Interdepartemental Communication

 

1.	Vital need of communication. In any large organization there is a fine subdivision of functions, requiring constant communication between the members. Orders must be transmitted to subordinates, who must confirm receipt of the orders and report upon their execution. Subordinates and officials must frequently consult with one another. Men in one room find it necessary to consult files, books or catalogs in another room. Stenographers are constantly needing new supplies. There is a constant inflow of mail to the different departments of the business, and a corresponding outflow of answering mail. Interdepartmental communications are therefore of the greatest importance. Communication facilities in the office must provide for the transmission of various sorts of things: (a) verbal messages ; (b) written messages ; (c) material, such as typewriting paper, pencils, etc.; (d) correspondence files, catalogs, library books; (e) business documents such as orders and requisitions which in their normal course must pass thru many hands.
2.	Unproductive time. Unless there is efficient means of communication there is danger that workers will waste much time moving about the office to consult with one another, to examine records or correspondence or to get supplies. The time which an employe spends away from his desk is generally unproductive. Interdepartmental communications aim to overcome the disadvantages of the spacial separation and enable employes to carry on their intercourse with the same ease as if they were seated side by side. In many offices the working force is constantly beset by interruptions which lower the efficiency of the work. The time needed to perform specific lines of office work is governed not so much by the actual volume of work as by the intervals between the performance of the various steps into which the work is divided. If those intervals can be cut down, there will be a large saving in time and consequent increase in output.
3.	Reducing waste motion. Good facilities for intercommunication in an office benefit every member of the force. It has an important effect upon the discipline of the workers. Efficient discipline cannot be maintained if employes needlessly leave their desks and spend their time upon interdepartmental visits. Business is normally conducted under pressure. Therefore, whatever hinders the rapid flow of work thru an office will prove a source of irritation to the management. It cannot be expected that the executive himself should desert more important functions in order to attend to routine work. Yet close attention to this routine work is what is demanded of him if there is congestion in the system, because of a faulty circulation of information, messages or documents thru the office. He has to find the point of congestion and remove it. Betterment of office communications can be madean important part of the work of the planning department.

4.

Surveys for communication systems. It is usually possible to determine by means of a survey the adequacy or insufficiency of a firm's intercommunication facilities. An insurance company was recently confronted with the problem of remodeling its home office building in order to adjust the available floor space to the growing needs of its business. Before deciding upon the location of different departments, the company found it necessary to study the flow of the business thru the office and determine what departments could most advantageously be grouped together. The first thing done was to secure a record of the interviews occurring between the employes of different branches of the office organization. A chart was made in a department containing about twenty five employes, each of whom was provided with a form ruled to report incoming communications on the upper half and outgoing communications on the lower. The business day was divided into halfhourly periods, from 8.30 a. m. to 4 p. m., these halfhour designations heading the vertical columns;. The horizontal columns represented the days of the week. On the back of the blank there appeared in alphabetical order the names of all the employes involved. To each name a number was assigned. The object of the blank was to record the names of all persons from other departments who visited this department during one week's time. On the lower half of the blank (outgoing communications) the employe was asked to record the names of those persons in other departments whom he was obliged to see. During a certain specified week this record was kept by each employe, and at the end of the week the results were turned over to a central department for analysis. At the same time a summary sheet was made out, on which all the incoming and outgoing communications of each employe were grouped in such a manner as to show the total nmnber of communications with any other employe during the week. Employes were also required to state, as accurately as possible, the reasons for such communications, and were instructed, in cases where communications occurred for different reasons, to summarize them separately and as accurately as possible. A comparison of the summary sheets made it possible to study the causes for conmfiunications, and much valuable information was in that manner obtained. A third form was employed for listing all such absences from the department as were for the purpose of consulting records, securing correspondence or documents from the files and for doing work that did not require interviews with others. It was the company's plan to use this information for ascertaining the most convenient location of various files thru out the office, and to discover the extent to which the individual clerks were performing work for different departments which might be centralized into a general service department, a mailing department or a filing department. The information secured by this means enabled the insurance company to reach definite conclusions regarding the layout and assignment of office space. In addition, it was possible with this information to demonstrate the need for several service departments. The chief form used by the insurance company is reproduced on the following page. It may be adapted to the needs of almost any business organization. It affords a practical means of studying interdepartmental service.

