitasking have similar meanings.
Juggling literally means to throw things in the air and catch them almost all at once without dropping them.
Circus clowns often juggle balls or knives as part of their act.
Juggling things at work can sometimes seem like a circus act.
We may be trying to coordinate schedules, help customers and get reports out.
Sometimes it seems like we have too many balls in the air or things to do and we don't want to drop anything or make a mistake.
To multitask, or in its noun form multitasking, is to perform two or more tasks at the same time.
For example, you might answer email on your laptop while waiting for an appointment, or you might return phone calls on the train home from work.
Let's practice some other ways to use multitasking.
Our receptionist is excellent at multitasking.
She can answer the phone and type correspondence at the same time.
I'm not very comfortable with multitasking.
I make fewer mistakes when I work on one thing at a time.
Next, Christina uses an expression to describe the variety of things she does on the job.
That means I have to wear a lot of hats here, whether it's making sure the coffee machine works or tracking the working hours of the staff.
What does this phrase mean?
Well, remember that many people's jobs require them to wear a certain type of hat.
Think of policemen, for example, or workers in fast food restaurants.
For this reason, the term wear a lot of hats is often used to mean that a job has different elements or responsibilities.
Try using this phrase in some other sentences.
I might be negotiating a major contract one day and cleaning up the office kitchen the next.
Wearing too many hats can make an employee less productive.
Christina ends the interview by telling us what she likes about her job.
But I enjoy the challenge and like to see things running smoothly.
When something runs smoothly, it happens easily and efficiently with no problems.
To remember this verb phrase, think about a runner in a foot race.
If the track is smooth, they'll have no problems finishing the race.
But if there are problems like rocks or mud, the race won't be so easy.
What are some other ways we can use run smoothly?
Once the new office manager arrives, we'll be running smoothly.
Greg's meetings always run smoothly.
He manages time very well.
Now it's your turn to practice.
First, let's review some collocations we've covered today.
In a few moments, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word blanked out or replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, saying the missing word in its correct form.
For example, if you hear... You will say...
It's simply too expensive for us to comply with regulations on staff overtime.
We'll play an example answer after each practice.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Smoothly.
Answer.
Once everyone is trained on the software, database management should run smoothly.
In a small startup company, employees can expect to... A few different hats.
Answer.
In a small start-up company, employees can expect to wear a few different hats.
Answer.
An effective CEO knows when it's appropriate to mobilise the company's resources on a large scale.
Answer.
Bob's supervisor made it difficult for him to take time off for a family member's illness.
Now we'll use the same method to review today's key vocabulary.
In a moment, you'll hear another series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence saying the missing word.
I'd like to help you, but I have a lot on my right now.
Answer.
I'd like to help you, but I have a lot on my plate right now.
Donald keeps losing receipts.
I'm concerned about his trail.
Answer.
Donald keeps losing receipts.
I'm concerned about his paper trail.
Answer.
The new filing system puts all the audit information at our fingertips.
We need to hire someone who can effectively.
Answer.
We need to hire someone who can multitask effectively.
We've reached the end of this episode, the second of a two-part series on the job duties of an administrative assistant.
We've covered quite a lot of vocabulary and talked about some useful collocations as well.
Collocations are essential for communicating in English so it's important to practice them.
Thanks for listening and see you next time.
