These skills are vital for administrative assistants

Administrative assistants are some of the most versatile professionals out there. From handling
personalities to keeping everything organized to running office operations, it’s a job that requires
a lot of different skills at any given time. If you’re thinking about becoming an administrative
assistant for the next phase of your career, let’s look at some of the most important skills you’ll
need to succeed.
Hard Skills
First and foremost, you should make sure that your hard skills are in order for a job as an
administrative assistant. What are hard skills? They’re the skills that require technical or specific
ability. These are easy to list because you can use very specific points. For example:

 Expert in Microsoft Excel

 HTML coding expertise
 Typing 100 words per minute
Hard skills are the skills you can quantify and show easily (as opposed to “soft” skills, which are
often more subjective and need more specific examples or clarification). There’s no additional
context necessary to show that you can use a particular type of accounting software; merely
listing the software or app conveys your skill to the reader. And the good news is that hard skills
are easier to build, if you want to bulk up your resume. You can take online courses in how to do
complex Excel spreadsheet magic, or find tutorials on HTML and other coding languages.
Whatever you want to learn, there’s surely an opportunity out there to bulk up your resume.

Technology Skills
Administrative assistants need to be pretty tech savvy in today’s world. It’s not enough to be
familiar with using computers in general. Your boss may depend on you to be a technical ninja in
areas he or she is not. An administrative assistant should have a good grasp on software or apps
in these areas:

 Email. Microsoft Outlook is the most common, but many companies are turning to
Gmail and Slack to manage interoffice email.
 Maintaining a calendar. Again, Outlook’s calendar is the gold standard, but you should
be able to schedule meetings, create invitations, and manage calendars. And with a growing
focus in the workplace on connecting people remotely via technology, programs like
WebEx or GoToMeeting help you set up videoconferences.
 Word processing. Microsoft Word and Google Docs are most typical, but you should be
skilled in using document creation programs to create different kinds of formatted
documents (like correspondence or reports).
 Presentations. Whether you’ll be making presentations or the people you support will be
making them, chances are you’ll be expected to either organize information into
presentations or create them from scratch. Programs like Microsoft PowerPoint have built-in
tools and templates for creating down-and-dirty presentations, but if you want to bump your
 skills to the next level, you can also learn shortcuts and design elements to create ones that
stand out more.
 Digital databases/filing systems. Part of just about every administrative assistant’s job is
maintaining orderly files, whether those are old-fashioned hard copies or digital records.
 Digital editing. Many administrative assistants are tasked with creating or editing
manuals, newsletters, invitations, marketing materials, or other materials for public
consumption or within the company. Having expertise in programs like Adobe Acrobat or
Photoshop can make you even more valuable and add some designer cred to your resume.
 Productivity/project management. From project management systems like JIRA to
personal organizational tools like Asana, experience using productivity software can be
essential to planning, executing, and organizing projects.
Administrative Support Skills
Administrative support skills are also hard skills that help an admin support his or her team.
These can include:

 Answering multi-line phones and routing calls

 Faxing documents
 Processing timesheets
 Transcribing content
 Accounting or billing (using programs like QuickBooks)
 Typing with speed and accuracy
Soft Skills
Soft skills are the skills that aren’t so easily quantified. If you want to show that you’re good at
data analysis, you can list specific Excel skills. If you want to show that you’re organized or a
good problem solver, it’s a little tougher. Here are the most essential soft skills you’ll need as an
admin.

Communication Skills
Communicating well in person and in writing is a key element of the administrative assistant’s
job. It’s a service role, which means that you need to be able to talk, email, or otherwise
communicate on behalf and/or your boss. Coordination is a huge part of the job, so that means
not only getting along with everyone (or fake it if you can’t quite muster genuine “like” or
enthusiasm in dealing with someone), but also making sure everyone has the information they
need. Clear and efficient communication, complete with good grammar, is essential.

Examples of communication skills:

 Drafting, editing, and sending correspondence

 Fielding phone calls and taking messages
 Responding clearly and efficiently to emails
 Taking notes and sending follow-up requests/summaries as needed
  Answering questions or explaining processes
 Public speaking or presenting
 Writing clean, grammatically correct (and always business-appropriate!) emails
People Skills
Supporting a boss (or a team of bosses) can be challenging. It often means negotiating different
personalities and ensuring that everyone has what they need. As an admin, you may be
interacting with all kinds of different people—other employees, executives, the public—so a
calm, friendly demeanor is a helpful asset. And if your job includes handling sensitive or
confidential information, you’ll need to be sensitive about how to communicate that information.