5.

Other modes of survey. Other methods of making a survey of the present systems of communication within the office, will suggest themselves. By the use of telephone counters (a simple numbering device operated by a lever) on the telephone switchboard, the operator can record all calls of interdepartmental and outside business, and the results will help to indicate whether or not a "house telephone" should be installed. Similarly the elevator operator can be instructed to keep a list of the employes using the elevator to visit other departments. The purpose of information thus obtained is to minimize the extent of visits either by rearranging the location of desks or by providing efficient means of communication, such as office boys or telephones, to make the visits unnecessary.

6.	Study of route of orders. The actual layout of an office is, however, most frequently effected by a study of another kind of office intercommunication, namely the routing of orders thru the office. Orders are the documents that most frequently pass from hand to hand. It often happens that delay in one department nullifies the good work of other departments concerned in handling the orders, and when a delay occurs in the shipment of goods, the disappointed customer does not level his criticism at any one department but at the concern as a whole. The chain is no stronger than its weakest link. Accordingly, the control of the passage of orders thru the office should be centralized in the hands of responsible authorityeither the office manager or a standing committee working under him. The office manager, in order to make an intelligent study of the existing methods of handling orders, should provide himself with plans that show the relation of each department to the others. These plans should show not only the layout of each subdivision but also the location of all desks and filing equipment. On these diagrams the route which the order takes in passing thru the office may be charted, so that a study can be made of possible improvements. In such a study, the following points, among others, w^ould have to be taken into consideration
	1).	Are the workers so arranged that the work passes from one desk to the other in the shortest possible line, and without the necessity of doubling back?
	2).	Are the files located near the desks of those who are obliged to use them most frequently ?
	3).	Can any steps in the present handling of orders be eliminated
	One company, as a result of a scientific study of the principles of dispatching, brought about the result that its principal unit of work, which formerly required an average of three days, was reduced to a standard schedule of three hours. Orders received in the first morning's mail are disposed of by noon of the same day.

       

7.

Transmitting messages mail. The written messages to be transmitted within an office organization are of two sorts: outside messages (mail) and inside messages (interdepartmental. The handling of the mail is in large offices the function of a special mailing department. The distribution of the mail is attended to by an office service department which also attends to the transmission of messages, materials, supplies and documents between the members of the organization. In so far as the use of mechanical message carriers have not relieved employes of the necessity of moving about, the office service department the office boys aiford them this relief.

8.

Incoming mail. There is perhaps no branch of office work more important than the opening, sorting and distribution of the incoming mail. An hour gained in the morning may add several to the business day. Office work usually moves along according to a fixed schedule, and if the mail misses the beginning of the schedule, it usually lies over until a later hour. The chief consideration in the handling of incoming mail is that it shall be placed in the hands of the proper persons at the earliest possible moment. In one business house a correspondence manager examines all incoming mail and marks the letters for the departments to which they are to be sent. The departments are designated by number. Some letters go successively to various departments, the manager indicating the order which such a letter is to follow. If it is necessary that the letter make the rounds within a certain time, the correspondence manager lists the departments to which it is to go, and indicates the time within which the letter must be returned. All mail except such as is marked "personal" is opened by the correspondence manager. When a letter must be referred to several departments especially if it is an important letter it is sometimes copied and a copy sent to each department interested. The general mail-distributing clerk or the departmental mail distributing clerk should see that there is noted on every letter or attached to it, all information and every record which tlie correspondent needs in proceeding to answer that letter.

9.

