Office administrators and executive assistants are often referred to as the glue that holds everything together in the office — whether it’s a physical office or in a remote situation. A day in the life of an admin is busy. There are phone calls to manage, supplies to order, and someone needs to keep everyone (oftentimes the top company leaders) on schedule. Because of this, office admins play an essential role in the long-term success of any business as one of the key ambassadors of a company’s culture, mission, and values.
Here is a closer look at the substantial impact administrators have on company culture and success.
Why are admins so important?
At the core, office administrators and executive assistants are the people who keep the office, and company, operational. Everyone in an office usually relies on an admin in some way or another, which makes them an essential role.
Forrs, admins are great problem solvers. When things go wrong, it will often fall on them to develop a quick solution to fix the problem. This can be as simple as connecting someone with an office vendor or as complex as solving a major issue during event planning.
Their importance doesn’t stop there. In larger offices, they may be one of the few people who have direct contact with most, if not all, of the rest of the staff. With their ear to the ground and access to many personnel schedules, knowing how to get in contact with someone and where to find them is something that admins excel at.
They are masters of all things. They’ll answer your question, schedule your meeting, take inventory and order supplies, plan the next company event, and help work out a difficult situation.
The admin skillset
Admins need to have a lot of skills to be successful in the fast-paced and rewarding job. First and foremost, every admin needs to be an exceptional communicator. They need to be able to communicate clearly in multiple ways: including on the phone, writing, and speaking.
Next, admins need to be excellent at organization and time management. On any given day, admins may need to work on projects for management, clients, staff, and others like vendors. To be a great admin, one must know how to handle a busy workload through task prioritization and time management. It helps to be incredibly flexible because other projects will often pop up that need immediate attention. Having the ability to adapt from one task to another quickly is a key skillset in the role of an admin.
Technical skills are also crucial for office administrators. These include data entry, calendar management, spreadsheets, presentations, document creation, and other software.
A day in the life of an admin
Admins will have similar jobs depending on the company and industry, but the tasks will probably vary. Here is a look at some everyday tasks admins must perform at the office regularly.
- Phone - answer incoming calls and take messages
- Email management for themselves and potentially for a manager
- Meetings - take minutes and schedule follow ups
- Data entry - subject matter directly related to the industry (financial, real estate, etc.)
- Schedule - manage schedules for the leadership team
- Plan - arrange appointments, track to-do items for key projects
- Manage inventory and order supplies
- Travel - book business-related travel for the company
- Plan internal company events
- Customer service - handle client comments and complaints
- Shipping - organize mail and package pickups and deliveries
Admins are vital to company culture
Because of how intertwined admins are in the day-to-day operations of a company, they are usually the first person to embrace and promote company culture. Find a happy admin, and you’ll find an engaged staff. They are great at dealing with people and their attitude is noticed by others. A great employee in this role will lead by example, carrying out the company’s values through every daily task and interaction. Keep in mind, they are also usually the first friendly face that people see when walking through the door or the first impression of your company when answering the phone.
Admins deserve to be highlighted for all they do in an office. They help everyone from senior management down and have a diverse set of tasks they must master to make sure everyone else can work efficiently. The position has increased with both responsibilities and influence in recent years. That’s because senior management in every industry realizes how vital admins are to business success.
If you want a fast-paced job where your skills will be valued, and there’s a diverse set of job duties to perform every day, apply to be an office administrator, administrative assistant, or executive assistant. Once you’re hired, you’ll become the glue that holds everything together in your office.
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