Organization Mail Management

Presented By:
Solomon Kaminda, MSc IT (Bristol – UK),
BSc IS (Records Management)
Senior Consultant- KenvisionTechniks Ltd
ORGANIZATION MAIL MANAGEMENTORGANIZATION MAIL MANAGEMENT

ObjectivesObjectives
By the end of the session participants should
be able to:
 Understand meaning of mail management and
differentiate different types of mail
 Understand the procedures followed in
processing incoming and outgoing mail
 Understand and appreciate the use of folio
numbers in filing.
 Understand the procedure followed in filing.

What is mail management?
A core function of all registries concerned
with the regulating incoming and outgoing
official communication.
It involves:
◦ Organizing mail stations,
◦ Selection of appropriate transmission services,
◦ Opening and sorting incoming mail where
appropriate,
◦ Date stamping,
◦ Dispatching outgoing mail,
◦ Routing and messenger services.

What is mail management? (Cont..)
 An efficient run mail-management program is essential
for rapid and economic distribution of information from
one department to another within the organization and
to and from others outside the organization.
 Such a program ensures that incoming mail is delivered
quickly so that work is accomplished without delay.
 Prompt pick up and delivery of inter departmental
correspondence help to keep internal lines of
communication open and active.
 Quick preparation and dispatch of out-going mail
provides a favourable image with other organizations
especially those waiting for a reply.
 Such a program must be designed to provide prompt
and accurate collection and distribution with adequate
control at minimum costs.

A.A. Incoming MailIncoming Mail
Mail can arrive in the registry in a number of ways.
◦ It can be picked from the post office and other pick-up
points by messengers
◦ Delivered by courier services,
◦ Special delivery,
◦ Hand-delivered
◦ Delivered in person by writer or his representatives.
The incoming mail can be in various formats such
as :
◦ correspondence letters, parcels of publications, reports,
microfilms, computer diskettes, CD- ROM, Photographs
and other items.
Electronic mail can be delivered through a
computer with Internet connectivity. All the

Processing Incoming MailProcessing Incoming Mail
1 Sorting incoming mail
 Once the incoming mail is received, the
filing clerk proceeds to sort it out.
 All mail will be sorted into 3
groups/batches.
i. Official general correspondence and slips
for officially addressed registered mail and
parcels.
ii. Official classified/private
iii. Private correspondence/personally
addressed mail

1 Sorting incoming mail (cont.)
i. Send registered slips to post office
ii. Re-address wrongly delivered mail
iii. Private letters are then sent unopened to the
addressee- However the use of official address for
private communication should be discouraged as far as
possible.
iv. Letters ‘attention’ to particular officers however, are
opened by the registry staff and dealt with in the usual
manner.
v. Secret and confidential envelopes are directed
unopened to the secret registry where it is opened and
passed to the appropriate officer (s) for action. OR
sent to an officer assigned for that purpose.
vi. Official general letters are opened at the main registry
and date stamped. Make sure that the stamp does not
obscure any writing.

2 Opening of the mail
 Before opening the envelope ensure that the
letter is addressed to your organization. When
opening ensure that the contents are not
damaged.
 For safety and security purpose do not open
suspicious letters.
 Such mail should be reported to the security
officer immediately.
 After opening, check to ensure that the
mentioned enclosures are present pin to
letters or place in an envelope.

 If some of them are missing this fact should
be noted and brought to the attention of
the management. Read remaining letters
quickly for: -
enclosures
urgency
reference
 Note known file numbers on letters.

 Incoming mail should be opened once or twice
a day depending on the quantity.
 To avoid accumulation of mail, correspondence
should be opened as fast as it is brought in
from the post office.
 If it must stay overnight, postal items marked
urgent, telegrams telex and fax messages and
express mail should receive prompt attention
and delivery.

 All enclosures should be attached to
the letter before they are filed.
 Those that cannot be filed together for
whatever reason should be sent to the
appropriate designated place for
safekeeping. A note on their
whereabouts should be made on the
letter mentioning them.