Outgoing mail. The handling of the outgoing mail embraces the collection, putting up, sealing and dispatching of mail from all departments. The office service department does the collecting of the mail, in accordance with the collecting schedule fixed by the mailing department and observed by the departments which create outgoing mail. Frequently some departments dispose of their mail promptly at or before the end of the business day, while others do not. As a result, delays occur from which the entire mail system suffers. This condition is sometimes due to the fact that certain department heads instead of signing their mail at intervals during the business day, permit it to lie on their desks unattended until after office hours. An effort should be made to dispatch outgoing mail in conformity with the mail-train schedules for different parts of the country. A little care in that direction sometimes will save an entire day in the delivery of important mail. In most large concerns the folding, inserting and sealing of letters is done by the mailing dej^artment. In this work there is an opportunity for standardization which is not without influence upon the effect which the letters produce. For example, the rule book of a certain manufacturing concern in the East gives the following instructions with respect to the folding of letters : In folding a letter for an ordinary envelop, do not place the bottom of the sheet even with the top before folding crosswise, but place the bottom of the sheet an eighth or a quarter of an inch below the top, then fold in the usual way. by folding in this manner, the party receiving and opening letter will find that there is room to grasp the top without taking hold of the bottom of the sheet at the same time, and the letter may be unfolded or shaken open with a quick jerk. Since expenditures for postage, even in a concern of only moderate size, amount to a large item during the course of a year, an effort should be made wherever possible, to group all letters intended for any one correspondent, such as a branch office, so that they may be mailed in one envelop at the close of the day's business and thus reduce postage to a minimum. This can be done by providing a rack with a series of compartments for the mail of those with whom correspondence is regularly carried on by several departments. In these compartments the outgoing letters are assembled during the course of the day and mailed at night in a single envelop. Various mechanical devices are found valuable in the handling of outgoing mail ; among these, envelop sealing and stamping machines, weighing scales, addressing machines, etc. These are described in Chapter V, "Office Appliances."

    

