The Importance of Administrative Professionals

Administrative professionals go by many titles, executive assistant, secretary, and personal assistant, just to name a few. Regardless of what title they hold everyone knows they are the backbone of the company. It is often said that an executive is only as good as their administrative assistant. Without them keeping companies, teams, and offices running smoothly the business would crumble. They are the eyes and ears of the company, which gives them unique and powerful insights into the company culture, performance, and future direction.  

It’s how they use their skills that make them truly unique! These are the tasks they complete on a daily basis that we love them for doing. 

It’s the Little Things

There are hundreds of small tasks that administrative professionals complete on a daily basis that vary depending on the industry and size of the company they work at, but some of them make the biggest differences.

These can include:

• Ordering supplies for the office
• Taking meeting minutes
• Organizing executive schedules or appointments
• Making business-related travel plans for co-workers
• Answering emails and phone calls on the behalf of executives or co-workers
• Organizing food and presentations for company events
• Boosting office morale
• Responding to customers

In order to carry out these duties, administrative professionals need certain skills, such as touch typing (at least 65 words per minute), the ability to multitask, and strong computer literacy. On top of this, they need to be able to think on their feet, solve problems as they arise, and be adaptable. Their role has shifted over the years alongside technology, especially after the workplace changes cause by the recent pandemic. 

The list could go on forever really with increasingly difficult tasks, and for that reason, businesses need them to run smoothly and efficiently.  

So Much Budgeting! 

We have financial planners and accountants handling the big bucks of the business, but it’s the administrative professionals handling things like the company's petty cash or individual project budgets. Along with the smaller tasks, administrative professionals are also constantly searching for money-saving opportunities for the office. This includes more than just getting the best deal on pens. They look around the office too in order to suggest better ways to do things. In this case, they might also be managing the supplies they order to make sure no workers are wasting or overtaking supplies.

They might also be in charge of budgeting for certain projects or events. Company parties, catering, and other morale-boosting activities require organization and proper planning but if you’re not careful the year's activity budget could get drained by one event. 

Without administrative professionals, we would not be able to have fun office treats like donuts on Fridays or raffles.

“Not only are we the first line of communication, and to some degree, the informal face of the company, we are also the behind-the-scenes miracle workers. We handle everything from managing a team and planning 500-person events to diffusing a prickly situation.”  - Kiyomi D., Executive Assistant

Constant Scheduling 

Scheduling meetings can be a nightmare. Lining up people's schedules, choosing a location, and making changes when someone suddenly can’t make it. It takes a lot of organizing to make simple things like meetings run smoothly. Thank goodness we have our administrative professionals here to keep us scheduled and on time.

Organizing the hectic schedule of executives, their own workload, and even scheduling fellow co-workers can all be a huge part of an admin professional's position. One of the most admirable and important skills they can possess is the ability to manage others alongside their own duties. This doesn’t stop at members within the company either, some administrative professionals are also in charge of outside workers, such as ensuring that property managers, cleaning services, or other important workers are coming in and getting the job done every other month. 

Let’s not forget the professionals working with the public either. While some positions require filtering emails and phone calls, others require face-to-face interactions with customers. In this case, administrative professionals can become the face and voice of the company to customers. Having a customer service-oriented professional with great scheduling skills is essential to any office space with an open door. Those who schedule client meetings, doctor's appointments, or constantly deal with walk-ins are just as essential to their industries and deserve to be recognized for their hard work. 

“Sometimes you are the face of the company, sometimes you’re behind the scenes building a better office system (policies, procedures, efficiency) and sometimes you’re stuck doing errands everyone else won’t do. Your role is never really defined and constantly changes, so it can be very challenging some days. We aren’t just ‘secretaries’ anymore of the Mad Men era—we are a pillar of a successful business!” - Administrative Assistant, Michelle M. 

The Difference 

Many administrative professionals don’t realize just how important they are to the smooth running of a business, but they truly make a huge difference in the lives of everyone around them. The position deserves more recognition, not for its importance but because these hard workers are far too busy to celebrate their own achievements themselves. We should appreciate them while we can. Our team at Monarch Basics understands that more than anyone, and that’s why every year, on administrative professionals’ day we send our delivery men out with hundreds of carnations. Every professional receiving a package gets a carnation as a token of gratitude from our team to yours, for all the work they do, because we believe in improving your work life in any way we can.

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“5 Time-Management Tips and Planners to Practice within your Office”