3. Registration
 All incoming official mail is entered into an in-ward
mail register. It is worth noting that all incoming
mail is either official or private.
 Official correspondence could be either
confidential or open.
 The register should indicate:-
i. Date received
ii. Source of the correspondence
iii. Senders reference of the letter
iv. Subject of the correspondence
v. Reference of the file in which it will be filed.
vi. Date shown on the letter

Reasons For Retaining Incoming Register
 Assist in tracing a wrongly filed letter which
had been put away before action on it was
complete
 Trace a letter for which only the date and
name of the correspondent is known
 To provide evidence that a letter was in fact
received and so to discourage a dishonest
officer from removing or destroying letters
from files.

P.O Slip No. Signature Place of Origin and
name of Sender
Date
Received
Our file
No./
Contents
Messeng
er
Registry Clerk
Register Of Registered Mail & Parcels
Received
Before the post office releases registered
mail and parcels it requires, a signed post
office slip from the recipient.

Circulation Of In-coming MailCirculation Of In-coming Mail
 This is the practice of letting action officers see the mail
before it is filed. Practice is also known as routing or tagging.
The senior officers of the organization decide whether it
should be circulated and to whom.
 Variations however exist.
– In some organizations the practice is to put all processed
correspondence in an incoming folder and send it to the head of the
organization attention.
– After the head of the organization has finished with the
correspondences, the folder is returned to the registry and the letters
filed in their right file folders.
– In other cases, correspondence may be filed before being sent to the
head of the organization.

Circulation Of In-coming MailCirculation Of In-coming Mail
 In large and busy organizations, the head of the organization
may not have the time to give personal attention to all
incoming letters.
 In such Circumstances, the registry personnel have the
responsibility of directing the letters to the relevant action
officers who deal with the subject of the letter.
The aim of circulation is to:-
i. Have immediate knowledge of mail received.
ii. Give occasional instructions on action necessary.
iii. Determine priorities.
iv. Note who is to deal with certain items.
v. Where possible note the correct file number on letters.

Bring Up DiaryBring Up Diary
 It often happens that action on some matter
cannot be completed at once. The officer handling
the file should then return it to the Registry and
asks for it to be returned to the officer for action
at a later date. The system for ensuring that the
file is sent back on the day it is required is called
Bring UP.
 In each Registry a diary should be maintained for
the purpose of carrying out the instructions given
below. It is called a Bring – Up Diary.
 Effective use of the Bring-Up Diary is one of the
most valuable contributions a Registry can make

Who Keeps The Diary?
A specific officer in the Registry should be
nominated to examine the Bring-up Diary daily
and take action on it promptly. The Registry
supervisor should do this work when the said
officer is absent. Failure to make these
arrangements will result in the system being
unreliable.
Entries are made in the B.U Diary wherever the
Registry is required to produce a file at a future
date. For this reason all members of the
Registry staff should have access to the Bring-Up
Diary. The Bring-Up Diary is an office memory.

Procedure
A.O writes instruction to B.U. The A.O marks the
bottom of the folio concerned as follows:-
i. B.U
ii. Exact date to be B.U’d (It is not sufficient to say B.U
in three weeks time).
iii. Action to be taken when file is B.U’d (if only to guide
someone else who may be doing his job at the time).
E.g “B.U. 15.8.2007 – To see if cash received”? He
then notes the transit ladder on the file cover.
iv. Enter up Bring-up Diary. On receipt of the file in
the Registry the Clerk then enters details in the
B.U Diary, under the date indicated by the B.U
instruction e.g October 1st D/P F48.

