Duties of an Administrative Assistant

The duties of an administrative assistant were confined to just answering phone calls, scheduling travel and filing papers. The responsibilities of an administrative assistant have now widened to more complex duties like making presentations and running the office smoothly. The job description of the administrative assistant includes the clerical, receptionist and project management duties and responsibilities. Basically, an administrative assistant has to multitask. Let us know more on what are an administrative assistant's duties in detail.

What are the Duties of an Administrative Assistant?
The main duty of an administrative assistant is to provide administrative as well as clerical support to help the office operations run smoothly as well as efficiently.

Responsibilities of an Administrative Assistant
The administrative assistant's reporting head is the senior administrative manager. The administrative assistant duties involves paying attention to detail, be well-organized and have great communication skills. The responsibilities of an administrative assistant includes performing and coordinating the administrative activities of the office, retrieving and integrating the data and dissemination of the information to the employees and clients.

The duties and responsibilities of an administrative assistant also ask for performance of various duties like planning and scheduling meetings, appointments, organizing and maintaining paperwork along with the soft copies of the same, conducting research and circulating information using telephone, e-mail, letters and websites. Duties of an administrative assistant also include taking care of the travel arrangements and the guest accommodations.

The administrative assistant is also required to handle and use fax machines, photocopiers, scanners, videoconferencing, telephone system, computer, office software, etc. efficiently. He/she should also be well versed with word files, spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations, reports, documents, publishing software and digital graphics.

The administrative assistant should have good communication and negotiation skills, when speaking to and handling clients, vendors and other employees. They should be able to manage the stocks and other data stores. Many companies have handed down the duties and responsibilities of training and orientation of new staff on the administrative assistant. They are required to manage the video calls, supervise other staff members, review memos, submissions, reports, etc. They are also asked to prepare agendas, arrange meetings of the committees and executive boards.

The main duties of an administrative assistant include typing correspondence, reports and other documents. They need to maintain office files, open and distribute the office mail, take minutes during meetings and coordinate the repairs of office equipment. They are also required to maintain the confidential records and files, records of decisions taken, arrange for payment of honoraria, research and help in preparing the motions, policies and office procedures. They are also asked to greet and assist the visitors, answer phones and direct them to the concerned department.

The duties and responsibilities of an administrative assistant, also includes organizing the office, ordering office supplies, managing customers, and running the office smoothly. If any glitches do occur in the daily running of the office, the administrative assistant should be able to troubleshoot the problem.

Skills and Abilities of an Administrative Assistant
In order to become an administrative assistant, the candidate needs to possess certain skills and knowledge. This includes knowledge of:

• Bookkeeping procedures
• Office administration
• Financial aspects
• Employee details and files
• Word processing programs as well as use spreadsheets

The candidate needs to possess skills that include:

• Written communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Decision-making ability
• Problem solving ability
• Verbal and listening communication skills
• Time management skills
• Local language as well as other common language speaking, writing and reading skills
• Organizational skills

On a personal note, the candidate needs to possess excellent work ethics, should be honest, trustworthy, humble and flexible. The person should have cultural sensitivity and be respectful towards all employees and clients of the organization.

Challenges Faced by an Administrative Assistant
An administrative assistant may face different challenges during his/her line of work. These include long working hours, use of computers as well as lifting or shifting of certain office supplies or materials at times. The administrative assistant may face continuous interruptions as employees may have to speak to him/her on a regular basis. The assistant needs to be mentally alert as well as physically fit. Administrative assistant not only needs to speak to the employees, clients but also meet deadlines, track orders and supplies as well as maintain high accuracy levels related to all major and minutest details of work. In some cases, the administrative assistant needs to have knowledge regarding certain legal aspects, terminology as well as procedures. Those working in a medical set up may require certain knowledge related to medical procedures, equipment, terminology as well as reports.

All or few of the above mentioned administrative assistant duties and responsibilities are given in many offices and companies. You may find the work to be immense and complicated, but it is surely one of the rewarding job opportunities. The whole office depends upon you and you will be the one who will know every nook and corner of the office. It becomes your baby and you have to nurture it and make sure that it runs smoothly. You need to have a background in secretarial skills, high school diploma with basic office and computer skills. There are many corporates who are recruiting candidates with bachelor's degrees for the post of an administrative assistant. If you are the ambitious kind, who does not shy away from responsibilities and challenges, then becoming an administrative assistant is the right career path for you.