From Mr. Mise. 36 10. "Put it in writing." It is recognized as an important rule of modern business practice that all instruction must be in writing, and this applies also to information sent from one division to another. It is found that oral messages waste time, that they often cause annoying interruptions and that they are frequently misunderstood or forgotten. The function of collecting and distributing such interoffice messages is one of the main functions of the office service department. Forms used for recording various kinds of office communications offer a good field for standardization. Memorandum forms usually have the initials of the sender and the person addressed, as well as the subject matter and the date of sending recorded at the top of the blank in spaces indicated for that purpose. A form, long used by a certain office and found to answer all ordinary requirements, is reproduced on the opposite page.   11. Saving writing. A somewhat different form, used by the Federal Reserve Bank of Xew York City, is also reproduced. Under the heading "Deliver to" appear the names of various officials and departments, the person addressed being indicated by a check mark. Under a second heading, "Instructions," are a number of brief instructions of a typical character, and at the foot of the blank is a space for the name of the sender. One edge of the blank is gummed to facilitate attaching it to correspondence. The Federal Reserve Bank form illustrates the growing tendency to reduce writing to a minimum and substitute the checking of printed paragraphs wherever possible. In the case of a document that must be inspected by a number of men, a gummed label, like the one just described, can be attached, and each man can put a check mark opposite his name when he has completed his inspection, thus releasing the document to be forwarded to the next name on the list. When the sender of an interdepartmental message wishes to keep a record of the fact that the message was sent, there is no substitute for a carbon of the message. Even in such cases, however, it is possible to reduce the amount of typewriting by diminishing the use of titles, salutations and other formality, and substituting It is a good practice to use colored forms and envelops for interdepartmental messages. It is then impossible to confuse such communications with outgoing mail. 12. The office boys. So far as possible, locomotion in the office should be performed by the office service department. 'The quality of the messenger service depends upon the work of young and relatively inexperienced junior clerks and boys whose understanding and appreciation of the work must be developed before they can be expected to render good service.   13. Regular schedule. It is essential to a satisfactory messenger service that the trips made by messengers thru the various departments in the office be both frequent and regular. Just how often these trips must be made depends, of course, upon the size and requirements of the organization. In one large manufacturing business where a great deal of ground must be covered and where many letters as well as small packages must be transferred from one department to another, a messenger starts out every ten minutes, and this rate is kept up thruout the day. In a large banking institution it is the practice to have messengers make the rounds every fifteen minutes. In institutions where the need for prompt exchange of information between dei)artments is not so urgent, halfhourly and even hourly intervals may do. For distributing and collecting purposes, messengers are usually provided with leather receptacles containing separate departements for the different divisions of the organization. When the interdepartemental messages collected are brought back to the central station of the office service departement, the messages are sorted as to destination and sent out for desk distribution on the next trip. The same, of course applies to packages, files, etc. 14. Collection baskets To facilitate the collection and distribution of interdepartmental mail messages, some concerns have regular collection baskets on rubber wheels which the boys use in making the rounds of the office. These baskets, as a rule, consist of three compartments. One of the baskets is intended for incoming papers, the second for the collection of outgoing papers, and the third for holding correspondence which is to be returned to the files. At the central distributing station for departmental messages a rack of pigeon holes facilitates distribution of the collected matter.   15. Checking up the office boy To prevent delays and errors due to carelessness of messengers, and to enable the person in charge of the office service department to trace delays to the boy responsible for them, a checking system has been devised. Mail and messages for distribution are placed in a basket or tray marked "Outgoing," and are collected when the messenger boy distributes mail or messages to an adjoining basket or tray marked "Incoming." The baskets or receptacles are emptied at regular intervals on the route. Each card must be marked with the time of collection as, for example, "This tray was emptied at 8;30 A. M." Each messenger has a certain number of trays or baskets on his route and is held responsible for all collections and deliveries. In each receptacle there is a card showing the time of the last delivery,   16. Speeding up communication The officers of a well known banking company found it necessary, in order to expedite the delivery of messages and letters from one department to another, to provide the office boys with some means of rapid locomotion. The ordinary steel-wheeled roller skates being too noisy, a specially constructed wheel was made of rubber, and the boys now glide swiftly and noiselessly from desk to desk.  Review Why is it necessary to have well-planned methods for intercommunication between departments? Describe the various factors that should be taken into consideration in making a survey for intercommunication systems.   Why is a well-planned mailing system absolutely essential in a large office?   How may a delay of ten minutes inside mean a delay of twenty-four hours in outside delivery?   Why are oral messages apt to cause misunderstandings ?   May mechanical "office boys" be substituted entirely for office boys themselves?   If not, to what extent?

Filing

 

1.

Office operations. The variety of office operations is so great that any attempt to enumerate them would be fruitless, and any effort to describe them in detail would be unsatisfactory. Correct office management reveals itself in a careful adjustment of many matters of detail in such a way as to secure the maximum efficiency. The needs of any particular office will in a large measure determine what constitutes efficiency. It is not always found either in speed or in quantity tho in most cases these are important elements. The importance of detail can only be understood by a careful analysis of some of the office processes. In making a choice of those which will serve as illustrative matter, filing and interdepartmental communication have been chosen. However much offices may vary in detail, these are matters of almost universal application.

2.

Importance. A good system of filing is more important for the expeditious and proper transaction of business than is generally realized. It does not merely consist in placing letters where they may be promptly and surely found ; its larger and more valuable function is to make available such material as is necessary for the complete study of any particular problem whether it be merely a single letter, or everything relating to some special subject. Theoretically, filing is a very simple matter, but from a practical viewpoint it is frequently anything but a simple matter because of the quantity of material handled and because it is not always easy to determine from just what angle reference will be made to the material filed. For instance, at the time a letter is filed it may seem entirely proper to file it under the name of the correspondent. But subsequently it may develop that the letters should have been filed according to subject. Again, a letter may refer to two or three different things. A proper plan of cross reference under such circumstances will be the only salvation if the files are to render the service expected of them. The importance of a knowledge of filing principles and methods is realized when we see that a single misplaced letter may result in serious loss to the business, and at the same time recognize how easy it is to misfile a piece of correspondence. The importance of filing is further increased by the tendency as the business grows to centralize those files that are in general use. In this way the cost of operating the files is reduced, and greater efficiency in the operation of the file is obtained. Moreover, centralized filing offers the best means of fixing responsibility an important matter where there are so many possibihties of loss thru divided responsibihty.

