50 Activities for Administrative, Secretarial & Support Staff

Practical Training Activities for Workplace Support Professionals

Authors: Elizabeth Sansom & Christine Newton

Empower your administrative and support staff with this practical collection of 50 ready-to-use training activities designed to build essential workplace skills and improve performance.

Created specifically for support professionals—often overlooked in traditional training programs—this resource provides engaging, easy-to-deliver activities that can be implemented in-house with minimal preparation.

Designed for Real-World Workplace Needs

Administrative and support staff play a critical role in organizational success, yet they often have limited access to structured training.

This manual bridges that gap by offering targeted activities that help participants strengthen communication, organization, customer service, and professional confidence—skills essential for today’s fast-paced work environments.

What’s Included

• 50 structured training activities and exercises
• Ready-to-use participant handouts
• Clear guidance including objectives, timing, materials, and methods
• Flexible delivery options for short, in-house training sessions
• Activity time checklist to quickly select exercises (60 minutes, 60–90 minutes, or 2 hours)

Comprehensive Skill Development Areas

The activities are organized into 10 essential workplace skill categories:

• Orientation
• Motivation & Empowerment
• Customer Service Excellence
• Face-to-Face Communication
• Telephone Skills
• Written Communication
• Time Management
• Managing Small Projects
• Meetings
• Presentation Skills

Example Activity Topics

• Delivering Bad News
• Getting My Point Across
• Proud to Be Part of the Team
• Getting Organized

Engaging, Practical, and Easy to Deliver

These activities are designed to be:

• Interactive and engaging to increase participation
• Practical and job-focused for immediate application
• Flexible for supervisors and managers to deliver without formal training experience

Because the exercises are hands-on and enjoyable, they help reinforce learning and improve retention—leading to better performance on the job.

Ideal for Managers, Trainers, and HR Professionals

Perfect for:

• Supervisors training their teams in-house
• HR and learning & development professionals
• Office managers and team leaders
• Organizations looking to upskill support staff quickly and effectively

Build Confidence and Performance Across Your Team

With this resource, you can provide meaningful training opportunities that motivate staff, strengthen core competencies, and support long-term professional growth.

Deliver training that is:

• Practical and relevant
• Engaging and easy to implement
• Focused on real workplace skills