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Style Guide

Waratah Hills Shire - Style Guidev3 Date Reviewed: 15/02/2016 Document Owner: Waratah Hills Shire of 15

Table of contents

Written Correspondence ................................................................................................... 3

Policy ................................................................................................................................ 3

Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 3

Style Guidelines ................................................................................................................. 4

Policy ................................................................................................................................ 4

Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 4

General guidelines ....................................................................................................... 4

Footer ........................................................................................................................... 4

Header ......................................................................................................................... 4

Heading 1 ..................................................................................................................... 4

Heading 2 ..................................................................................................................... 4

Heading 3 ..................................................................................................................... 4

Normal .......................................................................................................................... 5

Letter spacing ............................................................................................................... 5

List Bullets .................................................................................................................... 5

Numbering .................................................................................................................... 5

Outline numbered ......................................................................................................... 5

Table ............................................................................................................................ 5

Business letters ................................................................................................................ 5

Facsimiles ........................................................................................................................ 6

Memos ............................................................................................................................. 6

Short Reports ................................................................................................................... 6

Promotional Material ........................................................................................................ 6

Meeting Forms ................................................................................................................. 7

Spreadsheets ................................................................................................................... 8

Email.................................................................................................................................. 13

Procedures ..................................................................................................................... 14

Do not: ............................................................................................................................ 15

Accessing the Internet ..................................................................................................... 15

Policy .............................................................................................................................. 15


Written Correspondence

Policy

All written correspondence should reflect the attitude of excellence that Waratah Hills Shire wishes to convey to all its customers. The Company wishes all staff to adopt plain English principles, use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in all documents and refer to the Company’s Style Guidelines with regard to format.

Procedures

Ensure that all written correspondence reflects the 5C’s of business etiquette:

Clear - the message is understandable to the reader. The ideas are presented logically and the language is appropriate

Concise - use short paragraphs, get quickly to the point and convey a positive attitude

Correct – make sure that all information is confirmed, spelling and punctuation checked and any errors are corrected

Courteous – Use a polite tone throughout

Complete – Give the document a final check prior to signing

For consistency, please ensure you:

Provide both an electronic and hard copy for all outgoing correspondence and file according to departmental procedures

Print all drafts on recycled paper whenever possible

Use email and facsimile facilities where appropriate

Use email for internal correspondence where possible to conserve paper and to achieve rapid delivery

Use the correct form of address for all correspondence. All staff have access to the client lists, names of suppliers and stores which lists the preferred titles and correct spelling of names.

Refer to the section, Style Guidelines, for producing the following business documents:

Business letters

Facsimiles

Memos

Short reports

Promotional material

Meeting forms - notice of meeting, agenda, minutes of meeting

Spreadsheets


Style Guidelines

Policy

Waratah Hills Shire is committed to producing professional quality business documents. In order to maintain a professional and consistent image, staff must ensure Waratah Hills Shire’ Style Guidelines are applied to all correspondence and promotional material.

Procedures

All staff will:

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ letterhead on all outgoing business letters and faxes

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ memorandum forms for all internal memos

Use the standard format where appropriate. (See sample layouts provided)

Use the closing notation of ‘Yours sincerely’ in all letters

Spell-check each document before printing

Ensure that all documents are electronically saved in the appropriate folder

Print all draft copies on recycled paper

Return draft copies to writer for checking

Edit the checked documents, save and print

Return final draft to writer for checking and signing

Ensure that longer reports are bound

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ Notice of Meeting, Agenda and Minutes of Meeting forms for all meetings.

General guidelines

Bullets

Indent at 1, left aligned, 6 pt before and 6 pt after

Footer

Arial 11 pt left aligned; border top (single solid line, 0.5 pt line width); tabs: 7.32 cm centred, 14.65 cm right

Header

Waratah Hills Shire Logo in left header

Heading 1

Arial 16 pt left aligned bold, space before 12 pt, space after 12 pt

Heading 2

Arial 12 pt left aligned bold, space before 12 pt, space after 6 pt

Heading 3

Arial 12 pt left aligned bold, italics, 12 pt space before, 6 pt space after


Normal

Arial 11 pt left aligned, single spacing, 6 pt after

Letter spacing

Arial 11 pt, left aligned, single spacing

List Bullets

Level 1 Bullet – square bullet, 11 pt, left aligned, indent 0 cm, hanging indent at 1 cm, 6 pt before and 6 pt after

Level 2 Bullet – round bullet, 11 pt, left aligned, indent at 1 cm, hanging indent at 2 cm, tab setting at 2 cm, 6 pt before and 6 pt after