3. Essentials of a good filing system. The essentials of a good filing system are     1). Accessibility of records   2). Simplicity   3). Suitability     The prime essential of a filing system if it is to justify its existence is that it enables anything filed to be located again with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. It makes no difference whether the correspondence was filed recently or some time ago. If it can not be located readily the filing system is not what it should be. An elaborate filing system is not necessarily a good one. The filing system should be built on the principle that it must be readily understandable to the average clerk. As a matter of fact, the simpler the system the less danger there is of mistakes. A system may provide accessibility and simplicity and yet not be suitable from the standpoint of the particular business in question. Office managers are sometimes tempted by the beauty of the system operating in some other concern to attempt to transfer it bodily to their own organization. This cannot be done because no filing system not dove tailed into the peculiarities of the business can be really successful.   4. Systems of filing There are a number of systerns of filing. These include the alphabetical, the numerical, the alphabetical-numerical and the decimal systems. While the descriptions in the following pages are confined to correspondence files, the same principles apply to the various types of card files. In familiarizing oneself with all of the important systems of filing one should not feel that the essential thing is to pick one system to the exclusion of all others. As a matter of fact, in an organization it may be possible to use all the systems. There is no one system that is better than all others and this fact should be clearly recognized. There is, however, one system that is best adapted for use under each particular set of conditions. If many different conditions exist in the various activities of an organization, then it is conceivable that all systems might be used. Ordinarily, however, it is wiser to use as few systems as possible.   5. Alphabetical system. The alphabetical system of filing is the simplest and the most generally used system. It is used either singly or in conjunction with other methods. This method of filing is termed alphabetical because the files are arranged in alphabetical order and all reference to the file is direct without requring the use of a separate index. In determining the exact arrangement in the file the alphabetical arrangement employed in the telephone directory will be found the most convenient. Guide cards are made out based upon this arrangement. The folders, with their contents indicated on the stub provided for the purpose, are filed in alphabetical position behind their proper guide card. There are those who claim that the alphabetical system is the simplest of all systems and that because of its ease of operation and the scope it offers for development it is the best system of filing. There are, however, certain disadvantages in the use of the alphabetical method. There is a temptation to deposit letters from occasional correspondents in a miscellaneous folder under each letter. This scheme may economize space and paper, but it is a waste of time and should not be practiced. The unimportant letter of today may be of much consequence tomorrow, and if it is worthy of filing at all it is entitled to a separate folder. A real disadvantage, especially where office space is limited and rents are high, is that some space for expansion must be allowed in each drawer. The general practice is to allow one-third. Unless sufficient space is provided, the overflow that bugbear of filing Systems is sure to crop up and may necessitate a rearrangement all along the line. Another trouble lies in possible alternative filing under the firm's name and under the name of the correspondent w^ho writes for the firm. It is well always to file under the name of the firm except where the correspondent is dealing with matters which do not concern the firm on whose stationery he has written. Alphabetical filing is best employed when the papers filed are of temporary rather than of permanent value and when comparatively little reference is made to them.

