This manual has been specifically prepared to help assist all our staff to become more effective in the day to day running of EPITOME.
This manual is designed for all our existing staff as well as for new members who join EPITOME.
It contains information on the correct procedures to follow for handling the day-to-day general running of EPITOME and is broken down into various sub-sections.
Please note that throughout this manual references made to the male employees apply equally to the female employees and visa-versa.
Our company’s ‘Golden Rule’ is that we treat every one in the same manner that we ourselves would wish to be treated.
Please view all visitors as potential students and please make sure to make all our existing students feel happy and satisfied enough to recommend us to their friends and relatives.
Dealing with visitors:
When a visitor comes with an appointment to see a management team member, always ask him/her to take a seat. If the wait is becoming extended due to the management team member being delayed with a previous client, you must assure the person who is waiting and say from time to time “my colleague knows you are waiting and has asked me to tell you that he will see you very shortly”.
Dealing with potential students:
When a potential student comes to enquire about a course, please call our counsellor’s to make an appointment for the potential student. If the counsellors are engaged with other clients, always ask him/her to take a seat.
Dealing with team member:
If you notice that a team member from Reception, Sales, Administration, or Academic team has made errors in their work, or has acted inappropriately, you must call that person to you privately. Explain to him/her how he/she has erred. Be tactful and do not demean and demoralise your colleague. Under NO circumstances are you to criticise or correct a member of staff on the hearing of any students
Following steps should be taken when dealing with a difficult student or client.
There is a need for all team members to put in the extra effort to make our students feel at home and welcome. Always greet each student with a friendly smile and call him or her by their first name.
As we work in a professional environment, we need to dress appropriately to project the right image to our clients.
Hair and nails should be cleanly groomed at all times, and there is a particular need for personal hygiene to be maintained to a high standard during the hot summer months of the year.
EPITOME maintains a Manual Attendance Register system for all its staff members. Every employee must record their arrival and leaving time using this register system. This register will be at the Institute reception. The HR Manager is responsible for handling Human Resource and Payroll functions such as employee’s attendance, holiday, sick payment and staff salary.
EPITOME carries out the legal requirements of the Health and Safety Act 1974. The Health and Safety Act poster is displayed in reception and all team members are required to read its contents in full and be aware of their responsibilities as employees.
The duties of employees are to:
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Take reasonable care of their own health and safety, and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work. |
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Co-operate with others in the company to fulfil our statuary duties. |
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Not interfere with, misuse, or damage anything provided in the interest of health and safety. |
Do’s & Dont’s of Students
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Please take extra time and care in filling out the enquiry form. When the caller gives you his house number, please make sure you write it down correctly, and repeat it back to him.
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| 2. |
Please try to make the Admission process as straight-forward as possible, and don’t use any terms which the student may find difficult to understand. |
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Please ensure that the information being put in the Admission form is correct, giving all his details, including his Full Name, Guardian Name, Present & Permanent Address, Phone Numbers, Date Of Birth, and Course Name etc. |
| 4. |
Most importantly, make sure that he puts his signature in the Enquiry/Admission form. Always fill in the checklist to make sure everything is filled in, as most students will leave out some sections. The next most important requirement is to ask for the photocopy of his testimonials as per the requirement of the course. Also take two passport-sized photographs. |
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If someone comes to make cash payment or cheque payment, you must provide him/her money receipt against the receipt of payment. |
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Students are to agree an instalment plan as provided by the Front Desk at the time of admission. However student can get an extension in their payment dates with prior approval of the concern authority. |
| 7. |
When a student tells you that they have changed address and phone number, you must record the changes immediately in the record books. |
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Students are not to be allowed to leave their classroom during class time. However student should engaged in any other work related to their academics with the institute staff/official only after conclusion of their classes. |
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All our students must be treated fairly and must receive the best possible training whilst they are with us, which will be adequate to prepare them for their chosen professional careers. |
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Students deserve the right to learn in a conductive and cohesive environment where they understand and benefit from the material provided by the faculty/trainer. The responsibility is on the faculty/trainer to put across material in an easily understandable manner. There is, therefore, a need to avoid too much technical jargon, which a new student on the course may find difficult to grasp. You need to go at a moderate pace, not too slow for the average students, and not too fast for a below average learning student. You will need to take the needs of the majority of your class into consideration, and must not allow one or two students to disrupt your class, or slow it down unnecessarily. |
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You must remember that English may not be the first language of most of the students in your class. They may have difficulty in understanding your accent at first. They will most likely get used to your accent and pronunciation after the first few classes. If a student approaches you after class, to discuss a particular area they didn’t grasp, it may be necessary for you to provide them with more detailed handout notes. |
At EPITOME we like to keep our employees satisfied. They are our partners. However, there comes a time in which we may have to discipline an employee.