Examples of people skills:

 Customer service
 Managing client relationships
 Writing email or other correspondence with the whole audience in mind
Time Management Skills
As an admin, you’re likely going to be responsible for other people’s time as much as your own,
so being able to coordinate schedules, set reminders, and make sure things are staying on task is
a crucial part of the job.

Examples of time management skills:

 Setting deadlines
 Meeting deadlines
 Managing calendars (potentially multiple ones)
 Coordinating meeting times among large groups
 Sending reminders to stakeholders to keep projects or tasks on schedule
Organizational Skills
Administrative assistants are usually responsible for not only keeping themselves organized, but
also those around them. The admin’s desk should be a calm oasis of order even when everything
else is chaotic. These skills are essential, but they can be developed as well, with care and
attention to both the tasks at hand and the bigger picture of what needs to be done.

Examples of organizational skills:

 Attention to detail
 Billing/bookkeeping
 Managing calendars and appointments
 Preparing for meetings, including making room, technology, or logistics arrangements
 Filing
  Taking inventory
 Multitasking
 Making travel arrangements
 Coordinating and planning events
 Prioritizing tasks and projects
Problem Solving Skills
Admins are also fixers. That may mean helping your boss troubleshoot issues or helping to solve
problems around the office to make sure things are running smoothly. Being able to think calmly
and critically about how to approach a situation (even when things are overwhelmingly busy or
going wrong) is a skill set highly valued by just about every employer, no matter what industry.

Examples of problem solving skills:

 Training and supervising others

 Managing employee relations
 Providing technical help
 Serving as a point person for questions or guidance
 Organizing the necessary people and resources to resolve an issue, and helping to
coordinate follow-up actions
 Coming up with an action plan to resolve issues
As you can see, administrative assistants need a pretty broad range of skills in their day-to-day
work. If you focus on building your skills in these key areas (or emphasizing the skills you
already have), you’ll be in great shape for your career as an admin.

What Is the Importance of Good Communication Skills to an Administrative Office Manager?

At work, everyone turns to the admin office manager at one time or another. Whether it's to
order new supplies for the office, provide help with understanding a company policy or
procedure, or teach someone how to operate a piece of equipment, a successful administrative
office manager uses her communication skills to convey her ideas successfully.
Communication Diversity
The administrative office manager is at the hub of a smooth-running office. Everyone in the
organization interacts with her eventually. One of her key strengths is the ability to
communicate with everyone in the organization's structure, regardless of position or title. She
respects individual viewpoints and has developed the means to communicate easily across all
cultures and backgrounds. People feel at ease when they come to her with a problem.

Supportive Services
The admin office manager often coordinates a variety of supportive services for the entire
office. She might oversee or manage clerical or administrative staff, plan budgets, coordinate
special events, manage travel arrangements or oversee the maintenance of office equipment.
These duties require her to interface with multiple internal customers or suppliers outside the
organization. Her savvy and perceptive communication skills help her transmit her needs and
ideas to all these people when needed. Because of her responsibilities, her good
communication skills are at the heart of what she does.
Listening Skills
The office manager is the go-to person to help solve issues that arise. While it's important for
her to know how to talk to workers at all levels, her ability to listen and interpret others' needs
is paramount. Her listening skills help her ask the right questions to get clarification. Because
she might assign tasks or duties to clerical or administrative staff, she must first understand the
parameters of what needs to be done to communicate this effectively to her staff. Her excellent
communication skills help her provide the appropriate instructions so the staff can successfully
complete their duties.
Writing Skills
In addition to her excellent verbal communication skills, an administrative office manager
communicates just as clearly through emails, memos or letters. She has developed clarity in her
written communications and doesn't ramble or provide unneeded information. Her written
communication is open and direct. She avoids using terminology that people will
misunderstand and knows all the protocols of written communications, including formats and
styles, and whom to include on written notes.