6.	Numerical filing. The method of filing by number is extremely simple. Its value is based upon the known principle that the average mind works more rapidly with numbers than with combinations of letters of the alphabet. Each correspondent, organization or subject is given a folder, numbered in the order in which the first letter or paper is received. A list is kept of these numbers. An index card is made out at the same time upon which is noted the name as well as the number. Each letter from the same individual or on the same subject is then numbered to correspond with the card and folder so that it can be replaced after use. If, however, a rightly numbered letter is placed in a wrong folder, it may be difficult, tho not impossible, to find it. If the wrong number is placed on a letter, a tedious search may have to be made for it This system is economical of space because each file can be used to its capacity, but eventually the files become loaded up with dead matter. If the number of what appears to be an obsolete folder is given to a new correspondent, confusion may result. This numerical system cannot be used to advantage where there is a large volume of correspondence with only a few persons, nor where the correspondence is only transient. The auxiliary card index, which has to be arranged alphabetically and kept continually up to date, is a trouble and expense which is lightened if the cards can be used for some other necessary operation of the work, such as quotations or orders. The problem of the occasional correspondent occurs here, too, but it is wise to use a separate folder even if only one letter is received, tho the space taken by the many folders required may be great. Some offices combine both methods, arranging all occasional correspondence in an alphabetical file, using the numerical arrangement exclusively for continual correspondence. This scheme, however, destroys the unity of the files a procedure of doubtful value unless the file is in charge of one who is well acquainted with the system.
7.	Decimal filing A comprehensive but somewhat more elaborate method of filing is the decimal system, according to which the correspondence is grouped under a certain number of main subject or department headings. Each division has a number which follows the main number, separated from it by a decimal point. The system is excellent where there are a few departments or topics under which a great variety of subheadings must be arranged, and where it is desirable classify all the business of the firm according to related subjects, but it requires a comprehensive classification with an alphabetical card index to indicate the numbers to which each subject belongs. Its flexibility is its chief recommendation. If, for instance, the material to be filed relates to a variety of makes of automobiles and their parts, each car will have a certain number. Supposing that number is 371, then the cylinder will be, say, 371.7, the outer casing 371.72, while the piston may be 371.724, and so on. The same principle may be applied to the filing of any subject and gives satisfactory results if the plan is properly designed.
8.	Alphabetical-numerical filing system. This is a combination of the straight alphabetical system with auxiliary numbers. The purpose of this elaboration is to prevent the errors that are likely to arise in plain alphabetical filing. The alphabetical guides are divided as minutely as may seem necessary, and each guide has the full alphabet and its numerical symbol printed on it to facilitate reference. By means of this table all letters can be expeditiously classified and numbered before being placed in the files. An ingenious method of filing is created by the combination of color, number and alphabet. In this system, the alphabet is grouped under various colors. When the title consists of only one word, the first three letters of the alphabet are used. When the title consists of two words, the first letter of the first word and the first two letters of the second word are used, and so on. These letters, by reference to a table, are given a numerical significance, which determines their position in the file. In use the system is found to be quite simple, tho somewhat difficult to explain. It has been well thought out and has been successfully applied to some very difficult indexing problems.

9.	Mnemonic filing system  This is approximately the same as the decimal filing system except that in stead of numbers, letters are used which indicate by sound as far as possible the name of the material to be filed. It is more flexible in some respects than the decimal classification because the major classifications are not limited to ten. Thus "A" may represent the advertising department, "C" the credit department, and so on. Advertising in newspapers will be represented by the symbol AN, while AM represents magazine advertising. AMA will indicate advertisements in the American Magazine and further letters can be used to indicate the type or size of the advertisement. The main objection to this system is that in the finer sub divisions the mnemonic symbol is apt to become cumbersome, tedious and therefore liable to error.
10.	Geographical filing The advantage of geographical filing is that all the correspondence of one territory is kept in one place a plan which may prove very useful in a sales department, for instance, where it is advantageous to know what relations the concern has had in any given territor It is advisable to use a postal guide or similar list as a basis for determining what correspondence is to be filed under each division. For instance, it is necessary to determine whether all correspondence relating to New York and its suburbs should be filed under one heading or whether Brooklyn, for instance, should get a separate heading. All such points should be carefully considered in planning the scope of the system. There is, of course, some trouble if a correspondent has changed his address without the folder being changed accordingly. The duplication of town names may lead to trouble, but with care that can be prevented. It is well to have a definite ruling that all letters from firms and their branches shall be entered under the geographical location of the head office. The geographical arrangement of the file may best be made to agree with the selling territory, the state or the town, according to the nature of the business. Correspondence under each heading may be arranged alphabetically.
11.	Chronological filing In this system all letters are filed in the order of the date on which they are received, or according to the attention date indicated by the contents. The system is very valuable in some lines of business where the transaction has to be performed at a certain fixed time, as in periodical publishing houses. Guides containing the months and the days of the week or the number of the days per month are used to separate the material which need not have a separate folder.
12.	Perforation filing A new idea, likely to prove especially useful in some cases, is "Perforation Filing." This is a mechanical method whereby certain pieces of information may be readily and accurately segregated by means of perforations of a certain shape on cards. Cards must be so designed that any fact may be indicated by the mere punching of a slot. When all the cards are slotted, they are placed in a drawer and rods are run thru them. The drawer is then inverted and only those cards which are slotted drop down to the limit of the slot while the others are held in place. The drawer is then righted and the cards thus segregated cafa be counted at leisure. Thus the handpicking of the lists is eliminated. In a unit of 600 cards perhaps no more than ten may be slotted alike. It would be a tedious affair to examine the whole box by hand, whereas by the use of this device their location may be instantly determined. For instance, if one wishes to know how many correspondents have a certain financial rating, a given slot indicates the facts, and the number in that group can be determined by inverting the drawer. This system of filing may be used for prospects whose financial standing, profession or location is a matter of interest. "Perforation" files may be made to disclose any isolated fact or any required combination of facts.

