Administrative Assistant Skills and Duties
There are many duties associated with being an Administrative Assistant. The name might conjure a person sitting at a desk formatting reports and keeping calendars, but there really is much more to it. As today’s businesses move forward, an administrative assistant needs to keep their skills sharp and ensure they are up-to-date on any changes. This is not always easy as the pace of electronic innovations is ridiculously fast. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available online to help everyone stay at least informed of the new gadgets and gizmos available to make the day easier. The two most important skills an administrative assistant can have is the desire to continue learning and growing in their chosen field and the ability to prioritize, plan and organize their time.
The list of duties often depends on the company for which they work and whether they are physically present or virtually present. In general, an assistant can expect to work in Reception (answering phones, directing visitors/suppliers, customer service, etc.), Office Support (Preparing reports, memos and documents, filing email and hard copy items, travel arrangements, database maintenance and accuracy, voicemail, fax, and courier distribution, electronic back-ups, etc.), Financial Support (prepare invoices and financial reports, records management, process accounts, administer petty cash, etc.), and Board Support (arranging travel for board members, create meeting agendas, minutes and distribution of same, etc.). This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but it gives an overview of a few of the tasks that may fall to an administrative assistant. It may be apparent from this list, there is a vast diversity of skills and tasks that an assistant will need to accomplish. It is of the utmost importance that an administrative assistant be very organized and detail oriented. Gaining these skills requires patience and an ability to learn from mistakes. It is best to try to avoid mistakes by paying close attention to the task at hand, and working at a pace that is not overwhelming. Check once, and then check again to make sure information is entered correctly in all cases. Check data to make sure it is accurate before entering it, but realistically, mistakes are going to be made; it is a fact of life. How you deal with those mistakes is what is important. Always own up to a mistake. This will help with the “learn from mistakes” part of the adage. When a mistake is made and the person who made that mistake owns up to it, they are able to gain a valuable experience in learning what should have been done and how it will be done in the future. Here I have come full circle, willingness to learn is the key to being a good administrative assistant. Make every experience you can an opportunity to learn and excel in your field.
The best resources to learn the skills needed to be an effective and efficient administrative assistant are available, sometimes rather inexpensively, online. It is as simple as using a search engine to find the necessary guides, help pages, or forums for exchanging information on this career field. Being part of an active online community for support is very important, sometimes they will have better solutions to the question at hand than a search engine will come up with, and they will have the advantage of being able to give a bit of a review on the tool (effectiveness, ease of use, efficiency, etc.). It is always good to be able to get a real persons take on how useful a tool really is for the job you need it to do.
A person that wants to be an administrative assistant can go to college to learn the skill needed to be an assistant, but once that certification has come do not think that learning is over. Electronic media is a huge part of being an assistant and it changes daily. There are updates constantly to software programs that further enhance their capabilities and make the job just that much easier, but keeping up on these changes and learning the new shortcuts can be daunting. One of the best ways to learn a program is to play on it. Click around new programs to see what everything does, enter dummy data to see what it looks like, and run dummy reports for the same reason. Hands-on the program is the absolute best way to learn. If the company does not have dummy training programs to play with, go online and find one to work on, there is likely something close to the actual program to work with. Become a member of an active administrative assistants community, which is highly recommended, ask them questions and let them know there is help needed, they will respond. Use the contacts that have been established to help on the journey of learning this new position.
Learning effective time management techniques is of the utmost importance, as without the ability to manage available time, an assistant cannot do their job effectively. There are so many aspects to an administrative assistants job that prioritizing and managing the time available to complete the tasks required is really what makes a good assistant a great assistant. The company that hires you wants to know that they can count on you to complete all tasks accurately and efficiently, this means making sure you are budgeting your time effectively. There are many techniques to budget time (making lists, tickler files, blocking time, minimizing meeting times, and using odd-lot time effectively), and it is up to the individual to decide what works best for them. Each has their own merits and all can be used together effectively to make you the most efficiently managed administrative assistant in the company.
What this all boils down to is; stay abreast of changing technology and how it can affect your day-to-day activities and tasks, manage time effectively to ensure all projects are completed efficiently and accurately, communicate clearly in both writing and speaking, and approach each project as an opportunity to learn, grow, and excel in your position.
There are many duties associated with being an Administrative Assistant. The name might conjure a person sitting at a desk formatting reports and keeping calendars, but there really is much more to it. As today’s businesses move forward, an administrative assistant needs to keep their skills sharp and ensure they are up-to-date on any changes. This is not always easy as the pace of electronic innovations is ridiculously fast. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available online to help everyone stay at least informed of the new gadgets and gizmos available to make the day easier. The two most important skills an administrative assistant can have is the desire to continue learning and growing in their chosen field and the ability to prioritize, plan and organize their time.