Administrative Communication: A Tool for Good Governance

Edgard Corpuz Siazon

Forms of Communications
Communication includes writing and talking, as well as non-verbal communication (such as
facial expressions, body language or gestures), visual communication (i.e. the use of images or
pictures, such as painting, photography, video or film), and electronic communication (i.e.
telephone calls, electronic mail, cable television or satellite broadcasts). These forms of
communication are conveyed as messages to be received and understood by the listener or
receiver to elicit an action or otherwise.
Communication Tools in Administration
Communication is a vital part of personal life and is also important in business, education, and
any other situation where people encounter each other. Businesses are concerned with
communication in several special ways. Some businesses build and install communication
equipment such as fax (facsimile) machines, video cameras, compact disk (CD) players, printing
presses, persona lcomputers, and telephone to aid the smooth flow of communication. Other
Departments/Agencies/Companies create some of the messages or contents that those
technologies carry, such as movies, books and software. These
Departments/Agencies/Companies are part of the media or telecommunications industries.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN ADMINISTRATION
Communication in administration is very important in every business. People in organizations
need to communicate to co-ordinate their work and to inform other soutside the business about
their products and services.
The ability to communicate effectively with others is a top attribute of a successful business
person. Communication skills are vital to the success of the workplace. The ability to
communicate effectively with customers, co-workers, subordinates, and supervisor is a sine qua
non in career advancement. It is important to state that job skills alone do not ensure success in
business. The ability to communicate well with supervisors, customers, and co-workers are very
important in all administration. Communication skills in the form of a written document o ra
conversation reflect on the staff and the organization. The impression customers and business
associates from about the staff and organization are important and lasting. Many of these
impressions are based solely on the communication which is done.
Communication with others determines their opinion of the overall competence and integrity of
the staff and the organization. If the communication skills of the staff are poor, others may
question your abilities. Therefore, if you are extremely intelligent, talented, and knowledgeable
but lack communication skills it could adversely affect your organization by putting away
customers and potential ones.
In a further development, it is very important to ensure that we communicate well in writing.
This is because many people judge the abilities and intelligence of staff specifically by the
quality of their writhing, which includes the accuracy of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The
memorandum, letters, and reports written demonstrate the ability to communicate.
Being ethical in your communications, oral or written is also very important because people may
use it to evaluate your competence and judge your integrity. If one promises to do things but fails
to do so, if one makes statements that are not factual, ifone makes untruthful comments about
others, or if one is careless in his/her writing, others will not trust him/her and people would
become hesitant to work with him/her.
Written communications are a permanent record of one’s ability to write. People who read these
communications form an opinion of both the staff and the organization. To present oneself very
well in writing means that ‘one would project a favourable image of the organization as well as
promote successful business operations both internally and externally.
COMMUNICATION OF IDEAS
Despite one’s education or talent, if he/she cannot get his /him ideas across to others, he/she may
not be able to apply his/her knowledge and skills. Ideas are common place, but the ability to
communicate ideas clearly to others is very important.
Learning to communicate one’s ideas should be every administrator’s thrust and concern. As we
communicate, we try to inform, or request, or persuade, or to build good will.
Apart from using communication to share and exchange information, we also put across ideas,
facts, recommendation and proposals. These make administrative communication functional and
effectively. Without this, administrative communication could hardly exist.
ADVANTAGE OF COMMUNICATION IN ADMINISTRATION
ADVANTAGE OF COMMUNICATION IN ADMINISTRATION
Communication has tremendous advantages and can be done in several ways including the
following:
Written communication – (i.e. letters, memos, reports, e-mails, faxes etc.)
Oral communications – (i.e. one-on-one meetings, phone conversations, speeches, video
conferencing, group meetings etc.)
Non-verbal communications-(i.e. eye contact, facial expressions, body language, and physical
appearance etc.)
Active Listening -(i.e. listening with a high level of concentration; and listening for
information)

All the above methods apply tremendously in carrying out effective communication. In
contributing to how to carry out effective communication, T.S. N‟yel (2006) indicates that
communication is an instrument for social interaction, a tool for understanding others, and a
means by keeping in touch with people. It also assists in establishing, extending and maintaining
relationships, by giving orientation to staff and spelling out the goals of an organization. They
maintain that communication is the lubricant that keeps the machinery of an organization going,
and the means through which roles are identified and assigned. No organization can survive
without communication.

Effective Administrative Communication

Furthermore, to enrich communication and make it effective, the following principles should be
carefully noted:

I. Clarify your ideas before communicating. Good communication requires good

planning. Think through the message and consider who will be receiving or affected
by the message.
II. II. Examine the true purpose of each communication. Ask yourself what you really
want to accomplish. is it to obtain information, initiate action or influence someone’s
behaviour? Then prepare your message to reflect the purpose.
III. Consider the total physical setting and social climate involved.
IV. Consult with others in planning communications. That is to say allow others to
participate.
V. Be aware of the tone as well as the content of your message. The tone or voice,
expression, body language and receptivity to your receiver have tremendous impact
on those you wish to reach.
VI. Take every opportunity to communicate something of help or value to the receiver.
VII. Follow up your communications. Ask questions and encourage questions to learn if
you have succeeded in expressing your true meaning and intentions. Allow for
feedback in all communications.
VIII. Communicate for tomorrow as well as today. Plan communication to serve immediate
needs as well as longer-run interests and goals.
IX. Make sure your actions support your words. The most persuasive communication is
not what you say but what you do.
X. Be a good listener. Often time when communication starts or is ongoing some people
cease to listen. Concentrate on what is being said. Be an active listener by listening
with a great dal of concentration.
CHALLENGES OF COMMUNICATION IN ADMINISTRATION