Daily Action On The Bring-up Diary
Each day as one of his first duties the responsible clerk
should:-
i. Examine the Bring-up Diary for entries for the day
ii. Collect all files referred to. Cross through, initial and
date the Bring-up Diary entry for each file found.
iii. If any file is unobtainable, seek guidance for the Action
Officer who requested the B.U
iv. On each file examine the folio referred to in the diary for
any endorsements regarding the B.U. if the endorsement
is e.g.
v. B.U.27.4.2007 to see if reply received, and the reply has
not been received, then draft a letter of reminder for the
Action Officer to sign.
vi. In all other cases write the folio number, and the name
or designation of the A.O in the wide column of the
Transit Ladder. Send file immediately to the A.O.

Control
At least once a month the supervisor of the
Registry should examine the Bring-Up Diary
and satisfy himself that:-
Entries are being made correctly
Action has been taken daily to clear the day’s
entries
Files are being sent forward for action
promptly.
That this procedure is being followed by
Action Officers.

Verbal B.U
The procedure outlined above is best
followed as a general rule.
Sometimes however, the A.O may wish to
give a verbal instruction to a clerk.
The clerk should make sure, in such case,
that he has taken down the information
correctly so that he can note it in the B.U
diary.

Filing MailFiling Mail
As soon as incoming mail has been classified and
the relevant action officers has seen and made the
appropriate action, the correspondence must be
filed. The relative file is identified and drawn. The
mail is punched and filed in mail file indicate
sequence. The appropriate documents are filed in
the date order (chronologically) from right to left.
The recently dated correspondence should always
be at the top/front.
The documents are numbered consecutively from 1
onwards.
These numbers (folios) are given to each document
filed rather than to each page of the document.
Folio numbers are usually in red and placed on the
top right hand corner of the letter. Folio numbers
are used to identify documents on a file.

Filing MailFiling Mail
Advantages
These numbers facilitate ease of reference i.e.
specific items can be referred to by quoting the
items folio number.
Foliating also ensures that items do not get lost
i.e. it is easy to detect missing items.
It also ensures that the chronological order of
the file is not disturbed. It also ensures that
every item is dealt with.
It helps in creating standards sized files.
It can assist in refilling incase of a disaster.

Numbering EnclosuresNumbering Enclosures
Where enclosures are to be permanently
retained on file, they should be given the
same folio number as main paper, then a
smaller number should be added to the
number. If three enclosures were in a letter
folioed 15, scenario would be:-
Letter 15
1st enclosure 15a
2nd enclosure 15b
3rd enclosure 15c

Cross ReferencingCross Referencing
Cross referencing allows a person reading one
correspondence to turn easily to all other
correspondences to which it refers.
Cross referencing may be made to the documents
within the file or to other files.
To achieve this, after the papers have been placed
in the correct file and given a folio number, the
filing clerk will
(a) Encircle in ink all reference to previous
correspondence.
(b) For each reference, trace the appropriate
document and note on it the folio number of the
document now filed.

Transferring a Document toTransferring a Document to
Another FileAnother File

Transferring a Document to Another FileTransferring a Document to Another File
Document transfer can be affected when:
– an item is found to be wrongly filed
– when a new file is opened and becomes
necessary to transfer one of the folio to the new
file
– when closing an old volume and some
documents on it will not have been acted upon.
In such a case, the fact is entered in a Folio
Transfer form/slip and filed in place of the
document transferred.
The slip should indicate the destination file
and the folio number of the document it has
replaced.

Transferring a Document toTransferring a Document to
Another FileAnother File
If transferred to a new volume re-number the folios
commencing with ‘I’. If too old file, place
documents in date order according to date of receipt.
Should this result in the document being placed
between two existing folios e.g (66 and 67) give it a
temporary prime number plus a capital letter. Thus the
folio of the 1st inserted document would be 66A that of
the 2nd 66B etc. Hence folios would be read e.g. 62,
63, 64, 65, 66A, 66B, 67, 68 … Cross through old folio
numbers but do not obliterate it.
Alter inward mail register – by striking through the
number shown in the inward mail register and write
next to it in red the new file numbers.