The list of duties often depends on the company for which they work and whether they are physically present or virtually present. In general, an assistant can expect to work in Reception (answering phones, directing visitors/suppliers, customer service, etc.), Office Support (Preparing reports, memos and documents, filing email and hard copy items, travel arrangements, database maintenance and accuracy, voicemail, fax, and courier distribution, electronic back-ups, etc.), Financial Support (prepare invoices and financial reports, records management, process accounts, administer petty cash, etc.), and Board Support (arranging travel for board members, create meeting agendas, minutes and distribution of same, etc.). This is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but it gives an overview of a few of the tasks that may fall to an administrative assistant. It may be apparent from this list, there is a vast diversity of skills and tasks that an assistant will need to accomplish. It is of the utmost importance that an administrative assistant be very organized and detail oriented. Gaining these skills requires patience and an ability to learn from mistakes. It is best to try to avoid mistakes by paying close attention to the task at hand, and working at a pace that is not overwhelming. Check once, and then check again to make sure information is entered correctly in all cases. Check data to make sure it is accurate before entering it, but realistically, mistakes are going to be made; it is a fact of life. How you deal with those mistakes is what is important. Always own up to a mistake. This will help with the “learn from mistakes” part of the adage. When a mistake is made and the person who made that mistake owns up to it, they are able to gain a valuable experience in learning what should have been done and how it will be done in the future. Here I have come full circle, willingness to learn is the key to being a good administrative assistant. Make every experience you can an opportunity to learn and excel in your field.
The best resources to learn the skills needed to be an effective and efficient administrative assistant are available, sometimes rather inexpensively, online. It is as simple as using a search engine to find the necessary guides, help pages, or forums for exchanging information on this career field. Being part of an active online community for support is very important, sometimes they will have better solutions to the question at hand than a search engine will come up with, and they will have the advantage of being able to give a bit of a review on the tool (effectiveness, ease of use, efficiency, etc.). It is always good to be able to get a real persons take on how useful a tool really is for the job you need it to do.
A person that wants to be an administrative assistant can go to college to learn the skill needed to be an assistant, but once that certification has come do not think that learning is over. Electronic media is a huge part of being an assistant and it changes daily. There are updates constantly to software programs that further enhance their capabilities and make the job just that much easier, but keeping up on these changes and learning the new shortcuts can be daunting. One of the best ways to learn a program is to play on it. Click around new programs to see what everything does, enter dummy data to see what it looks like, and run dummy reports for the same reason. Hands-on the program is the absolute best way to learn. If the company does not have dummy training programs to play with, go online and find one to work on, there is likely something close to the actual program to work with. Become a member of an active administrative assistants community, which is highly recommended, ask them questions and let them know there is help needed, they will respond. Use the contacts that have been established to help on the journey of learning this new position.
Learning effective time management techniques is of the utmost importance, as without the ability to manage available time, an assistant cannot do their job effectively. There are so many aspects to an administrative assistants job that prioritizing and managing the time available to complete the tasks required is really what makes a good assistant a great assistant. The company that hires you wants to know that they can count on you to complete all tasks accurately and efficiently, this means making sure you are budgeting your time effectively. There are many techniques to budget time (making lists, tickler files, blocking time, minimizing meeting times, and using odd-lot time effectively), and it is up to the individual to decide what works best for them. Each has their own merits and all can be used together effectively to make you the most efficiently managed administrative assistant in the company.
What this all boils down to is; stay abreast of changing technology and how it can affect your day-to-day activities and tasks, manage time effectively to ensure all projects are completed efficiently and accurately, communicate clearly in both writing and speaking, and approach each project as an opportunity to learn, grow, and excel in your position.
An Administrative Budget
An administrative budget is best defined using this quote from Investopedia Online;
“An official, detailed financial plan for an upcoming period for a business. An administrative budget is usually prepared on an annual or quarterly basis and identifies the costs of running an operation that are not tied to producing a product or service. Costs can include those associated with non-production and supervisory payroll, depreciation, amortization, consulting, sales, dues and fees, legal fees and marketing, rent and insurance. The budget enables management to exercise control of the day-to-day activities of the business.”