13.	Filing methods. It is an accepted fact that vertical filing is the most efficient method. Vertical filing permits material to be filed conveniently and with much greater economy of space than is possible under other methods. Under most conditions correspondence grouped in a single folder should be arranged in such a way that the material with the most recent date is in front, thus facilitating reference to the material that is most likely to be used. Material should first be arranged in the order in which it is to be filed. For instance, under a numerical system the sheets should be arranged in numerical order before any effort is made to replace them in the files. A standard sorting tray will be found the most convenient and efficient method of sorting. The sorting tray is simply a container provided with guide cards permitting the assorting of material alphabetically or numerically. Before actually placing a letter in a file the name should be compared with the material already filed in order to be sure that the letter is being placed in the proper position. Such a comparison will also be helpful in catching up anj^ previous mistake that may have been made. There should be a definite ruling that with the exception of carbon copies of letters nothing will be accepted for file that is not crossed thru with a line, initialed and dated to indicate that it has been answered. Unless this is done there will be constant danger of unanswered letters being filed. Making proper cross references is an essential safeguard in the operation of every system. If it is efficiently done, any paper may be located instantly, no matter how complex its contents may be. In this matter good judgment, founded on knowledge and directed by a definite plan, has to be continually exercised. If in a letter from Brown reference is made to one from Jones, the fact should be noted in Jones' folder, otherwise the latter's correspondence will not disclose all the information that may be needed in dealing with his case. A slip of paper, preferably of a conspicuous color, should be placed in Jones' folder, calling attention to the fact that Brown's folder is to be consulted for further information.
14.	Charge system. Perhaps the most fruitful source of trouble in filing is due to the abstraction of papers without any adequate record being made of the fact. The value of a charge system lies in the fact that the location of any paper that has been withdrawn is always known. This may be done in two ways : first, by making and keeping a list of each item removed, and secondly, by inserting a sheet of conspicuous color in the files in lieu of the paper abstracted. In the first case, when the paper is returned, the name is crossed off the list. In the second case, the substitute sheet is not withdrawn till the letter is replaced. On this sheet are the names of all those who are likely to require papers, and the name of the person actualh'- receiving it is underscored before inserting the sheet in the file. Still another plan is to send to the filing room a requisition sheet for any paper wanted and to place the requisition sheet in the files till the paper or letter is returned. This sheet is of conspicuous color and large enough to be readily seen in the files. Periodically the requisitions are checked over and requests are made for the return of papers that have been out too long. The requisition sheet bears a printed note to the effect that it is placed in the files until the correspondence requisitioned is returned.
15.	Follow-up. It is very necessary to adopt some method whereby matters for future consideration may be attended to on the proper date. For this purpose a "follow-up" or "tickler" system must be used. If letters are merely placed in a temporary chronological file, they may not be found by some one else who tries to find them in the regular file. It is better to keep all such letters in the regular file and make out a card for the tickler. This card indicates the name, the file number, the person who wants the correspondence and the date upon which it is wanted. The call-out date is usually conspicuously indicated on the correspondence itself by the person who wants the information, and it is the file clerk's duty to make out the tickler card and attend to the matter on the right date. For this purpose these cards are filed chronologically and consulted every morning. Suppose a salesman finds that a prospective customer desires to see a certain machine next month. The filing clerk is instructed accordingly and on the appointed date the salesman is reminded of the circumstance. The follow-up is indispensable in the collection of delinquent accounts or in securing the prompt shipment of goods. In the office it may be used for reminding the different  members of the staff of meetings, appointments and duties to be performed at specified times.

