The course teaches office management skills relevant to the professional workflow of an office, modern communication and conversation techniques as well as the routine use of common digital communication tools and professional complaint management. You will also refresh your English language skills and deepen and expand them with basic business terms. In addition, you will familiarize yourself with the business mindset and acquire basic knowledge of accounting, especially in the areas of corporate objectives, accounting, cost accounting and commercial law.
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Certificates: Office Manager" certificate
Certified Business Administrator" certificate -
Additional Certificates: Certificate "Office organization"
"Driving license for digital competence" certificate
Digital Communication" certificate
TOEIC® certificate (Test of English for International Communication) -
Examination: Praxisbezogene Projektarbeiten mit Abschlusspräsentationen
Führerschein für digitale Kompetenz
TOEIC®-Test (Test of English for International Communication)
Certified Business Administrator -
Teaching Times: Full-timeMonday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. (in weeks with public holidays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:10 p.m.)
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Language of Instruction: German
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Duration: 16 Weeks
Office organization
Office working environment (full-time approx. 4 days/part-time approx. 8 days)
Workplace organization
Time and self-management
Preparing presentations for the right audience
Processing mail and forwarding information
Hybrid collaboration and digital meeting culture
Use of AI in office organization, e.g. for researching, structuring and creating draft texts
Organizing appointments (full-time approx. 3 days/part-time approx. 6 days)
Planning appointments and meetings with MS Outlook
Use calendar functions, invitations and reminders
Planning events/business trips
Digital coordination and booking processes in everyday working life
AI-supported creation of invitations, meeting preparation and follow-up as well as draft minutes
Structuring and tracking tasks and to-dos from meetings
Business management basics for office professions (full-time approx. 5 days/part-time approx. 10 days)
Fundamentals of business management
Company forms, goals and management
Organizational structure in companies/organizational charts
Management styles and techniques
Creating agendas/protocol drafts with AI
Fundamentals of accounting
Offer and order management
Customer and service-oriented communication
AI-supported information and data preparation
Project work (full-time approx. 3 days/part-time approx. 6 days)
To consolidate the content learned
Presentation of the project results
Digital office (full-time approx. 3.5 days/part-time approx. 7 days)
Commercial correspondence according to DIN 5008
Preparation of telephone calls
Template design and form letters
Digital document management and document management systems (DMS)
Data protection and legal principles
Digital collaboration, digital processes and hybrid working environments
Phishing emails and spam filters
Email, voice messages and messenger services in a professional context
Using search engines effectively and filtering search results
Digital transactions and responsible use of online services
File sharing - synchronizing, sharing and accessing files
Creating and managing passwords securely, two-factor authentication
AI in digital correspondence, e.g. for text drafts, rewording, correction support
Practical project work and exam: Driving license for digital competence (full-time approx. 1.5 days/part-time approx. 3 days)
Digital communication
Basics (approx. 2 days)
What is "digital communication"?
Differentiation from analog communication
Communication channels (e-mail, chat, social media)
Advantages and disadvantages of digital communication (always on, data integration, internationalization, interactivity)
Digital rhetoric and netiquette
Legal foundations and AI (approx. 1.5 days)
Media and copyright law
Data protection (GDPR) and data security
Basics of secure digital communication (e.g. encryption)
Using AI correctly in everyday working life
Media competence (approx. 1 day)
How algorithms work
Recognizing fake news
Confirmation bias
Prompt engineering
Dealing critically with AI-generated content
Corporate communication (approx. 2 days)
Networked working environments/collaborative working
New work and digital collaboration
Corporate communication
Digital corporate models and tools
Digital change in the corporate culture
Social networks
Social intranet
Video conferencing
Customer communication (approx. 2.5 days)
Importance and structure of e-commerce
Customer experience (CX)
Medium selection in digital customer contact
Communication requirements at the customer touchpoint
Definition and implementation of conversation goals
Active and solution-oriented conversation management
Chatbots
AI in customer contact
E-mails in the digital age (approx. 1 day)
Customer-oriented e-mail design
Professional formulations
Choosing the right font style
Use of text modules
Spam filter
AI-supported optimization of emails
Video conferences and telephone calls (approx. 2 days)
Preparation of online meetings
Methods and tools for successful
online meetings
Typical pitfalls in online calls
Technical and organizational framework conditions
Effect of body language and voice in front of the camera
Active listening and controlling the conversation
Radiating confidence and competence
Invitation, preparation and follow-up (taking minutes)
Conflict management (approx. 1 day)
Causes of conflicts
Conflict models
Obstacles to communication
Stages of conflict management
Roles within conflict management
Shitstorms and trolls
Project work (approx. 2 days)
To consolidate the content learned
Presentation of the project results
Complaints management
Introduction to complaint management (approx. 1 day)
Complaints as an opportunity for the company
Causes and types of complaints
Understanding customer behavior
Complaint management systems
Complaints in digital channels (e.g. reviews, social media)
Psychology of the complaint (approx. 1 day)
Recognizing behavioural tendencies
Customer needs and expectations
Relationship levels
Dealing with different types of customers
Reaction to complaints (approx. 0.5 days)
Initial reaction: timing and tonality
Analysis of complaints
Key factors
Complaints handling (approx. 1 day)
Guidelines for the professional handling of complaints and grievances
Procedure of a complaint discussion
Use of AI to support the handling of complaints
De-escalation (approx. 0.5 days)
De-escalation strategies and dealing with difficult customers
Maintaining a professional attitude and setting boundaries
Project work (approx. 1 day)
To consolidate the content learned
Presentation of the project results
Business English
Basics of professional English communication (approx. 4 days)