CHALLENGES OF COMMUNICATION IN ADMINISTRATION

As the organization/business world changes, peoples today are face with some
communication challenges. Some of the challenges may be increased use of technology,
increased global completion, restructured management, increased quality emphasis and
customer focus, and increased focus on legal and ethical problems.
The above challenges influence the communication process within an organization.
Technology has had the greatest impact on how communication is done. Electronic mail,
voice mail, teleconferences, computer network, fax machines, and the internet have expanded
the methods of communicating. More workers talk to each other and share data as they use
various technologies to search for, collect, prepare and report information. Computer
communication is also used for activities such as group problem solving, consensus building,
and group projects.
Technological advancement has changed the world in which organization operate. We now
live in a global administration. Organization/Department ought to compete in the global
arena in order to be successful. To compete effectively in the international community,
communication should be couched in good grammar. Slang, jargon, and acronyms need to be
eliminated. Organizations must become aware of different cultures and their unique
communication processes.
Many organizations have restructured and invested in increased technology. Therefor
employees should be trained or retrained to be abreast of these new technologies. And this
comes with cost. The increase in technological advancement places greater emphasis on
ethical and legal concerns for all employees throughout the organization. Employee should
be conversant with the legal and ethical regime of the agency and strive to comply with rules
and regulations in their communications.
Working together adds a new dimension to the communication skills needed in an
organization. Previously, most communications were developed individually. Now several
staff may have to work together in creating various documents and communications, a
process requiring additional written and oral skills.
a. Communication Barriers
Other issues which pose communicating challenges in administration are
personal/human/psychological, organization/structural, and environmental/physical barriers.
Personal / Human / Psychological Challenges
i. Linguistic challenges (i.e. semantic, grammatical, phonologicalproblem etc)
ii. Poor interpersonal relationships and negative attitudes
iii. Bad listening
iv. Distracting mannerism during oral speech presentation
v. Level of comprehension
vi. Ethnic or cultural background, and blindness
vii. Bad timing
viii. Physical appearance (i.e. dressing) etc.
Environmental / Physical Challenges
Challenges that affect communication can also be environmental / physical innature. Some of
them could be:
1. Physical loud noise ( i.e. by radio or flying aircraft etc.)
2. Physical distance
3. Sitting arrangement
4. Information overload (i.e. having more information to process)
5. Office location in the building (i.e. the physical location one’s office can affect
communication)
6. Geographic location/distance (i.e. the geographic location of a person oran organization
can affect the flow of communication)
Poor listening Habits
Excellent managers are good listeners. They take time to hear the problems of subordinates,
colleagues, or customers.
There are many barriers to effective listening. A couple of them are: noise, interruptions,
differences of opinion, prejudices or bias, different priorities, busyness, no interest, limited
time, thinking of other things, thinking someone is wrong, tiredness and perception
differences. All these cause distractions and affect effective listening.
Listening can be hard work. According to Rick Conclow (1991), „unfortunately, few
managers or people in general know how to listen effectively”. Often the reason employees
say they do not feel appreciated is because no one listen properly. The lack of listening and
poor communication skills cost businesses millions of cedi’s in performance and morale
problems.
By listening to someone you are not necessarily agreeing with them”, says Rick Conclow.
The major goal of the listening technique is to understand better the employee. In so doing,
you express interest and concern in the employee’s problem or idea.
III. Issues and Concerns
The issues and concerns from different departments and agencies in the Philippines emanate
from organization/structural issues that affect administrative communication. For instance,
the following are the causes:
 Undifferentiated authority levels resulting in confusion over formal communication
channels in terms of issuance and direction.
 Hierarchy (i.e. too many levels of management. This would promote bypassing or
short circuiting
 Filtering (i.e. vetting information to reduce the quality and quantity of the original
message or conscious manipulation of facts to color)
 Poor organizational climate (i.e. result in rumor mongering or poor investment in
communication equipment leading to lack of delegation).
 Excessive decentralization may create confusion and ill-will.
 Centralized pattern of communication discourages openness and honesty.

 Self-contained work groups or units make it difficult for information to transcend

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