Administrative Professionals and Their Changing Role at the Office  

There has been a lot of buzz lately about what women of varying ages seek in the workplace: millennials reportedly want greater challenges, baby boomers want their skills to make a difference or they want to phase themselves out of the workplace bit by bit, and women transitioning back into the workforce seek relevance and new skills. Bottom line: every woman wants to give and get something valuable from her work experience. Increasingly, administrative positions meet those needs and more, but the landscape is rapidly changing.

Once commonly known as secretaries, administrative professional titles have gotten creative: Chief Executive Administrator, Administrative Services Manager, Director of Administration, even Director of First Impressions. An OfficeTeam and International Association of Administrative Professionals® (IAAP®) survey of more than 2,200 administrative professionals discovered that titles aren’t the only industry changes. In fact, 41% of those surveyed felt that their job description was inaccurate due to the evolution of the tasks they routinely perform.

It’s still a common misconception that administrative equals clerical. Brandi Britton, District President at OfficeTeam, an expert on placing temporary and permanent administrative professionals, spoke about the roles she sees administrative professionals playing today. Britton said, “I see all the time, party planning or events planning. Who in your office is the computer expert? Often times it is the administrative assistant.” She has also seen administrative professionals assisting in human resources by placing ads for employment, screening resumes, and assisting with paperwork, thus filling a void in smaller to mid-size companies with small or non-existent HR departments.

What untapped potential awaits discovery in your administrative staff?

Many administrative professionals have experience and skills that qualify them to assume responsibilities outside their traditional roles. Where else are admins helping the company?

Social Media Management
Administrative professionals update images or company profile information on social media, monitor user comments or feedback, and maintain the company’s LinkedIn and Facebook accounts

Event Planning
From organizing company Christmas parties to convention planning, administrative professionals are putting unknown talents to good use. Look for the employee who is planning her friend’s bridal shower and has multiple Pinterest boards devoted to party ideas.

Travel Planning
Gone are the days (mostly) of corporate travel departments and travel agents on call ready to book flights and hotel rooms for busy executives. Consequently, admins have assumed the role of travel planner too. Britton shared the story of one administrative professional working in a temporary position who was hired full time after she saved the company over $4,000 in travel expenses while scheduling her boss’ travel. The administrative assistant who has traveled to Europe and hops weekend flights to skiing or cruises probably has the skills to handle booking your corporate travel.

Facility Management
Conference rooms in office buildings across the country buzz with activity all day. Who schedules the use of those rooms, stocks them with supplies, and makes certain that any tech equipment is ready, waiting and functional? You guessed it; the administrative staff. They are also the people who call for service when equipment breaks (after troubleshooting themselves, of course) and sweet-talks maintenance into scraping the ice off of the office walls when the AC turns the building into an icebox.

Collaboration with Other Departments
Administrative professionals collaborate with other departments frequently, including information technology (IT), finance and accounting, or human resources. They repair printers, load software and order replacement toner. They assist HR by screening and/or interviewing potential new hires.

They handle expense reports, manage office supply and equipment budgets and control costs.

Chief Everything Officer
Some administrative professionals reported various and sundry odd jobs that, while somewhat comical, effectively illustrate the many hats they wear. They listed:

• • • “Write a skit about hand-washing”
    • “Get a snake out of the women’s bathroom”
    • “Purchase and assemble Christmas trees in seven office locations”
    • “Get a visa to India in two hours”

Despite the diverse ways their skills are being used at the office, the OfficeTeam/IAAP® survey also found that a full 50% of administrative staff believe they have untapped skills that could benefit their company. If you are unsure what untapped skills your administrative team might have think about the activities they do for fun. Someone who enjoys building computers at home might also enjoy the challenge of assisting the IT department, and the one who writes short stories could be just the person to create the company newsletter. Revisit the employee file for a second look at that resume you received when they were hired. It’s possible that you overlooked some of their education or work experience that, at the time, did not seem critical to their role with the company.

It is worth noting that because they are frequently asked to carry out responsibilities not outlined in their job descriptions, only half of administrative professionals told OfficeTeam they feel their salary is adequate for their position. Employers should make sure that they fully compensate their administrative professionals, especially when adding items to an already full plate.