14.	Transferring material from files   The value of all correspondence decreases with age while its bulk increases, and thus transfer of old files becomes a necessity which has to be considered. The importance of methodizing this process becomes apparent when. for instance, a lawsuit necessitates a search for letters over a period of time not covered by the active files. It is then that the transfer-file method is put to the test.   The simplest way is of course to transfer the entire files intact at certain definite periods. But that method is likely to cause serious inconvenience if there is frequent reference to recently transferred matter, unless the latter is easily accessible. Another method is to retain two years' correspondence in the active files, Kiaking a division between each year's correspondence, or apportioning the upper drawer to the current year and the lower drawers to the year just past. The older file may then be transferred whenever reference to it has ceased, and the plan may be repeated every succeeding year. If in addition a special color is used for the folders of each year, there is not much danger of misfiling current material. It is a good rule to make this transfer periodic, tho it can best be done when no other pressing work is on hand. The transfer period affords an opportunity to eliminate all useless material from the files. The transfer of individual folders that have become bulky is sometimes resorted to, but the temptation to follow this practice should be avoided. It is advisable, however, to keep a record in the active files of all transferred material.
17.	The record room.   As a rule, office managers give little thought to the matter of preserving old records until a search for some old papers reveals that due provision has not been made to preserve correspondence that might be of value. The ideal way is to have a record room with a plan showing the arrangement so that the files may be consulted with convenience when necessary   The record room should be well ventilated, as otherwise the papers are sure to deteriorate rapidly from dampness. The room should be well hghted so as to facilitate search and make the storing of documents easy. Unless it is known to be fireproof, the room should not be used if the papers are at all valuable. A number of well-painted  steel shelves, of movable size, divided into sections should be built as in a library, and each shelf, if possible, might be of the approximate capacity for the papers of each year. The shelves must be identifiable by means of plain numbers so that any one, tho unfamiliar with the record room, will have no difficulty in finding the papers of any one year. A card index placed at the entrance may indicate where each class of material can be found.   In the care and use of the record room, the same necessity exists for centralizing responsibility as in the management of the active files. No one should have access to the record room except by permission of the person in charge.
18.	Inspection of files No matter how careful the files clerks may be and no matter how thoro a system has been worked out, errors in filing are bound to occur. Some check against this condition should be provided if serious consequences from lost correspondence are not to result. The best protection against this condition is to have a person whose duty it is to check the file constantly. This clerk goes thru each drawer of correspondence and sees that not only are the folders arranged in proper order but also that the contents of the folder are correct and properly arranged. Under this plan the "loss" of correspondence is prevented. Furthermore it tends to make the filers more accurate because they know that their work is being checked.

Review

What should be the preliminary training of a filing clerk? Under what circumstances is a departmental file more economical than a centralized file?

Why are vertical files coming into wide use, superseding the box files in all large offices ?

What method of filing would you use in an editorial office? In a mail-order office?

How would you file a letter written on company stationery but signed by an individual?

State what is meant by perforation files.