Basic structures of the English language in a professional context
Tenses (simple, continuous, perfect)
Formulation of questions
Active/passive voice
Adjective/adverb
Modal verbs
Conditional
Differences between British and American English in everyday working life
Important idioms in professional language
Presenting in English
Communicative part (approx. 5 days)
Establishing and maintaining customer contacts, telephone calls, correspondence
Artificial intelligence for formulating and optimizing English business communication
Greetings and introductions during business visits
Dealing with complaints
Describing products
Writing letters and emails with common phrases on topics such as orders or quotations
Describing company structures in English
Business English (approx. 6 days)
Writing business correspondence
AI support for English-language emails and letters
Arguing convincingly in a professional context
Explaining company structure, marketing and sales in English
Reporting on market analyses, discussing financial trends
AI for analyzing and preparing information
Communication on business trips: Reception, hotel, restaurant
Appearance in meetings
Describing processes and procedures
Conducting negotiations and reaching agreements
Developing and communicating plans and projects
Preparing presentations
AI tools for structuring and optimizing the language of presentations
English-language job descriptions
Anglo-Saxon application process
Writing a CV in English
Interview: confident presentation of experience and qualifications
Project work, certification preparation and TOEIC® certification exam (approx. 5 days)
Fundamentals of business administration and accounting
Business management basics and company processes (approx. 3 days)
Business management in companies
Corporate goals and conflicting objectives
Structure, functions and operational processes
Basic business functions: Procurement, service provision, sales, financing, personnel and administration
Business model, value creation and the relationship between turnover, costs, profit and liquidity
AI-supported research, structuring and preparation of business information
Business law and legal basics (approx. 2 days)
Legal forms of companies
Rights and obligations in sales contracts
Basics of liability
Cooperations and company mergers
Insolvency law and signs of crisis
Tax fundamentals in the corporate context (approx. 1 day)
Classification of business tax types
Basics of corporate taxation
The basic principle of value added tax
Importance of taxes for pricing, earnings and liquidity
Fundamentals of external accounting: bookkeeping, balance sheet and income statement (approx. 6 days)
Tasks and objectives of external accounting
Inventory and stocktaking
Layout and structure of a balance sheet, assets/liabilities
Profit and loss account (P&L) and profit calculation
Receivables/payables
Provisions and reserves in basic terms
Depreciation and its effects on the annual financial statements
Relationship between current business transactions and annual financial statements
P&L statement in graduated form
Introduction to analyzing the balance sheet and income statement
AI support in accounting-related processes, e.g. for audit notes, plausibility checks
Corporate goals, key figures and business management (approx. 1 day)
Profitability, productivity
Liquidity and profitability
Return on equity and other business ratios
Assessment of the economic situation of a company
Cost and activity accounting in small and medium-sized companies (approx. 3 days)
Tasks and importance of cost and activity accounting
Terms used in cost accounting
Cost type, cost center and cost unit accounting
Price calculation
Basic principles of contribution margin and profitability analysis
Cost accounting for operational control
Project work, certification preparation and certification examination (approx. 4 days)
Changes are possible, the course content is updated regularly.
After the course, you will be familiar with office administration, have sound cross-sector knowledge of the professional workflow of an office and be proficient in modern communication techniques. You know the basics of communication in the digital age with traditional and modern means of communication such as email and video conferencing and can deal with complaints. You have practical English language skills to be successful in the international workplace.
After completing the course, you will have a basic understanding of business contexts and commercial thinking. You will be familiar with the central areas of accounting, be able to classify operational key figures and understand and process simple business management issues in everyday working life. You will also learn about the sensible and responsible use of artificial intelligence in commercial and administrative work processes.
Your new skills will open up numerous new opportunities in the job market: typical commercial, administrative and organizational activities in secretariats and administrative offices are in demand in companies in almost all sectors of the economy.
You will also gain business knowledge that you can demonstrate on the job market.
Didactic concept
Your lecturers are highly qualified both professionally and didactically and will teach you from the first to the last day (no self-study system).
You will learn in effective small groups. The courses usually consist of 6 to 25 participants. The general lessons are supplemented by numerous practical exercises in all course modules. The practice phase is an important part of the course, as it is during this time that you process what you have just learned and gain confidence and routine in its application. The final section of the course involves a project, a case study or a final exam.
Virtual classroom alfaview®
Lessons take place using modern alfaview® video technology - either from the comfort of your own home or at our premises at Bildungszentrum. The entire course can see each other face-to-face via alfaview®, communicate with each other in lip-sync voice quality and work on joint projects. Of course, you can also see and talk to your connected trainers live at any time and you will be taught by your lecturers in real time for the entire duration of the course. The lessons are not e-learning, but real live face-to-face lessons via video technology.
The courses at alfatraining are funded by Agentur für Arbeit and are certified in accordance with the AZAV approval regulation. When submitting a Bildungsgutscheinor Aktivierungs- und Vermittlungsgutschein, the entire course costs are usually covered by your funding body.
Funding is also possible via Europäischen Sozialfonds (ESF), Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV) or regional funding programs. As a regular soldier, you have the option of attending further training courses via Berufsförderungsdienst (BFD). Companies can also have their employees qualified via funding from Agentur für Arbeit (Qualifizierungschancengesetz).