One could surmise from this description that an administrative budget covers most things needed to run the business day-to-day (non-product related items). This budget would also allow managers to estimate costs for the coming period and measure how things are going in the current time period. Since there are so many things associated with an administrative budget, it is best to break them down into component parts to look at them individually when creating the budget (for example, each department has a budget and this contributes to the whole administrative budget for the company).
Each administrative budget covers a specific timeframe. It could be annually, quarterly, or monthly. This helps in assessing the financial fitness of each department, and in looking to the future to see if revisions need to be made to accommodate any changes that may be occurring. Most of these budgets are long-term, but if your business is fast-paced and constantly growing and changing a shorter-term budget may be needed.
The administrative budget helps to measure department or section success by giving a visual representation of how that department stays within the estimated needs. If a particular department is going over their estimated needs there may be a problem in that department that should be addressed (for example, if legal fees are excessive then there may be a need to look more closely at contracting or crisis management techniques in that department). There may be a need to hire another person or simply train the people that work there in whatever shortcoming they may have. Mangers can use these to make adjustments in the departments or sections for future practices and avoid problems later on. An administrative budget in this capacity can be a problem identifier that leads to problem solving in the future.
The administrative budget is used by outside agencies as well to determine the company’s fitness as a whole. Particularly if the company is publicly traded or has other investors it wishes to attract. Controlling the company budgets is critical for a growing company. If the budgets start to creep up, then there is a need to sit down and figure out where the fat is and trim it.
The budget is not a quickly drawn up piece of paper that is just a bunch of guesswork. The administrative budget is something that takes a lot of time and research to set accurately. There is a need to use the last budgets and see historically what is used and if there are cost increases due to inflation or change of vendors then these need to be taken into account and the budget needs to reflect those changes. These budgets need to be highly detailed and well organized so they are user friendly. Of course fund allocation depends on the company and there may be less money in administration than product development, or vise versa depending on the needs of the company. There is a lot of care and detailed work that goes in to determining the administrative budget for a company. It can take quite a long time and many companies will have a department just for drawing up budgets for each department. With that in mind, it is essential for that section to know what each department does and what their cost are realistically. This way everyone gets their fair share to use for their department and the company, hopefully, runs smoothly.
When determining what percentage of the whole budget to allocate to administration it is important to look at the size of the company as a whole. If it is small and has a small staff then of course less will go to the administrative budget, but larger companies have much larger staff and much more in overhead and operating costs to decide where their money is allocated. The Society for Human Resource Management recommends the following ratio; divide operating expenses the total amount of salaries to budget administrative costs. To determine actual operating expenses, divide by net sales and multiply by one hundred to determine the company’s actual operating expenses. This may work for small businesses as a guideline to start from, but an established large company has many other factors to consider, not just salaries, but other overhead expenses (buildings, office equipment, office supplies, etc.). I think it makes the above ratio a little simplistic.
An administrative budget is a great tool to use to determine your company’s fitness, not just by managers, but by investors and shareholders as well, during any given period and should be determined carefully and with much research and planning. This is not a budget to take lightly as it covers many of the departments with in the company as a whole.
An administrative budget is best defined using this quote from Investopedia Online;
“An official, detailed financial plan for an upcoming period for a business. An administrative budget is usually prepared on an annual or quarterly basis and identifies the costs of running an operation that are not tied to producing a product or service. Costs can include those associated with non-production and supervisory payroll, depreciation, amortization, consulting, sales, dues and fees, legal fees and marketing, rent and insurance. The budget enables management to exercise control of the day-to-day activities of the business.”
One could surmise from this description that an administrative budget covers most things needed to run the business day-to-day (non-product related items). This budget would also allow managers to estimate costs for the coming period and measure how things are going in the current time period. Since there are so many things associated with an administrative budget, it is best to break them down into component parts to look at them individually when creating the budget (for example, each department has a budget and this contributes to the whole administrative budget for the company).
Each administrative budget covers a specific timeframe. It could be annually, quarterly, or monthly. This helps in assessing the financial fitness of each department, and in looking to the future to see if revisions need to be made to accommodate any changes that may be occurring. Most of these budgets are long-term, but if your business is fast-paced and constantly growing and changing a shorter-term budget may be needed.
The administrative budget helps to measure department or section success by giving a visual representation of how that department stays within the estimated needs. If a particular department is going over their estimated needs there may be a problem in that department that should be addressed (for example, if legal fees are excessive then there may be a need to look more closely at contracting or crisis management techniques in that department). There may be a need to hire another person or simply train the people that work there in whatever shortcoming they may have. Mangers can use these to make adjustments in the departments or sections for future practices and avoid problems later on. An administrative budget in this capacity can be a problem identifier that leads to problem solving in the future.