There are two types of misconduct we normally consider, and they will directly affect the way in which we decide to disciple our employee. The first is General Misconduct and the second is Gross Misconduct. The first is considered to be a misdemeanor and the second a serious offence, as a consequence we would react differently in each case.
General Misconduct
These types of offences are minor or one off offences and would not result in something serious happening to our business as a consequence of the employee's actions. They may include:
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Being late for work. |
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Using the office phones for personal calls. |
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Using assets of the institute for unauthorized personal use. |
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Under performance. |
Gross Misconduct
Serious misconduct comes under this category. We would treat the offence very seriously. Often this type of misconduct may be due to an employee continuing to offend i.e.
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Continuously late. |
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Using the official phone for personal use inspite of repeated warning. |
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Using assets of the institute for unauthorized personal use inspite of repeated warning. |
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Repeated under performance despise measures taken to alleviate the situation. |
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Providing students with solutions for any academic issues without taking any payment. |
If an employee continually repeats an offence then it graduates more towards gross misconduct.
In addition, gross misconduct can also occur if an employee's offence may jeopardize the functioning of our institute in any way or through total unreasonable behavior:
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Physical violence. |
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Alcohol or drug abuse. |
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Deliberate damage to property. |
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Serious infringement of health and safety regulations. |
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Theft and/or fraud. |
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Harassment/discrimination. |
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Negligence which causes serious consequences for the organization as a result of the error. |
Before starting the process of a disciplinary procedure, it is essential to hold a preliminary inquiry to know if the prime case of indiscipline and/or misconduct exists. The person responsible for holding the preliminary enquiry is a person nominated having established a prima facie case exists, the following steps must be taken:
1. Issue of written notice of disciplinary proceedings:
Once the prima facie case of indiscipline/misconduct is established, the management should proceed to issue a notice of disciplinary proceedings to the employee. The employee, except in a case of gross misconduct which warrants instant dismissal, shall have 7 days to respond to the notice of disciplinary proceedings.
2. Consideration of Explanation:
On receiving any response to the notice of disciplinary proceedings served, the explanation furnished should be considered and if it is satisfactory, no disciplinary action needs to be taken. On the other hand when the Concern Authority is not satisfied with the employee’s explanation, he can proceed with a full-fledged enquiry. However, if the employee admits the charge, The Concern Authority after consultation with the senior management committee can warn, or award a punishment without further enquiry.
3. Suspension pending Enquiry:
In case the allegation is so serious, a suspension order may be served on the employee along with the notice of disciplinary proceedings. What is considered to be serious will depend on the discretion of the management.
4. Holding of Enquiry:
An enquiry officer should be appointed by the senior management team to hold an enquiry and a notice to this effect should be given to the concerned employee. The principles of natural justice must be followed. The employee should not be denied the chance of giving an explanation. The enquiry officer should give sufficient notice to the employee so that they may prepare well in advance to make submissions in their defense. The enquiry officer should proceed in a proper manner and examine witnesses. A fair opportunity should be given to the employee to cross-examine the management witnesses, and also to present their own witnesses.
5. Order of Punishment:
Disciplinary action can be taken when the misconduct of the employee is proved. While deciding the nature of disciplinary action, the employee’s previous record, precedents, effects of the action on other employees, etc, have to be considered.
In cases of Gross Misconduct the Management may instantly dismiss the employee without going through the above procedure where the matter warrants this.
The following procedure have been agreed to ensure that grievances which members of staff may wish to express about their conditions of service, or any other matter relating to their employment, are dealt with as fairly, efficiently and as speedily as possible. The following stages have been agreed by the Institute as being an effective means of endeavoring to resolve any grievance. This procedure is applicable to all staff and is intended to be used to resolve individual grievances.
In most instances, the quickest and most effective way of resolving a grievance is for the matter to be discussed frankly by the member of staff concerned with his/her immediate supervisor. Only if this fails or is inappropriate should the formal grievance procedure be invoked.
