What Does it Take to be a Top Administrative Assistant Today by Jennifer C. Selland CPBA, CPVA, CAIA, Trimetrix™

It always has been a little ambiguous to figure out what exactly makes a top-notch Administrative Assistant. Well-Run Concepts has been conducting research to quantify what is needed in the position of Administrative Assistant today by defining these key areas:

- Attributes: personal skills or competencies
- Values: rewards and culture
- Behaviors: how they do the job

We used a comprehensive, validated, step-by-step process called the Trimetrix™ system to determine what is needed for top performance. This article will summarize our findings to date and here is what we found.

Attributes tells us if an individual can do the job by looking at what personal skills or competencies are needed in the job of Administrative Assistant.

The Top Seven Attributes are:

1. RESULTS ORIENTATION: The ability to identify actions necessary to complete tasks and obtain results.
-Maintains focus on goals
-Identifies and acts on removing potential obstacles to successful goal attainment
-Implements thorough and effective plans and applies appropriate resources to produce desired results
-Follows through on all commitments to achieve results

2. SELF MANAGEMENT: The ability to prioritize and complete tasks in order to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames.
-Independently pursues business objectives in an organized and efficient manner
-Prioritizes activities as necessary to meet job responsibilities
-Maintains required level of activity toward achieving goals without direct supervision
-Minimizes work flow disruptions and time wasters to complete high quality work within a specified time frame.

3. GOAL ACHIEVEMENT: The overall ability to set, pursue and attain achievable goals.
-Establishes goals that are relevant, realistic and attainable
-Identifies and implements required plans and milestones to achieve specific business goals
-Initiates activity toward goals without unnecessary delay
-Stays on target to complete goals regardless of obstacles or adverse circumstances

4. PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: A measure of the capacity to be answerable for personal actions.
-Accepts personal responsibility for the consequences of personal actions
-Avoids placing unnecessary blame on others
-Maintains personal commitment to objectives regardless of the success or failure of personal decisions
-Applies personal lessons learned from past failures to moving forward in achieving future successes

6. RESILIENCY: The ability to quickly recover from adversity.
-Continues toward goals in the face of difficulty and adversity
-Handles criticism and rejection from others with objectivity
-Recovers quickly from personal setbacks
-Moves past unforeseen obstacles without unnecessary delay

7. SELF STARTING: The ability to initiate and sustain momentum without external stimulation.
-Initiates relevant activities toward achieving business goals
-Independently completes projects and produces desired results
-Requires little or no supervision to stay focused on necessary activities
-Readily identifies and pursues business opportunities without outside direction

Values make up the next critical success factor needed, which tells us why an individual will do the job or, in other words, what rewards & cultures are they seeking on the job.

The Top Three Values are:

1. TRADITIONAL/REGULATORY
Rewards those who value traditions inherent in social structure, rules, regulations and principles.
2. INDIVIDUALISTIC/POLITICAL
Rewards those who value personal recognition, freedom and control over their own destiny and others.
3. UTILITARIAN/ECONOMIC
Rewards those who value practical accomplishments, results and rewards for their investments of time, resources and energy.

Behaviors tell us how an individual will perform the job. We analyzed which of the behaviors an individual should possess to perform well in the job of Administrative Assistant. This is very important information to know in understanding communication styles.

The Top Three Behaviors are:

1. ORGANIZED WORKPLACE
The job's success depends on systems and procedures. Its successful performance is tied to careful organization of activities, tasks and projects that require accuracy. Record keeping and planning are essential components of the job.
2. ANALYSIS OF DATA
The job deals with a large number of details. It requires that details, data and facts are analyzed and challenged prior to making decisions and that important decision-making data is maintained accurately for repeated examination as required.
3. COMPETITIVENESS
The job exists within a demanding environment where consistently winning is critical. The job demands tenacity, boldness, assertiveness and a “will to win” in dealing with highly competitive situations.

Now that we have a clear picture of what the Administrative Job looks like, I would like to ask you this…

-If you are an Administrative Assistant, do you have these critical success factors mastered? If not, what's your plan to develop them?
-If you are an organization, how are you currently measuring the talent in your Administrative Team today?
-Do they have the above named attributes, values and behaviors?
-If so, great! You are ahead of the competition!
-If not, how will you develop them or better yet, select talent that already has it?

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

If you want to know for sure, then run a Personal Talent Profile on yourself or your staff. Then match the results to the benchmark of the Administrative Assistant Job in this article.

If you have a unique culture in your company, you may want to be more specific and run a Trimetrix™ job benchmark with your own stakeholders. Then you can match your talent to your unique culture.

Either way, if you are not assessing your talent now, how can you meet the challenges of today's evolving Administrative Team's needs?

Well-Run Concepts would like to work with you to develop a scientifically validated system for defining, selecting and developing top talent for your company.

If you would like more information on how the Trimetrix™ system works, or more details of our research, please visit us on the web at www.well-run.com, or email us at success@well-run.com.

Jennifer Selland is the Founder and President of Well-Run Concepts, a Human Resource Consulting Firm based in Santa Barbara California, whose mission is to Help Organizations Define and Develop Top Talent. Jennifer has over 15 years of Human Resource Management and Executive Operational hotel experience.

Jennifer holds a Bachelors of Arts in Organizational Communication from Arizona State University and is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst, Values Analyst, Attribute Index Analyst, and Certified TriMetrix™ Analyst. Jennifer's passion and finely-tuned skills in the area of corporate communications, has lead her to be considered an expert in her chosen field of human performance improvement. Jennifer has taught a variety of management classes at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the College of Business, Management and Law, and at the Santa Barbara City College Hotel, Restaurant and Culinary School.

Well-Run Concepts clients include Best Western International, the World's Largest Hotel Chain and Inamed Corporation, the global leader of some very high profile medical devices. Well-Run Concepts also provides Organizational Development Coaching and Training to top leaders of Law and Accounting Firms; Software Companies; Ski Resorts; Conference Centers and Hotels; Dental Offices; Hospitals; and various Manufacturing Companies.

Jennifer was nominated for "Business Women of the Year" in 2002 by Women's Economic Ventures. She was recognized for her exceptional work and dedication as a devoted entrepreneur in the business field. Recently, she also was nominated for Pacific Coast Business Times' Spirit of Small Business Awards for Woman-Owned Business, in 2003.