Numbering

1 Arial 11 pt, left aligned, indent 0 cm, hanging indent at 1 cm, number style 1, 2, 3…, number format, open punctuation

Outline numbered

1 Level 1 - Arial 11 pt, left aligned, indent 0 cm hanging indent 1 cm, number style 1, 2 ,3…., number format, open punctuation, , 6 pt before and 6 pt after

ii Level 2 – Arial 11 pt left aligned, indent at 1 cm, hanging indent 2 cm, tab setting at 2 cm, number style i, ii, iii…., number format I, open punctuation, 6 pt before and 6 pt after

Level 3 – Arial 11 pt, left aligned, indent at 2 cm, hanging indent at 3 cm, tab setting at 3 cm, round bullet, 6 pt before and 6 pt after

Table

Heading of Table – background colour White, Background 1, Darker 15%, Arial 12 pt Bold, Centred

Body of Table – Arial 11 pt

Business letters

Waratah Hills Shire’ letterhead to be used for all business correspondence

Fully-blocked, open punctuation

Font – Arial

Font size – 10, 11 or 12 pt

Footer – filename, 10 pts, at left margin

Multi-page letters to contain a 10 pt footer - filename on each document at the left margin and page number at right margin, on all pages except the first page


Facsimiles

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ fax form

Font – Arial

Font Size – 10, 11 or 12 pts

Table at the top of fax form – complete all sections. Use the <Tab> key to move around the table.

‘Our Ref’ – use the file name/operator initials

Message – keep simple

Additional pages

Header – header to contain addressee’s name and contact number, 10 pts, at left margin, and page number, 10 pts, at right margin

If additional pages to fax are photocopies, make sure photocopy is clear and free of smudges

Memos

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ memo form for all internal correspondence

Top part of memo - use the <Tab> key to move around the table

Reference number – the file name/operator initials

Font – Arial

Font size – 10, 11 or 12 pts


Multi-page documents – page numbers of all pages except the first page

Short Reports

A4 paper

Title page – vertically centred

Main Heading – Font – Arial 14 pt, bold, Title Case

Subheading(s) – Font – Arial 12 pt, bold, Sentence case

Line Spacing – single, 1½, double spacing – depending on size of report


Promotional Material

Waratah Hills Shire’ logo must be incorporated into all promotional material

Waratah Hills Shire’ full contact details must be included in all promotional material

No more than two (2) font types should be applied within one document

All promotional material must be visually appealing with appropriate formatting features applied

Documents should be vertically and horizontally centred where appropriate


Meeting Forms

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ Notice of Meeting form to advise staff of forthcoming meeting

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ Agenda form to record agenda items

Use Waratah Hills Shire’ Minutes of Meeting form to record the minutes of the meeting.

Use the <Tab> key to move around tables within the above documents

All meeting documents can be accessed from the General Stationery folder

Please also refer to the section ‘Meetings’ in this manual


Spreadsheets

All Waratah Hills Shire spreadsheets must be produced in accordance with the following requirements to comply with good design principles, such as consistency, clarity, accuracy, flexibility and efficiency.

The first row must contain the organisation’s name – Calibri font, 20 pt, bold, merged and centred across the width of the work area of the spreadsheet.

The second row must have a sub-heading explaining the purpose/subject of the spreadsheet – Calibri font, 12 pt, italics, merged and centred across the width of the work area of the spreadsheet.

The Waratah Hills Shire logo must appear at the top right of the worksheet.

The rest of the spreadsheet should use Calibri font, 11 pt.

All column headings and labels for input should be bold and shaded (light grey).

Headings over columns of monetary amounts must be right-aligned.

Calculations should always use functions and absolute cell references, where appropriate, to provide efficiency and flexibility.

Simple borders should be used to provide clarity.

All numerical data must be formatted to reflect the data type it represents (ie currency, number, date, percentage etc)

Total rows must be formatted using the ‘Total’ cell style.

Printing – all spreadsheets must: fit to one page where appropriate, be centred vertically and horizontally, include a footer with the author’s name and date.

Figure 1 - Example of a correctly formatted spreadsheet

Hourly rate $48.75

Tax 30.0%

Superannuation 9.5%

Medicare 1.5%

Last Name First Name

Hours

Worked Gross Pay

Tax

Payable Super Medicare

Total

Deductions Net Pay

Smith Wilbur 38 $1,852.50 $555.75 $175.99 $27.79 $759.53 $1,092.98

Smith Robyn 42 $2,047.50 $614.25 $194.51 $30.71 $839.48 $1,208.03

Total $3,900.00 $1,170.00 $370.50 $58.50 $1,599.00 $2,301.00

Waratah Hills Shire Wages - Week ended 14 May 2016

Letter instructions

Waratah Hills Shire Offices 108 City Road, SHIREVILLE NSW 2555 Telephone: 02 0733 3333 Fax: 02 0733 3334 Email: [email protected]

REF: RJBOO l .LTR (Press Enter twice)

