In a survey conducted by OfficeTeam and the IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals) of more than 2,200 administrative professionals, 50% of the support staff said that they have skills that are not being tapped, while 7% felt completely underutilized.[i] Only 43% said that the full range of their skills and talents are being utilised. Such waste of resources cause heavy loss to the company; not once but continuously.
To fix the problem, OfficeTeam identified areas that administrators desire to be engaged in. These include getting involved in the business’ social media presence, recruitment of new employees, and customer service. Additionally, for today’s administrators to excel, the following set of traditional and latest administrative skills are a must:
| Recruitment and Selection | 1 | Ability to understand and implement the process of selection of new employees |
| Communication Skills | 2 | Be able to communicate positively and productively |
| Time Management | 3 | Know how to prioritise, organise and delegate to manage time |
| Writing Skills | 4 | Ensure written documents are error-free, and written in a clear and precise manner |
| Computer Basics | 5 | Have basic computer skills to operate the different applications and networks |
| Organisational Skills | 6 | Organise time and tasks for better clarity and efficiency |
| Manage Personal Productivity | 7 | Set smart goals, reduce distractions, schedule and track to increase productivity |
| Understand Social Media | 8 | Be able to monitor and communicate on social media |
| Customer Service | 9 | Develop relationships with customers and engage them positively |
| Handling Workplace Diversity | 10 | Tackle biases, and promote fairness and objectivity |
Sources