Opening a New FileOpening a New File

Opening A New FileOpening A New File
A new file is opened when an existing
file/volume is too bulky/becomes full. It can
also be opened on a new subject when no
existing files matches the subject of the
document received.
File folders for individual correspondents
should generally be created only when 5 or
more pieces of correspondence have been
accumulated.
Until such a time such records are stored in a
MISCELLANEOUS FILE arranged alphabetically
by correspondents names.

Opening A New FileOpening A New File
 There should be set procedures for opening new files
under the supervision of a competent officer to avert
confusion. Adequate consultation must be held between
the registry and the concerned action officers.
 Decision to open a new file should be agreed upon with
the Registry supervisor or HOD.
 Once agreement is reached, the title of the file is
determined. The caption should give a clear indication of
what is to be found in the file. The title should be
relatively specific to avoid too wide a range of
correspondence from being filed in one folder.
 The caption should be concise and accurately reflecting
the contents of the file. A title put in very broad or
general terms attract all kinds of correspondence and
papers which makes the file unwildely and time
consuming to trace a document.

Closing Of A FileClosing Of A File
The organization should have a policy stating
when a file should be closed and how.
The old volume should be closed when it
becomes bulky or after it attains a specific
thickness or after a specified period of
time.
A file may also be closed if an organization
discontinues a particular activity e.g. after
the end of a commission of enquiry.

Procedures Of Closing A FileProcedures Of Closing A File
The old volume should not be closed until all
action on it has been completed. The closed
volume should be entered on a semi-current
closed register. The formal closing of a file means
that it’s full, number of items are awaiting attention
and no further correspondence is to be placed
upon it.
Ensure that there is no letter pending action. The
last four letters in the file can be transferred to the
new volume. Write in large letters diagonally
across the front cover “CLOSED”, indicate date of
closing and the number of the new file/volume and
inclusive dates of the closed file.

i. Examine closed files to remove irrelevant
documents (weeding).
ii. Replace worn out covers.
iii. Staple old front cover to the inner side back
cover of the new file.
iv. Closed files must be stored separately from
active file. Examine closed files after 5 years to
ascertain their usefulness.
v. If they have not been in use for a period of 3-5
years they should be closed.
vi. Examine files alongside the existing department
records retention and disposal schedule. User
departments should develop their own
destruction retention schedules for records that
are not covered by the general disposal
instructions.

Those declared as valuable in the schedule
are systematically preserved while the
valueless ones are systematically disposed
off.
At the bottom of file cover is a small box
headed “to be completed when file is
closed”. This to be completed by a senior
official in the ministry department in
accordance with the disposal instructions
for the Director of the National Archives.

WeedingWeeding
Archivist or registry supervisor should
periodically check or browse through a
file to remove any records which have
become irrelevant, duplicated or out of
date.

B:B: Out-going MailOut-going Mail
 Out-going mail may be dispatched form
various points of an organization. It is
however best to dispatch mail from a
single point e.g. central mail registry
because of two reasons:
i. Staff-time saving.
ii. Economical in transport usage.
 There are two types of out-going mail:
i. Official
ii. Private – Personal Assistant in normal
circumstances attend to the dispatch of all
letters which originate from the private
office.

B:B: Out-going MailOut-going Mail
Dispatched items consist of the following:
i. Ordinary mail:- dispatched by Post Office
ii. Registered mail:- dispatched by Post Office
iii.Express mail:-dispatched by Post Office
iv.Hand Delivery Ordinary mail
To ensure that letters are posted with
minimum delay, it is advisable that each
corresponding officer either directly sends
letters to the registry or calls a messenger to
collect them.

Mail PreparationMail Preparation
Once mail is in the registry great care
must be provided for it. The registry staff
does the sealing and franking the
envelopes or affixing the postage stamps
whichever may be the practice. They
must ensure that:
a) Check if address on envelop or
economy label is correct and sufficient.
b) All out-going mail is recorded in the
outward correspondence register. The
register should contain the following
basic information.