27 April 20xx (Press Enter 4 - 6 times)

The Manager Trade Services Australia Pty Ltd PO Box 2582 ST LEONARDS NSW 2065 (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only) ATTENTION: Mr James Johnson (Press Enter twice -leaving one space only) Dear Sir (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only) RE: Word 2007 Training (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only) Thank you for your enquiry regarding Word 2013 training for your staff and for yourself. (Press Enter twice -leaving one space only) As requested, I am enclosing information on training courses and prices. We offer specialised training for companies whereby courses can be "customised" to your requirements using your own documents for exercises if your desire. (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only) Please contact me if I can be of further assistance. (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only) Yours sincerely (Press Enter 4 - 6 times)

Sheila Marks Training Manager (Press Enter twice - leaving one space only)

Enc

Note: Press Enter twice at the end of your text will leave one space only. Your spacing should be the same as the above letter spacing as this is industry standard.


Document Title (If Applicable)

Heading 2

Heading 3

Text Body

Tables:

Column heading Column heading Column heading Column heading

Bullets:

List 1

List 1

List 2

List 2

Numbering:

1 List 1

2 List 2

3 List 3


Procedure Title (If Applicable)

Purpose and scope

[Insert purpose and scope details here]

Definitions

[Insert definitions here]

Procedure

[Insert procedure details here]

Administration

Responsible Department:

Human Resources

Date updated: [dd/mm/yyyy]

Version no: V1.0

Date for next review:

Revision history

Version Revision date Description of changes Author

1.0 dd/mm/yyyy Policy established Manager Human Resources


Facsimile

To Ashley Winters From Robyn Smith

Company Waratah Hills Shire Date [date field]

Fax No (02) 676 8997 Fax No (02) 997 7553

Phone No

(02) 676 8998 Phone No (02) 997 7554

Our Ref [filenamefield]-operator initials

Total number of pages including this one 2

Message

Due to the recent storm damage, we have had to change the venue for next Tuesday’s product launch. It will now be held in the boardroom. The launch will begin at 10.00 am and conclude at 4.00 pm. I am forwarding a copy of Tuesday’s program for you and hope to see you at the launch.

Robyn Smith


Email

A general information e-mail address exists for all staff. Your e-mail address is:

[email protected]

The email salutation is as follows including the message in italics at the end:

Kind regards

Robyn Smith Finance Manager, Waratah Hills Shire 108 City Road, Shireville, NSW 2555 Ph: 02 0733 3334 | Fax: 02 0733 3334 | E: [email protected]

This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain privileged information or confidential information or both. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.

mailto:[email protected]


Procedures

Staff are encouraged to use email as a growing form of communication, however should be aware that when an email message is sent or received in the course of person’s duties, that message is a business communication and therefore constitutes a record belonging to the business.

Employees should aware that electronic communications could be forwarded, intercepted, printed and stored by others. Staff are accountable for emails sent in their names or held in their mailbox, and are expected to use electronic communications in an acceptable manner.

All staff are requested to:

Use email for most internal communication

Reply to emails as soon as possible

Be precise when addressing email and verify the details before mailing the message

Include the topic of your message in the subject area and keep messages concise

Use normal text case and check your spelling

Use proper salutations and maintain a polite tone

Clearly identify if your message is urgent

Limit the size of attachments as problems may arise with large files

Be alert to the problems of importing viruses and take all possible precautions including updating the virus scan on your computer regularly

Delete messages no longer required or file in an appropriate folder

Remember that email is admissible in a court of law

file email in appropriate folders

limit the exchange of personal emails

refrain from responding to unsolicited or unwanted emails

delete hoax or chain emails

reply to all emails

only forward emails with permission of previous senders

particular attention should be taken to ensure that only the correct addressee received the intended email

ensure that the privacy and confidentiality message is on all outgoing e-mails. This message is as follows: -

This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain privileged information or confidential information or both. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it and notify the sender.


Do not:

broadcast junk messages

send messages (or jokes) likely to promote feelings of sexual, racial or other harassment in the mind of the recipient

assume your message is private. It may be held on the system for some time or re-transmitted

send an email message if a face-to- face discussion would be more efficient.

NOTE: The organisation regularly monitors e-mail messages.

Accessing the Internet

Policy

The internet can be accessed by all Waratah Hills Shire staff. Staff are encouraged to utilise the internet where doing so will enhance the performance of their duties. Staff may use the Internet on a limited basis for their personal use.

Staff are accountable for Internet sites accessed on their workplace computer, and are expected to utilise this tool in an appropriate manner.

Staff are expected to:

implement copyright restrictions for information accessed on the internet

limit their personal use of the internet

not accessing any site that may contain inappropriate material such as pornography or images and texts that may offend others

not disclose any confidential or commercially-sensitive information about Waratah Hills Shire on the Internet

not download unnecessary or suspect information

remain vigilant of any potential security risks including viruses.