The administrative budget is used by outside agencies as well to determine the company’s fitness as a whole. Particularly if the company is publicly traded or has other investors it wishes to attract. Controlling the company budgets is critical for a growing company. If the budgets start to creep up, then there is a need to sit down and figure out where the fat is and trim it.
The budget is not a quickly drawn up piece of paper that is just a bunch of guesswork. The administrative budget is something that takes a lot of time and research to set accurately. There is a need to use the last budgets and see historically what is used and if there are cost increases due to inflation or change of vendors then these need to be taken into account and the budget needs to reflect those changes. These budgets need to be highly detailed and well organized so they are user friendly. Of course fund allocation depends on the company and there may be less money in administration than product development, or vise versa depending on the needs of the company. There is a lot of care and detailed work that goes in to determining the administrative budget for a company. It can take quite a long time and many companies will have a department just for drawing up budgets for each department. With that in mind, it is essential for that section to know what each department does and what their cost are realistically. This way everyone gets their fair share to use for their department and the company, hopefully, runs smoothly.
When determining what percentage of the whole budget to allocate to administration it is important to look at the size of the company as a whole. If it is small and has a small staff then of course less will go to the administrative budget, but larger companies have much larger staff and much more in overhead and operating costs to decide where their money is allocated. The Society for Human Resource Management recommends the following ratio; divide operating expenses the total amount of salaries to budget administrative costs. To determine actual operating expenses, divide by net sales and multiply by one hundred to determine the company’s actual operating expenses. This may work for small businesses as a guideline to start from, but an established large company has many other factors to consider, not just salaries, but other overhead expenses (buildings, office equipment, office supplies, etc.). I think it makes the above ratio a little simplistic.
An administrative budget is a great tool to use to determine your company’s fitness, not just by managers, but by investors and shareholders as well, during any given period and should be determined carefully and with much research and planning. This is not a budget to take lightly as it covers many of the departments with in the company as a whole.
What is an Administrative Service Manager?
An administrative services manager is a manager that coordinates all the support services. This includes mail distribution, facilities plans and maintenance, records, budgets, and supplies distribution. Sometimes the Administrative Service Manager is called the Office Manager. In smaller organisations the Office manager does all of these tasks, but in larger organisations these tasks may be broken down and distributed among several office managers. Some of these managers will specialize in their task and be Facilities Managers, Contract Managers, etc.
The Facilities Manager specializes in ensuring the upkeep and maintenance of the facility and the grounds. This person is responsible for all of the buildings and their maintenance. There is a special certification they can get and a professional organisation they belong to if they get this certification or designation. The International Facility Managers Association (IFMA) will offer a certification to indicate to employers that the individual listed has met the standards set forth by this Association to be considered a competent Facilities Manager. This credential is called Certified Facilities Manager. Having this credential can boost an employer’s confidence in their employee and their abilities to complete their task in an efficient and professional manner. There is another organisation for Contract Managers. It is the National Contract Mangers Association (NCMA); this also increases the education level of the contract manager and gives the manager the necessary training to pursue their tasks with efficiency and professionalism. The Contract Manager buys supplies and equipment as well as planning for storage and distribution of it. Gaining the extra certifications for these positions will really help your employer out immeasurably. Having a Bachelors degree along with these certifications will help you when looking for work and when accomplishing your tasks at work. You may need to have the management classes and leadership classes to help you deal with issues in the workplace and show your employers that you can be reliable.
State and Local governments, educational institutions, or service and healthcare industries employ the bulk of the Administrative Service Managers. This occupation really needs a dedicated person as they are often call out in the middle of the night, on weekends, or over the holidays to deal with issues. They may also be required to work overtime and to supervise activities that are out of doors. Having good communications skills, analytical skills, and being quite detail oriented will really be beneficial in this position.
A large organisation offers the most opportunities for advancement, but this does not mean you should only work for large companies. Smaller companies will offer a large variety of experience and will help in your advancement plans. Also, as always, education can only help you. The more you achieve and maintain your education qualifications and certifications the better off you will be as an Administrative Services Manager.
However, education is not the only thing that will see you through with your employer. You must demonstrate your ability to oversee and work with varied groups of people. You must show relevant work experience. This is accomplished by working your way up through your company. Get a feel for what the company needs and provide it. This will also help you when you rise up because a manager should always know exactly what challenges those they manage or supervise face. If they fully understand the workings of each position they manage or supervise, how the equipment works, what needs to be done each day, what supplies are needed, or how many people are required for a certain task this manager will be most effective in their field.