Mail PreparationMail Preparation
(c) That outgoing letters are signed properly,
referenced and addressed properly.
(d) Copies of the out-going correspondence
have been filed in the appropriate files.
(e) The enclosures mentioned are attached to
the letters.
(f) Float copies are filed.
(g) The float file is circulated at the time laid
down.
(h) Check if all necessary enclosures are in the
envelope.

Out-going Mail RegisterOut-going Mail Register
Originating
Department
within the
Organization
File Reference
No.s file
containing copy)
Date
when
letter
was sent
out
Subject of
the letter
Receivin
g
agency
Address
recepient
Reference
Correspondent

Floater FileFloater File
A float file is sometimes referred to as a daily or
flimsy file. It is a folder containing third copies
of out-going correspondence.
The out-going mail register is kept together with
a floater file. The outgoing register gives a
permanent record over a period, while float
copies are destroyed within a year.
Such a file affords the officers the opportunity to
keep track of what is happening in the
organization. Regular browsing of the daily file
makes it possible to know whether
correspondence is being kept in the right files.
It also enables action officers to quickly correct
any mistakes that may have occurred during
writing of the letters.

Delivery BookDelivery Book
A delivery book serves as a receipt of
the delivered mail. The messenger taking
the letter by hand must obtain the name
and signature of the receiving officer
against the entry of the mail in the
provided column of the delivery book.
If a signature is not obtained, then by
inference, the issuing officer is
responsible in case of non-receipt. If a
signature is obtained the recipient must
have lost or misfiled the communication.

Electronic MailElectronic Mail
In most cases, the electronic mail is received
through the computer with Internet
connectivity.
Private electronic mails should be sent to
the recipient, while official mail should be
treated in the normal manner as written
official correspondence.
As the procedures of handling electronic
mail has not been fully developed in most
organizations, it is important the
management of organizations should
urgently lay down rules governing the
handling of their electronic mail.

Out-going electronic mailOut-going electronic mail
It is strongly recommended that before
sending out electronic mail it should be
saved in the hard disk or in other storage
devises.
A hard copy should also be printed and
filed in the appropriate file.

Security of electronic mailSecurity of electronic mail
Unlike paper record, electronic mail is so
vulnerable to manipulation to the extent of being
lost. The management should therefore
endeavor to have adequate security safeguards
for the electronic mail. It is important that
attempts should be made to keep the electronic
mail in the hard copy as a back up.
To avoid importing viruses it is advisable to scan
the texts for viruses before downloading it. This
service is provided free by some Internet service
providers and should be exploited.

Practices That Contribute To PoorPractices That Contribute To Poor
Mail ManagementMail Management
Experience has shown that certain practices
contribute to poor mail management. Some o
these are:
◦ Unclear definition of duties and responsibilities.
◦ Lack of appropriate tools and equipment
oLack of above effects service delivery in the
registry.
oSuch equipments as computers, sorting trays,
benches, chairs, storage cabinets/shelves etc are
required.

 Use of out-dated procedures
- In certain cases registry staff may tend to lack
some innovativeness. They want to do things
“the way they have always been done
”regardless that the situation may have changed.
 Untrained staff
- In certain cases registry staff are untrained.
There is a general notion that anybody can do
filing. Consequently, registries have been places
where ‘criminals’ or those fallen out with the
administration are sent to work regardless of
whether they know filing or not. The effect is
obvious. Misfiling everywhere!

 Indiscipline staff
- Discipline is an important aspect in human
relations. Without discipline work will not be
well executed. Staff will report late or do very
little for the day. Others may start using
corrupt practices such as asking for bribes.
 Infrequent or lack of messenger
service
- Availability of a reliable messenger service
contributes tremendously to the success of the
registry service.

 Poor filing systems
- Systems not easily understood. Hence
contributes to delays in filing or retrieval
services.
 Lack of or out-of-date mail guide to
determine accurate routing.
- Without proper tracking aids, documents can
easily get lost.

THE ENDTHE END
THANK YOU!THANK YOU!

Organization Mail Management

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