The Collaboration Between Administrative Professionals and Leadership

Introduction

The 24th of April marked Administrative Professionals Day, allowing us to reflect on the importance of administrative professionals in the workplace and how their collaboration with leadership plays a vital role in organizational success.

At Qualee, we realize just how much of a pivotal role administrative professionals play in the workplace and have therefore identified some of the world’s top performing and most successful administrative professionals. Let’s celebrate these individuals and thank them for the incredible work they do in keeping the ‘business wheels’ turning!  

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Stacie Michaels - Chief Administrative Officer at Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Sheri H. - Regional Administrative Assistant at Walgreens
Kelly Clark - Administrative Coordinator at Ulta Beauty  
Linda (Kaurala) Zimmerman - Senior Administrative Assistant at Meijer
Matthew Martinez Hannon - Executive Administrative Assistant at Dyson
Monica Alay - Senior Administrative Assistant at The Walt Disney Company
Bianca Garcia - Senior Administrative Assistant at Starbucks
Rosa Pinto - Administrative Professional at Marriott International
Gloria Dodenc - Executive Administrative Assistant at American Express

The Vital Connection Between Administrative Professionals and Leadership

For many years, administrative professionals have often been referred to as the ‘backbone’ or ‘heartbeat’ of an organization, responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the business. However, many understate the importance of admin professionals in the workplace, simplifying their role to mere admin work. In reality, this is not the case - administrators are crucial for an organization to run smoothly and efficiently, providing support and complementing the work of those in senior management positions. Without administrative professionals, the workplace would be a lot less efficient and effective in day-to-day operations. With the help of administrators, those in leadership or senior management positions are enabled to focus their efforts on strategy, leadership and decision making.

Not only do administrative professionals enable the smooth running of an organization, but they also play a key role in communicating and connecting employees in the organization, through sharing of information and ensuring alignment on projects and overarching business goals. Furthermore, although administrators may not be directly involved in informing business strategies, they play a crucial role in carrying out the plans of the strategy, ensuring that the necessary resources are acquired and that employees know their respective roles and responsibilities.

Because administrative professionals work so closely with other employees in the organization, they are able to provide leadership and senior management key feedback on general employee performance and sentiment, allowing leadership to strategically assess and plan initiatives that can increase employee productivity and engagement.

In essence, the connection between both leadership and administrative professionals is interdependent and is crucial for organizational success. Together, they are able to inform strategy, execute plans and work towards common business goals.

Ways to Celebrate and Recognize Administrative Professionals

Although it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the administrative professionals in our workplaces on Administrative Professionals Day, we should be recognizing their contribution and celebrating their efforts on a daily basis.

Here are a few ways you can celebrate the administrative professionals in your workplace, whether in the office or at home:

• Recognize the great work they are doing by getting employees to send them a note with Thankbox
• Offer to take an item off their to-do list
• Take them for a meal or send them a voucher if they are working remotely
• Offer them time with other executives
• Host a happy hour with all employees
• Let them off early on a Friday
• Invest in a course that will progress their career

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Investing in the Growth of Administrative Professionals

Although some individuals choose to stay in administrative roles throughout their careers, others commonly start in administrative roles in the hope of furthering their careers one day. By investing in the growth of the administrative professionals in your organization, you not only cultivate an environment of learning and development, but you also play a direct role in enhancing their skill set. This not only enables increased operational efficiency but also plays a crucial role in employee retention. When employees feel that they are worth being invested in, they are more likely to stay in an organization. By strengthening their knowledge and skills, you are also able to offer them new opportunities in the organization. Internally promoting employees is not only quicker and more cost-effective than hiring candidates from external sources, but it also significantly boosts employee engagement and morale. Having employees who are engaged at work contributes to overall organizational health and success.

Here are a few ways you can invest in the growth of employees at work:

Mentorship Training: pair administrative professionals with those in senior management positions to offer insight into their career experience and provide advice to those wanting to progress.

Cross-training: allow administrative professionals to work in other departments to expand their skill set and obtain a more holistic understanding of the business.

E-learning Platforms: give administrative professionals the opportunity to take online courses that align with their career aspirations.

Reimbursement of Education: consider reimbursing administrative professionals for courses or degrees they wish to enroll in.

Soft Skills Training: coordinate soft skills training sessions that focus on problem solving, communication and leadership skills.

Feedback and Continuous Learning Initiatives: regularly check in and obtain feedback from administrative professionals on recent training initiatives to ensure that they remain relevant and beneficial.

Consider Leveraging Technology to Increase Productivity and Efficiency

There’s no doubt that administrative professionals have a lot on their plate with coordinating meetings, gathering data and keeping track of certain business projects. To ease the burden of managing a variety of tasks at the same time, leadership can turn to technology to increase efficiency. By leveraging technology, it decreases the manual workload burden on the administrative professional, allowing them to be more productive when handling multiple tasks.

Consider signing up to these technology tools to increase efficiency in their day-to-day operations:

• Project Management and Increased Productivity:
  • Slack
  • Trello
  • Click Up
• Scheduling Meetings and Coordinating Events:
  • Calendly
  • Google Calendar
  • Business Essentials
  • Gmail
  • Microsoft Office
  • 1Password
  • Evernote
• Travel and Expense Management:
  • Expensify
  • TravelPerk
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Conclusion

In summary, the collaboration between administrative professionals and leadership is crucial for increased productivity and efficiency in the operations of the workplace. Including administrative professionals in your organization, will enable and support leadership and senior management to focus their efforts on strategizing the way forward to drive organizational success.

“No one who achieves success does so without the help of acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” - Alfred North Whitehead

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