Because Office Managers work with such a diverse group of people in various positions (executives, clerks, supervisors, maintenance workers, etc.), it is vital that they display the ability to communicate effectively across many different formats. Interpersonal skills are a must as well. An Office manager needs to be flexible, but detail oriented, able to meet deadlines effectively, be able to handle pressure, be analytical but capable of making quick decisions on multiple projects when called upon to do so. These types of abilities are best learned from experience and so working your way through the various job positions until you arrive at your ultimate goal is highly recommended for your success.
As middle managers are decreased and organisations flatten out their structures, if you are well versed in many different forms of expertise, you should feel little effect from this restructuring. The broader the range of your responsibilities the more you will be needed and maintained as an employee. Make yourself indispensible. Keep your certifications up (get those Facilities Manager certifications and Contract management certifications) and make sure you do your job to the best of your ability. In this way you can ensure that you will maintain your employment.
An administrative services manager is a manager that coordinates all the support services. This includes mail distribution, facilities plans and maintenance, records, budgets, and supplies distribution. Sometimes the Administrative Service Manager is called the Office Manager. In smaller organisations the Office manager does all of these tasks, but in larger organisations these tasks may be broken down and distributed among several office managers. Some of these managers will specialize in their task and be Facilities Managers, Contract Managers, etc.
The Facilities Manager specializes in ensuring the upkeep and maintenance of the facility and the grounds. This person is responsible for all of the buildings and their maintenance. There is a special certification they can get and a professional organisation they belong to if they get this certification or designation. The International Facility Managers Association (IFMA) will offer a certification to indicate to employers that the individual listed has met the standards set forth by this Association to be considered a competent Facilities Manager. This credential is called Certified Facilities Manager. Having this credential can boost an employer’s confidence in their employee and their abilities to complete their task in an efficient and professional manner. There is another organisation for Contract Managers. It is the National Contract Mangers Association (NCMA); this also increases the education level of the contract manager and gives the manager the necessary training to pursue their tasks with efficiency and professionalism. The Contract Manager buys supplies and equipment as well as planning for storage and distribution of it. Gaining the extra certifications for these positions will really help your employer out immeasurably. Having a Bachelors degree along with these certifications will help you when looking for work and when accomplishing your tasks at work. You may need to have the management classes and leadership classes to help you deal with issues in the workplace and show your employers that you can be reliable.
State and Local governments, educational institutions, or service and healthcare industries employ the bulk of the Administrative Service Managers. This occupation really needs a dedicated person as they are often call out in the middle of the night, on weekends, or over the holidays to deal with issues. They may also be required to work overtime and to supervise activities that are out of doors. Having good communications skills, analytical skills, and being quite detail oriented will really be beneficial in this position.
A large organisation offers the most opportunities for advancement, but this does not mean you should only work for large companies. Smaller companies will offer a large variety of experience and will help in your advancement plans. Also, as always, education can only help you. The more you achieve and maintain your education qualifications and certifications the better off you will be as an Administrative Services Manager.
However, education is not the only thing that will see you through with your employer. You must demonstrate your ability to oversee and work with varied groups of people. You must show relevant work experience. This is accomplished by working your way up through your company. Get a feel for what the company needs and provide it. This will also help you when you rise up because a manager should always know exactly what challenges those they manage or supervise face. If they fully understand the workings of each position they manage or supervise, how the equipment works, what needs to be done each day, what supplies are needed, or how many people are required for a certain task this manager will be most effective in their field.
Because Office Managers work with such a diverse group of people in various positions (executives, clerks, supervisors, maintenance workers, etc.), it is vital that they display the ability to communicate effectively across many different formats. Interpersonal skills are a must as well. An Office manager needs to be flexible, but detail oriented, able to meet deadlines effectively, be able to handle pressure, be analytical but capable of making quick decisions on multiple projects when called upon to do so. These types of abilities are best learned from experience and so working your way through the various job positions until you arrive at your ultimate goal is highly recommended for your success.
As middle managers are decreased and organisations flatten out their structures, if you are well versed in many different forms of expertise, you should feel little effect from this restructuring. The broader the range of your responsibilities the more you will be needed and maintained as an employee. Make yourself indispensible. Keep your certifications up (get those Facilities Manager certifications and Contract management certifications) and make sure you do your job to the best of your ability. In this way you can ensure that you will maintain your employment.
